Facebook: Changing from Fan to Like

Facebook has many different benefits for business, and there are many changes taking place that are focused on making Facebook more user-friendly and more helpful to businesses of all kinds. The recent change of fan pages to allow Facebook users to ‘like’ a page or a business has been made for one reason only: because Facebook noted that people are twice as likely to ‘Like’ a wall post, a photo, or something on a profile than they are to ‘become a fan’ of a business, brand, or Facebook fan page.

Facebook social media profiles are created for personal and business use. Facebook fan page selections are displayed on users' profiles when they click to ‘like' them, which allows their friends to see fan pages they haven't found on their own, and 'like' them as well. When these selections show up on users' profiles and more and more Facebook users 'like' them, this encourages fan pages and their content to go viral, reaching potentially millions of users.

The jury is still out on whether people are clicking ‘like’ more than they used to click ‘become a fan’, but Facebook has already laid out the framework for 'liking' things across the site without great commitment. Users can click ‘like’ on photos, wall posts, videos, and comments. There are no strings attached, allowing them to just give a quick nod to something that they enjoy. The difference is, if they are going to ‘like’ a brand page, they’ll have the page show up on their profile, and when they click the button, it will post to their wall that they have ‘liked’ the various groups that were clicked upon.

Facebook is a great resource for business because it allows companies to connect with people worldwide and get their name out there. When you give people the option to ‘like’ something, it seems that there is a lot less pressure or seriousness than what you would find of those who hesitated to ‘become a fan’.