Like is the New Fan, but Not the New Cool

Posted by Reagan Lynch on April 19, 2010 under Marketing | Be the First to Comment

Today Facebook rolled out a change to Fan Pages. The marketing lords at Facebook have decided that Like is the new Fan.

The FAQ explains this using stilted corporate speak.

I love the corporate speak on that FAQ page. And “light-weight” to describe the experience is just funny. However, do we now call them Like Pages instead of Fan Pages?

What about marketing messages.

Imagine the following two messages on a website or in an e-mail marketing message such as an e-newsletter.

• Fan us on Facebook.
• Like us on Facebook.

Option two doesn’t sound fun at all and almost sounds like you are asking the person reading the message, “Do you like me?” Which I suppose is the point.

However, I think this will have a negative impact for brand messages and for people wanting to “Become a Fan” of a brand or personality on Facebook.

For example, I’m a fan of the Houston Astros, but so far this season I don’t really like them.

What is your take? Do you think this is a good change at Facebook, or do you want to be a fan instead of liking something or someone?