Like Share Recommend: the Facebook Dilemma
November 14th by Kathi Browne // No Comments
Once in a while, I run across a REALLY good post I want to tell my friends about. Then I have to stop to contemplate my next move. I have to either pick one option for sharing it OR spend the rest of the day clicking buttons and entering my account info! Come on, now. Will someone please come up with a “does it all” button so I can LIKE it, SHARE it, RECOMMEND it, +1 it, DIGG it, STUMBLEUPON it, FAVORITE it, and everything else in one click?
Until my dream comes true, we all have to understand the difference between all of these choices. Facebook should be given a spot on the wall of shame for coming up with THREE similar options! In an effort make informed decisions, I did some experimenting and here is what I found:
If I LIKE a post, it appears in my news feed but I can’t add a comment. It is quick, but with little versatility.
From an individual’s standpoint, there may be times when I don’t want to imply I endorse something. As a business, the LIKE button seems to be the industry standard. It has been around the longest and the public is familiar with it. Since people LIKE Company pages, it is logical to also LIKE a post.
If I SHARE a post, it appears in my news feed AND I can add a comment.
I can also choose how I want to share it.
As an individual, I like the versatility of SHARE, but I can only share posts that were made public. Still, when this option is available, I will probably select it. Several reliable social media blogs claim there are rumors of Facebook planning to phase out the SHARE button sometime in the future. For this reason, I’m changing all my blogs to only offer the LIKE button to minimize dead links later. From a business pov, you should put some thought into your call to actions, too. Asking people to LIKE a Facebook post is quick and easy, but if you want your fans to chime in with supportive comments or responses you should encourage them to SHARE the link and add their personal touch.
If I RECOMMEND someone, my recommendation appears in my news feed saying I recommended someone and telling people what I said.
This is a little different than a LIKE or SHARE because it only applies to Facebook pages that have physical addresses listed. The feature was intended for Facebook Places, but recommendations are good any way you read them.
Have you found any specific applications for these different buttons? If so, I’d like to hear about it in the form of a comment.
NOTE: Sometime soon, I will take a closer look at the GooglePlus +1 button. Since Google is still finalizing all their new features, I’ll wait to see what they do with it before judging it too harshly.
Related Posts:
Facebook Like Button Takes Over Share Button Functionality by Mashable
Facebook removes hide all posts option from News Feed by ZDNet
Category : Across Platforms &Blog &Facebook
