Facebook has finally listened to their users’ request of having some decent emojis available to them to use in their comments. The day has come. YAY…let us rejoice! Let’s check them out…But wait, what? No thumbs down emoji? Oh, come on Mr. Zuckerberg! Weren’t we super clear about that?
But, anyway, on a more positive note, the emojis are okay, and the idea behind why they decided to create them is reasonable. Because yes, people requested them but, obviously, that’s not the only reason. On 2015, when Facebook realized that 90% of users were accessing Facebook from their mobile devices, they thought that it would be easier to reply with a simple emoticon than typing. So, here they are, and we will explain them to you in case you don’t know how or when to use each of them. Enjoy!
- Like: This one isn’t new. You have been able to “Like” whatever you want on Facebook since the beginning. Moving on…
- Love: Now you can take that “Like” up a notch with “Love!”
- Ha Ha: You find something super funny on Facebook? Show your appreciation with the “Ha Ha” button. However, let us not start Ha Ha-ing everything out there. Let’s keep the integrity of the Ha Ha, people!
- Wow: This just takes that “Like” to the next level by really allowing users to express their amazement over what you posted. Now, it could be “Wow- that is awesome!” or it could be “Wow- this is lame.” This wow is open to all types of interpretation. Could it affect friendships negatively? Stay tuned.
- Sad: This is going to revolutionize human relationships by adding a way for all of your friends to empathize with a sad situation in your life without having to actually tell your Facebook friend you are sorry. It’s always been awkward to show support for a sad friend by liking a status about a tragedy, and this addition solves that problem.
- Angry: Who is angry that Facebook did not include a “Dislike” button? People have been asking for this for years, so using the “Angry” button will have to do for now if you need to take your ire a few notches lower than the “Sad” icon.
So, What Does This Mean For Businesses?
- In terms of engagement: One would expect user engagement to increase because it is now easier to express an emotion. However, let’s not forget that this is just a more extended version of the “Like” button. So, for businesses, chances are that this will not change much. In our humble opinion, while businesses may experience an increase in engagement with their social media marketing in the near future, once users get tired of the new shiny toy on Facebook, the engagement will go back to normal.
- In terms of analytics: With more options available than a simple “Like,” Facebook has also updated their metrics renaming “Likes” to “Reactions.” What’s more, now when you check the Insights of any of your posts, you can see the number of times that your users used each of the six emojis, which is pretty cool!
BEFORE
AFTER
Believe it or not, this took over a year to develop, so please give them a try. All you have to do is hover over the “Like” button and voila! If you can’t see it on your mobile device, don’t forget to update your Facebook app. Again, please use these emojis consciously and don’t forget to bookmark this blog in case you need some guidance on how to use them. Also, share this post with all your Facebook friends so that, together, we can all use these emojis the right way ;). (See what we did there?)
Thank you for reading,
Lydia and Jen 🙂
