How to Make Facebook Reactions Work for Your Brand

By Scarlett McCain | @ScarlettMcCain  

The world isn’t just about “Like” anymore - now we have “Love,” “Haha,” “Wow,” “Sad,” and “Angry.”

Facebook rolled out their new Reactions, but conveniently forgot to give us the universally-desired “Dislike” button.

To access the Reactions, simply hover over the "Like" button if you’re on your laptop. If you’re on your phone, just press and hold the “Like” button instead.

So… how do you react?

Facebook Reactions Read Their Mind

One immediate perk of the Reactions is the nuance. When your fans interact with a post, it isn’t just a binary of “Like” or leave a furious comment anymore. These Reactions allow you to take a quick measure of how people really feel.

However, the analytics aren’t quite diverse yet. Any of the Reactions, even “Angry” and “Sad," will all be treated as a “Like.” This basically means Facebook will assume you want more of that sort of content, so if fans start becoming incensed, the types of posts that make them “Angry” have been popping up more and more.

Hopefully this sort of cruel and unusual entertainment doesn’t come to pass. (However, if working in social media has taught me anything, expect the unexpected.)

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Fight Their Matrix

This writer is much more concerned with “Angry” posts on their News Feed - as Facebook tweaks their algorithm, will we see nothing but posts we actually like, or be stirred up into a rage?

We may think we enjoy seeing nothing but content deserving of a “Like,” “Haha,” or “Wow,” but the trade-off might be missing important news.

As for businesses: If Facebook does decide to favor “Angry” posts - and judging by the comments section of most pages, people love being mad - does that mean content typically used to connect with users will be pushed out of their view?

Get Their Deal

Overall, we still think Reactions can be leveraged in your brand’s favor. If they haven’t already jumped on board - Grab your advertising team. Now.

Reactions will result in better feedback. Did your comedic ad campaign receive a hail of “Angry” faces? It might be time to rethink it. Or did a heartwarming video get smothered in “Love?” Good job.

Facebook’s new feature should make targeting the right audience easier than before - just follow the “Love”-brick road.

As a bonus, since ad dollars will be more effective, the ads team can make their budget go further than ever (and maybe even get a raise).

Still not sure what to do with this new range of emotions? Or just looking for more bites of social media wisdom you’ll “Love”? Call us at 469-248-0616 or contact us here.