Mark Zuckerberg announced this week a major change in the works for Facebook. Your pages are about to get much more interesting with Facebook finally introduce something akin to a ‘dislike’ button.
Should brands and companies be worried about a ‘dislike’ button?
First off, social media brand managers worrying about getting fired from a flood of negative comments should breathe a sigh of relief. Facebook is not going to introduce a literal ‘dislike’ button as a counter to the like. Zuckerberg made that very clear during the livestreamed Q&A in which he made the announcement.
If anything, it’s more of an ’empathy’ button.
Facebook’s ‘Dislike’ Button is Great for Brands
“People aren’t looking for an ability to downvote other people’s posts,” he said. “What they really want is to be able to express empathy. Not every moment is a good moment, right? And if you are sharing something that is sad, whether it’s something in current events, like the refugee crisis that touches you, or if a family member passed away, then it might not feel comfortable to like that post.”
Zuckerberg went on to explain, “it’s surprisingly complicated to make an interaction that you want to be that simple,” adding that they’ll have something ready to test soon.
In all likelihood, Facebook will use some sort of program software to surface the button when appropriate. It’s unlikely to be a universal option, and most likely will never end up on mainstream pages.
Facebook’s ‘Dislike’ Button is Great for Brands
Zuckerberg is right that people do not need brutal feedback on what they share, but brands do. They need as much feedback as possible; the more data points, the better. No one needs to worry about hurting a brand’s feelings, hence, Facebook’s ‘Dislike’ button is great for brands.
Brands are too insulated from what people really want from the companies. If people do not ” like” a certain ad the “dislike” button will give back needed feedback.
Would a ‘dislike’ button for brands terrify marketers at the beginning? Absolutely, especially if it caused executives to overreact. But smart brands will come to see the data as valuable.
Ultimately, dislikes might also force marketers to evaluate what they do to reach the publics. Constructive criticism will help companies grow and improve which is needed in a competitive market.
However, chances are slim this button will actually happen. But if Facebook wants to extend true empathy to marketers, it should.
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