'Like' likely to replace 'Become a Fan,' like it or not.

Documents leaked from Facebook say that the "Become a fan" button that feeds fan pages could soon be replaced by a single-word call to action, "Like."

The reasoning seems to be that Facebook users are currently twice as likely to "Like" something as they are to "Become a fan."

I'm sure there will be much semantic debate among groups with names like "I bet we can get 1,000,000 people who want to bring back 'Become a fan.'" But what I wonder about is the thought behind Facebook's explanation. 

Currently, the act of becoming a fan carries a weight of commitment to a brand or idea that the 'Like' action simply does not.

I might like it if "David Griner is in burrito heaven at Iguana Grill", but that's a one-time approval, not a long-term affiliation with Griner's eating habits.

Comparing the action of "liking" and "becoming a fan" is comparing apples and oranges. Facebook users are picky about the companies they support through Facebook fandom. But liking a passing event, status or picture? That's different; it's temporary and doesn't carry a weight on their public profiles.

So if Facebook believes that more people will engage with brands because they're being asked to "Like" a page rather than become a fan, I find it hard to believe that will really come to pass. In fact, it's more likely that "Like" will be used less across the board as users become distrustful of what clicking the button will mean.

Similarly, we could start to see an increase in fan backlash on brand pages, as people wonder why their Facebook home page is suddenly being filled with marketing updates from Waffle House.

All that said, the switch is probably going to happen in the next few weeks regardless of concerns like mine. But as a social media marketing professional, it'll be interesting and maybe nerve-wracking to see how this affects the growth of our client page audiences.

Kammie Avant is a social media planner for Luckie & Company. You can contact her by e-mail or follow @KammieAvant on Twitter.

Comments

[Steve Esser]

I "like" what you're saying here, David. I'm "Not a Fan" of what Facebook is wanting to do here. And for all the reasons you mentioned.

There is a big difference in my mind between liking you in burrito heaven and being a fan of that.

I'll be curious to see how that impacts Facebook habits.

[Steve Esser]

Sorry, Kammie. Saw David's photo and responded before I saw you byline on that post. My apologies - although I still agree with what you said.

[David Griner]

It's OK, Steve. We're downright interchangeable. Thanks for the feedback!

[Anne]

I agree with the above and I also wrote a blog post about this on the Romanian version of the Fishingtonpost blog.
It's mainly gonna be about increasing the quantity of "connection" and losing the quality of those. Which were better named before - "fans".
It shows a bit how Facebook goes for much rather than good or stable, doesn't it?
I showed them a thumb down for this.