Last year, Facebook hinted that it would soon roll out a dislike button on its platform, which provoked both interest and apprehension in some users. But in late February, the site officially announced the new Facebook Reactions, an extension of the “like” button:
- Like
- Love
- Haha
- Wow
- Sad
- Angry
These additions are great because likes were very limiting and users would often skip posts where likes weren’t appropriate, especially when they were too lazy or didn’t have time to comment. On the other hand, the new Reactions could lead to an overall decrease in comments.
How do Reactions affect business pages?
Usually, when someone likes a post from a page, Facebook uses that as a signal that the “liker” wants to see more of that type of post (and, consequently, more from that page). So, since Reactions are in their beginning stages, they will be evaluated in the same way as likes: no matter what reaction a user chooses for a post, FB will infer that the user wants to see more of that sort of content. Of course, this will change over time and then different Reactions will be weighed differently by the news feed.
Don’t forget, if users truly don’t want to see your content, they still have the option to report/hide the post in their news feed, and unfollow or unlike your page. At the moment, these actions are indication enough for Facebook and will negatively affect the performance of your page.
What should you do in the meantime?
Now would be a good time to start experimenting with different subject matter. For example, let’s say that in the past you were hesitant to post depressing or controversial content, because you thought that it wouldn’t get any likes. Because of Facebook Reactions, the range of what you can post increases because users will be able to select an appropriate response/feedback to the topic. You can also find out what followers think of something by specifically asking them to “react” to a link or image that you post.
In general, continue following best practices for page posts, which includes providing regular, engaging and high-quality updates. Reactions provide you with a better—more accurate—idea of how users feel about your content, so you should continually monitor your Page Insights, which has updated to show Reactions (these have the same impact on ads):
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So what do you think of the new Facebook Reactions?