Since the creation of Facebook, many of us have wondered when we would get a ‘Dislike’ button to compliment the social media platform’s ‘Like’ button. Especially today, with an ever-increasing amount of negative stories in the news, users feel that ‘liking’ a sad or negative post just doesn’t really cut it. While we may never get a ‘Dislike’ button- Facebook’s creator Mark Zuckerberg has consistently commented that he never intends to make one because it conveys too much negativity- the social media platform announced that it is introducing Reactions.
What exactly is Reactions, you ask? A recent Mashable article explains that it’s a new feature for Facebook’s ‘Like” button that allows you to respond to posts with emojis. Acting as an extension of the existing ‘Like” button, the new feature works with any post on Facebook where you see the ‘Like’ button. Long pressing or hovering over the button will open up a panel of six different reactions- love, haha, yay, wow, sad, and anger- that you can add to a post. Each reaction comes with a corresponding emoji, while being counted and displayed beside the number of likes underneath a post. Just like a regular ‘Like’, users can only add one reaction to any given post.
As with many of Facebook’s updates, getting the Reactions feature will depend on where you live. Facebook users in Ireland and Spain will be the first to try out the feature for several test runs. Depending on results, the feature will be rolled out worldwide with no specific timeline announced yet. Since Reactions is still in it’s experimental phase, it is possible that changes will be made before it is available to the rest of the population.
While Reactions seem to be the closest users will get to a ‘Dislike” button, the new feature will also have an impact on businesses and brands. A recent AdAge article explores the various uses and implications that Reactions will have for marketers- assessing that the tool will ultimately be a better gauge for them. Reactions will offer a new, potentially more accurate way to measure sentiment. They could compliment and even improve upon the sentiment analysis that brands usually conduct through third-party firms that scrutinize the words people use in commenting on a brand’s post to determine how those people feel about the post.
“Reactions gives businesses a really crisp way of understanding on a multi-dimensional level how people are feeling about the things that they’re posting,” said Richard Sim, Facebook’s director of monetization product marketing.
However, once Reactions is available worldwide, Mr. Sim emphasizes that brands should not try to orient their ads around generating certain types of Reactions. Instead, businesses should post things that work to drive business value rather than optimizing for “love’ Reactions.
So what do you think? What are the positive and negative implications of Facebook’s Reactions feature for brands and marketers? Can you think of other ways in which marketers can leverage this new feature to drive traffic, sales, and awareness?
IMC with Natalie 
Hi Natalie,
This was an interesting move by Facebook. I think the goal of implementing this features was to infuse more personality into its service and modernize the Facebook brand. There are many people who often enjoy the daily use of emojis even through I am not one of them. There is an upside and downside for marketers in regard to this update. The downside is the possibility of getting a large amount of negative reactions to certain content marketers are creating. The upside is reactions can be used as insights to see what content is resonating with your audience.
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Natalie,
I do like the reactions emojis. I think this will be received better than than a “dislike” button, as that could be taken very negatively! These emojis will be very important for companies, which is just another reason for a company to be involved in social media. If ever they wanted immediate reactions to a campaign, this will provide it!!! Whether positive or negative, companies will be able to get more immediate feedback on posts.
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I think this is a step in the right direction. Not providing people with a proper set of tools to accurately express their reaction to certain material makes for an inaccurate depiction of where the audience stands with a given article, update, ad, etc. If you are using social media to build a brand, expand business revenue and national/ global visibility with potential clientele, then I think criticisms are as vital to your success as compliments. When we continue to provide sort of “politically correct” and “positive only” atmospheres in the business world, both owners and clients alike will lose in the long run. Professionally, if you are worried that such a feature way tarnish your business, then my guess is you need to re think your business model anyways. As a business owner and former General Manager of a multi million dollar operation, I think platforms that provided both positive and negative feedback such as Yelp are absolutely vital to ensure proper growth and effective focus. Personally, having these alternative ways of expressing feeling towards something are also good. It is incredibly awkward to select a like button on something that weighs heavy on the heart where condolences seem like the proper reaction. No I am not “liking” that your grandmother passed away, she was a nice lady. This is the only button I have.
-Jason Lapean
Director of Outside Sales for Señor Grubby’s
President/ Owner of Ourtist Collective
House Light Designer for Brick by Brick San Diego
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I am looking forward to the “new” Facebook. So many times we need to express something other than ‘like’ to a certain posting from a company. I do a lot of online shopping and rely on Facebook comments to see whether I should give a company, that I’ve never dealt with before, my business. Liking something on Facebook can mean MANY different things, including your approval of an impending marriage or to the extreme…….you wrecked your car! Looking forward to this new approach!
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