3 Reasons to Like the New Facebook Like Button

It was done.  The fan page is updated for the site, users are presented with a custom screen, including a video, an opportunity to opt in and join the site, as well as “Become a Fan” with a simple click of a button.  Facebook is now positioned as a list building tool through the customized fan page (thanks to Andre).   It was time to get serious about promoting it.  Welcome to Monday morning.  After putting it out there for feedback on Google Buzz, my friend Lori informed me that Facebook replaced the “Become a Fan” button with a “Like” button.  Initial reaction, bummer!  After mulling it over and chatting with some friends, there are three good reasons to “like” this latest move by Facebook.

Recommended: Are Facebook Ads Better than Google Adwords? This guy thinks so. If a Facebook Marketing Strategy is what you need, then listen to this. (Caution: somewhat strong language…and opinions)

3 Reasons to Like the New Facebook Like Button

There is nothing like relying on another technology to grow your business.  One has to be agile and flexible to adjust to changes that come along.  These changes are completely out of your control, and that is what unfolded as the MarketingProfessor fan page was completed.  Their recent update puts them (and you) in a great position to dominate, here’s why.

1 – More Targeted Advertising

User Profile Data Updated – More Acurrate. You may have seen a popup recently when viewing your profile, it asks you to confirm so it can link you to those pages.  It is also available through the info tab on your profile.  Here is a screenshot of mine:

Having this information helps Facebook because…

Facebook Get’s Smarter About Users. Understanding what users are linked to, and giving them an opportunity to clarify and confirm that only strengthens the bond Facebook has with it’s user base, making user profile data much more valuable.  This is critical for their success, and helps deliver more targeted results to advertisers.  Which leads to…

Advertisers Get Smarter Too. Critical for any Facebook marketing strategy, the better advertisers can target to a relevant audience, the better the results.  When clicking the “View Page suggestions” link (above screenshot), I can confirm links to:

• Schools
• City
• Past Employers
• Likes and Interests: Movies, Television, Music, Books, Activities, and other interest.

In the post How to Advertise on Facebook in 10 Minutes or Less the targeting feature (step 2), just got more enhanced.  This is huge for advertisers, and virtually eliminates the learning curve encountered with traditional PPC services.

2 – More Competition for Google

Google Needs Competition. The game is on.  Even though Google is integrating social search in some results pages, they are nowhere near what Facebook targeting can offer.  In light of recent buzz suggesting that Google prefers sites in organic results who also do PPC, (I have not seen solid evidence of this) what’s clear is that…

Advertisers Want Alternatives. They should.  It’s just not good strategy to rely on one vendor for the lion’s share of paid (or any) traffic.  However, Google has done such a good job for so long, many internet and small business marketers have done just that.  Time will tell how much this improves advertiser’s results, if you haven’t given Facebook ads a look in a while, now might be the time to do so.

3 – The Social Web Understands Like

Like or Recommend Translates Well. When talking to friend or colleagues, do you share what you are a “fan” of or what you “like”?  This makes good sense, and more than that, making it easy to add Facebook to websites social plugins is key to keeping visitors longer on page, and spreading good content.

Here is what it looked liked when “liking” the developer page at Facebook:

Here’s how it looks on the news feed after (available for friends to see):

More Social Hooks on Sites = More Engagement. This actually goes way beyond “Like” buttons, there are a total of 8 social widgets website owners can place on their site (see them here).

What say you? You agree with these three points? Have other insights to share?  Will this make you more likely to use Ads on Facebook for your business, and/or tighten up your Facebook profile? Chime in below.