Giving More Than a “Like”

Posted on Nov. 4, 2015 at 1:30 p.m.
by Shelby Bonner.

We’ve all been there, that awkward moment when you don’t “like” that someone had a bad day, but you want to support them. Facebook has come up with a solution for that, its newest feature — reactions.

Reactions are a new element released by Facebook that will allow the user to respond to Facebook posts with emojis. The reactions are designed to give users more of a voice instead of only having the option to “like” a post. There are six different reactions to choose from. There is a “like,” “love,” “haha,” “yay,” “wow,” “sad” and “anger.” These are all paired with a matching emoji.

You can add a reaction to a post by hovering over the “like” button with your mouse if you’re on a desktop browser (or holding down the “like” button if you’re on Facebook mobile) to open up the dashboard with all of the reactions available. Since the reactions are supposed to act as a “like,” you can’t add more than one reaction to a post.

These options came in response to users asking for a “dislike” button. Facebook refused this request because management felt that it would promote a negative environment on the site.

In a Facebook post Chris Cox, chief product officer of Facebook, said, “As you can see, it’s not a ‘dislike’ button, though we hope it addresses the spirit of this request more broadly. We studied which comments and reactions are most commonly and universally expressed across Facebook, then worked to design an experience around them that was elegant and fun.”

Facebook reactions could also change the game in social media communication for your brand. Reacting to a post instead of just “liking” it could help establish a personal connection to a person or brand that would be mutually beneficial.

Not only that, reactions can also allow for followers of your brand to communicate with you in a more interactive way. This could be a very valuable tool in gauging the public’s response to your company.

Don’t run to your computer just yet … the United States doesn’t have access to Facebook reactions right now. They were only made available in Ireland and Spain on Oct. 9 for trial purposes, but the rest of the world anxiously awaits.