Last Jan. 06, Facebook rolled out a new page layout specifically for the accounts of public figures and creators, to which upgrades made significant improvements. One such notable upgrade is the removal of the Like reaction option, which in a way gives creators and public figures better approach in managing their posts and in garnering insights from followers.
Social media experts perceive the elimination of the Like button in the new page layout as a potential start of the removal of Likes in all user accounts throughout the Facebook platform. The improved interface of the layout now highlights the Follow button and the Follower Count.
Brief Background about Facebook’s Removal of Like Button
Facebook’s addition of the LIke button came about 12 years ago and became the main basis and measurement of popularity among those whole were more focused on competing with friends.
However, as FB users became diverse, limiting reactions to Like made interacting with certain FB posts awkward. As some had begun using their Facebook accounts to share news about critical or dire incidents happening around the world, or convey serious personal circumstance such as the loss of a loved one, reacting with a Like reaction was of course, inappropriate.
Although in a business perspective, more Likes mean more potential customers, they were not good enough as true indicators. A different insight can be perceived, when a business gains more Facebook followers. Increases in Follower count indicate that there’s a growing number of people truly interested in reading about the business’ posts once they appear in news feeds.
However, when Facebook changed their news feed algorithm in 2013, they added more factors, with Likes still among the factors that determine whether similar posts will be displayed on every account linked to a particular post-lIker.
That is why Facebook’s removal of the Like feature is regarded as logical, since it’s not a stronger standard when compared to Follow. Creators and public figures whose posts are purposely designed to attract more followers will have more meaningful insights, in the same way that Instagram’s Follow function works.
The FB Follow upgrade not only makes the followed FB account more prominent in news feed, the function also updates follower accounts with new posts related to their interests. Similar to Instagram, FB’s upgraded analytics customize pages’ content based on their followers’ preferences. It’s worth mentioning that this type of post management allows Instagram creators to obtain Instagram stats using an analytics tool of a third party provider. Doing so enables IG influencers and brand promoters to gather insights about the type of posts that their followers like.
Other Important Updates Rolled Out by Facebook
Another feature that Facebook has recently added is the option to easily shift between a creator page to personal profile. Additionally, a new function allows account owner to edit what FB page admins can access and manage in their respective page account.
Moreover creators can have greater focus in interacting with their followers as Facebook included a news feed specifically for creator pages, and a follow feature for verified platform users.
An important upgrade in the new user interface, pertains to safety and integrity. The new version can now detect contents that are spam or phishing, as well as determine if an account is an impersonation of other FB user accounts.
