Facebook is going to drastically change the way Fan Profiles are built so that businesses can connect easier with users. However this major change will also affect users in a huge way. According to this news article, Facebook will remove the “Be a Fan” option and will change it to just “Like”. If a user likes a particular brand or product fan profile, he or she is automatically subscribed as a “fan”.
Here’s an excerpt from the article which talks about why Facebook is doing the change:
When asked about the change, Annie Ta, spokesperson for the Palo Alto, CA-based company, confirmed via e-mail that the words on the button would be changed. But she wasn’t able to offer other specifics about whether “Like” would replace “Fan” in other places on Facebook. “We’re still working on some of the details, but brand Pages can still be referred to as ‘Fan’ Pages after the change,” Ta replied.
Facebook, in the note to ad agencies, said it wanted to give the agencies advance notice about the change that could affect upcoming advertising campaigns or Facebook strategy.
Part of the confidential e-mail read: “Over time, as users adapt to the language change, we recommend that you invite people to connect to your Page by saying ‘Find us on Facebook’ or ‘Like us on Facebook’. You may also choose to put more emphasis on your custom URL than you used to.”
The e-mail also explained how the new “Like” button will be differentiated from the “Like” feature already seen in user updates.
How it may affect ads was also addressed in the e-mail to ad agencies. “Users will understand the distinction through explicit social context, messaging and aesthetic differences. An Engagement ad unit, capable of making connections, will feature the ‘Like’ button and show social context above it such as, ‘John Doe and 3 of your friends like [Page Name].’ Standard ad units, not capable of making connections, will simply feature the word ‘Like’ by itself, and may show social context above it that says ‘John Doe and 3 of your friends like this ad.’”
Definitely interesting. A very good thing for businesses, but I’m not so sure about the users. When this gets implemented, people have to be very careful about “liking” something on Facebook lest they get spammed with branded messages.
Thanks for the heads up.
My pleasure Pastor L!