Clicking the “Like” button is incredibly easy to do, and increasingly becoming the primary way people interact on Facebook.
Users are engaging with Facebook pages 31% more over the last year. Of this boost in engagement, 84% turned out to be from the “Like” button, while 15% were from comments and only 1% were from shares, according to a recent report from Efficient Frontier. Take a look at a chart from their report after the jump.
Use of the “Like” button requires little thought or effort from a Facebook user. “Liking” something is an impulsive reaction to easily parsable content. Commenting requires slightly more effort – and sharing takes even more. So while engagement is technically up, the type of engagement – “liking” – is not nearly as meaningful as it could be. Why isn’t Facebook working to get its users to engage more meaningfully?
Prepare to Continue “Liking” Content on Facebook
As Facebook continues growing, that doesn’t seem like a route it will be taking. This is evidenced by its shift in sharing over the past year.
In February, the Facebook “Like” button began replacing the “Share” button’s functionality. “Like” starting acting like “Share.” The new Facebook trend of “likes-as-shares” makes sense in the context of Spotify’s frictionless integration, and the same goes for “reading” in Facebook social apps. And just think – the “Like” button is little more than a year-and-a-half old. A lot can happen in a year.
Is this part of a trend toward lifestreaming on Facebook? Tell us what you think in the comments below.
