The Dislike Button is coming, whether you like it or not!

To like or to dislike? That is the question that Facebook users will soon be asking.

Ever since the Like Button was introduced, many Facebook users have called for a Dislike Button. For the longest time, their requests have fallen on deaf ears. Facebook has introduced new buttons such as the Buy Now and Donate Now buttons, but still no Dislike Button.

On September 15, 2015, it seems that their calls have finally been answered. Mark Zuckerberg said in an announcement:

“Today is a special day because today is the day I can say we’re working on it and shipping it.”

The Dislike Button – or something like it.

For years, Facebook has been adamant about not creating a Dislike Button because the social media giant does not want to promote negativity. They understand that a Dislike Button can be used as a way of harassing, disrespecting and bullying other users.

Facebook seems to have had a change of heart. The Dislike Button, however, might not be the long-awaited feature that everyone has envisioned. Zuckerberg explained:

“Not every moment is a good moment, and if you are sharing something that is sad, whether it’s something in current events, like the refugees crisis that touches you, or if a family member passed away, then it may not feel comfortable to like that post. So I do think it’s important to give people more options than just like.”

What does the Dislike Button mean for Brands?

Although Facebook’s Dislike Button will not roll out anytime soon, Brands should prepare for the possible negative effects that this button may present.

We live in a new world of communication. Instead of face-to-face interaction, many people prefer to communicate with one another behind computer screens or mobile phones. This has led to contextual confusion and many misunderstandings…after all, sarcasm doesn’t translate well into text.

Brands will have to ask themselves: What does Dislike even mean?

• Does the Facebook user dislike the social awareness cause the brand is trying to promote?
• Does the Facebook user dislike the brand or person?
• Does the Facebook user dislike the product?
• Is the Facebook user trying to spark controversy and conflict?

After asking these questions, Brands need to re-evaluate how they are going to address these dislikes. After all, ignoring negative engagement is a big social media mistake. But addressing this proves to be harder because users are opting to express their emotions with a click of a button rather than engage in conversation.

The Rise of Trolling

What is “trolling?” Since people would rather communicate behind the safety of a computer screen, more people are beginning to say stuff to others that they normally would not say in person.

So one must ask: Are these “dislikes” real? Brands need to take this into consideration when measuring the amount of dislikes their Facebook page may contain.

Think about it: what is stopping a competitor from making a fake user account and disliking everything on the Facebook page in an attempt to generate controversy or discourage a brand?

What does the Dislike Button mean for Marketers?

The Dislike button can potentially be beneficial and detrimental to your marketing efforts. As a result, it is imperative that you reevaluate your social media strategy. Here are several things that you need to keep in mind.

Insights

Dislikes can help you better understand your audience. What posts did they like and which posts did they dislike? After all, your audience is your biggest influencer, so you should be crafting posts to meet their needs.

Content

Continuing from Insights, the new Dislike Button will cause Brands to think twice about what content they post. This could result in marketers to strive for better content quality, which drastically affects user experience.

News Feed

The news feed is essential to user experience. The amount of content published on the social networking site has drastically increased to the point where it is almost impossible to digest all the information. As a result, Facebook has implemented algorithms to better understand what each user wants to see. They’ve been analyzing the time you spend looking at posts or even posts that you have liked in the past.

With the new Dislike Button, marketers must ask: Will this affect whether or not their content will appear on news feeds? Ok, maybe one post wasn’t exactly quality content. But will one click of the dislike button prevent any additional content that your brand will produce in the future? Only time will tell.

What do you think about the new Dislike Button? Will it drastically affect brands and marketers? Will it cause bullying and negativity? Or will it cause something far worse or better that we have not discussed? We would love to hear your thoughts on this topic.

Be sure to follow our blog for further information about the Dislike Button as well as new trends in SEO, Website Design and Digital Marketing. For more information, contact us at 973-998-5742 or visit us online at www.KrausMarketing.com.