Facebook Reactions

By Adam  |  9 Oct 2015 12:00:00

Not too long ago, it was announced that Facebook might soon be implementing a 'dislike button' to their service after years' and years' worth of requests. Now we have a little more information on the subject and it seems things won't be quite as simple as they seemed. Initially, people worried that the 'dislike' button might just be used to bully people and to spread negativity (it was meant to be used so that people had an alternative to the 'like' button on pieces of bad news) but it seems that Facebook were conscious of this...

It was revealed today that Facebook are testing new 'reaction buttons' which will allow users to express whether they 'like' or 'love' something as well as giving them five other options to reflect different emotions ('haha', 'yay', 'wow', 'sad', 'angry'); this allows people to express sadness at pieces of bad news while also avoiding the concerns of the 'dislike' button. Currently the tests are taking place in Spain and Ireland and, presumably they'll be released globally if these tests are successful. It seems like a rather good idea as it gives people a very quick and easy way to engage with content in a way which has more depth to it than the current 'like' button. 

For those making use of Facebook as a marketing tool, it might just make your job that little bit easier. If you do something each Friday which is supposed to get people excited for a promotion on the Saturday, now you can gauge whether or not people actually are excited by it. If every Wednesday you post what is supposed to be a funny image, you can now determine whether or not people actually find it funny. It will essentially give you a clearer understanding of what people think of your content which can only be useful.