PR TIMES AFRICA PRTimesAfrica (March 2016) | Page 39

PR & MARKETING
6 WAYS PR PROS CAN
PREPARE FOR FACEBOOK’S
“DISLIKE” BUTTON
by Matt Certo
Facebook’s recent announcement that a “Dislike” but-
ton is imminent has undoubtedly left many social me-
dia marketers feeling slightly panicked at the thought of
how the button could disrupt their carefully constructed
online marketing strategies. Luckily for them, and for
anyone else managing a business’ social media pres-
ence, there’s still time to prepare for the new feature be-
fore Facebook rolls it out.
To get ready for the potentially rocky digital road ahead,
take a look at these six ways to prepare yourself - and
your clients - for Facebook’s “Dislike” button.
•
Put more effort into your content. Adding this
new option to interact with audiences might encourage
brands to think twice about how they engage with fol-
lowers. View this new option as a way to step-up your
content marketing game. Remember, it will now be
much easier for a Facebook user to react negatively to
a post, since he or she won’t need to go to the “com-
ments” section to do it.
•
Don’t take it personally. Remember what mom
said, “Not everyone is going to like you.” Knowing how
people feel about your product or service (like or dislike)
is valuable information that shouldn’t lead to defensive
behavior. The last thing you (or your brand!) needs is
to spark an online war with a customer over a simple
“thumbs down.”
•
Use a “Dislike” as an opportunity to learn. If
something isn’t perceived as popular, try to find out why
and decide if it’s a chance to improve and better serve
your target audiences.
•
Consider that a “Dislike” might be a “Like”
in disguise. Depending on the context of your post, a
“Dislike” might actually be a good thing. For instance,
if you post that your brand is discontinuing a product,
consider any “Dislikes” to mean that users will miss
that product in the marketplace. In this case, Facebook
users aren’t reacting negatively to your content, but are
instead acting as a sort of focus group that is providing
feedback.
•
Watch, learn and test. Often, these new feature
rollouts are initially tested with select users and don’t
immediately affect brand pages. Take the time to ob-
serve how this form of engagement evolves.
•
Relax. Facebook isn’t interested in making its
platform a place for hate. Facebook is built on the con-
cept of sharing (and building advertising revenue), so
there are a lot of reasons why Mr. Zuckerberg & co. will
tread carefully here.
As any social media marketer knows, Facebook is con-
stantly finding ways to update its platform, subsequent-
ly shaking-up the brand communications world when it
does. A “Dislike” button is just one more update that
marketers should take in stride. After all, only time will
tell how much the feature will change the way brands
communicate on Facebook.
Matt Certo, author of FOUND: Connecting with Custom-
ers in the Digital Age and CEO & Principal of digital mar-
keting firm Findsome & Winmore. Follow @findsomew-
inmore
Culled From: http://www.prnewsonline.com
39 | PRTIMES AFRICA MARCH 2016