In its announcement regarding the replacement of the “Become a Fan” button, Facebook is beginning to change the way individuals are able to interact with their favorite businesses and brands. Now, instead of asking people to “Become a Fan” of a business or brand, like Starbucks or Whole Foods, Facebook is making it possible for users to simply “like” it.
For anyone who has ever been on Facebook, it is clear how the “Become A Fan” and "like" buttons are used. The Become a Fan" button allows individual users to choose which brands they want to link, while also providing businesses and brands with free information regarding its fan base. The “like” button, which is also used to connect individuals, is a link placed by pictures, status updates and wallposts. While the "Become a Fan" link is seen to inspire more interaction, the "like" link thus requires less effort and user involvement.
This transition is important for two reasons. First, it makes it easier for users to link with preferred businesses and brands, while still “becoming a fan.” According to Michael Lazerow, CEO of Buddy Media, "The idea of liking a brand is a much more natural action…it's a lower threshold." For some reason, users feel more psychologically comfortable simply “liking”an item rather than “becoming its fan.” The “like” button thus offers the same ways to “become a fan,” with the added benefits of comfort and ease.
Second, this change embraces the way in which people have already begun to use the “become a fan” button. In most instances, people click the “become a fan” button simply because they like a brand, not because they want to interact with it. Whether the user is a "fan" of a brand or “likes” it, the meaning of each button is essentially the same. With this new feature, friends can thus still see that you “like” a page, just as it did when you “become a fan.” It is more a matter of word change than anything else.
A negative consequence of this change may be that it demands even less involvement and commitment from users. If users begin to use the “like” button for business pages in the same way that it has been used for photos, wall posts and status updates, though easier and more comfortable, it could result in less brand loyalty. Based on the language alone, simply “liking” something requires less involvement than becoming a “fan” of it. Yes, the premise of the “like” and “Become a Fan” buttons remain the same, however Facebook may be underestimating the psychological effect of this word change.
Overall however, the transition to the “like” button is a strategic move on Facebook’s end. The way Facebook makes money stems from from the advertisements companies use on their pages to attract individual users. According to Facebook, users click the “like” button almost twice as much as they click the "become a fan" one. Thus, if more and more people jump on the “like” bandwagon for business pages as they have done in the case of general profile notifications, then companies may be more inclined to increase their number of advertisements, which will translate into increased revenue for Facebook.
Though the new “like” feature is predicted to bring more users to your fan page, this alone will not keep up user interaction. Your fan page must still have a compelling purpose and content that will attract people from the fan page on Facebook and back to your brand website. If your fan page does not encourage fans to take an action, that at some point will be beneficial to your brand, then you will fail to recognize its entire purpose. It is unclear whether this Facebook change will be for the better or worse, but adapting to it can only improve your chances of creating a successful Facebook fanpage.