The way that we react to Facebook posts has been evolving hugely over time. From the launch of the original Like option to the most recent Reactions. The way we’re asking our followers and fans to respond to our content is growing. Or at least, it should be.
These unique ways to interact with content can be useful, really useful…but only if people use them.
Of the six options users have to react to, the Like option is still the default. If you click or tap – that’s what you’ll get, a Like. This
How to use the reaction options (Like, Love, Haha, Wow, Sad and Angry)?
On a browser, hover your mouse over the Like option underneath a post and additional reactions will appear, scroll to your preferred reaction and click it.
On a mobile device/app, tap and hold on to the Like option and slide your finger across to the desired reaction and let go.
As to when the most appropriate time to use each reaction, is largely up to you, but for the most part, it’s self-explanatory. If you read something that makes you angry, or sad – you now have a way to express that quickly and simply. This is what the reactions were designed to achieve – amidst rumours back in 2014, Mark Zuckerberg talked about the “Dislike button”.
You know, we’re thinking about it…a lot of times people share things on Facebook that are sad moments in their lives, or are tough culturual or social things; and often people tell us that they don’t feel comfortable pressing like – because like isn’t the appropriate sentiment
The idea started a couple of years ago, to give people the ability to respond with how they’re feeling, not just that one button. It took a little time to come to production as Facebook were keen to ensure it was a force for good and not one that could be misused to disparage a post.
Does it matter how people react to my posts?
Absolutely. Or, no. It really depends on how you approach it.
Should I be interested? You really should. People are telling you so much information when they click that button – if I really love something, I’ll absolutely click ‘Love’, I react. If an individual, or brand, makes me laugh – I’ll react with ‘Haha’.
But does it matter from a weighting perspective? Does it affect the timeline algorithmically? No, it doesn’t.
The reaction, regardless of which one, is counted as a reaction – whether that’s Like, Love, Haha, Wow, Sad or Angry. This ‘social signal’ flags that the person actioning the response is engaging with the content and is therefore likely to want to see more content from that source.
It’s likely that that will shift over time – as we believe all social signals will – the strength of that signal will increase with (probably) ‘Love’ being more important than ‘Like’ and so on. But for now, the reaction seems to offer the ability to get additional information from our audiences, and of course, a powerful of ‘social proof’ for new visitors. I know my eye is drawn if there are multiple reactions on a post with varying types.
So whether you choose to listen or not, your audience is telling you what they want to see more of.
