[Note: Following sentence to be read in your best valley-girl dialect]  Since we haven’t been, like, increasingly bombarded with the word “Like” enough in, like, everyday language, Facebook is making moves to, like, hammer us over the head with it.

[Ok, back to your own voice] Many of you have already heard the news about Facebook’s decision to soon do away with the “Become a Fan” button on brand pages and replace it with a simpler “Like” button.  This news follows the other recent “Like” announcement that will allow people to like just about anything across the internet via Facebook functionality.  For the sake of this post, let’s focus on the impact the new Like button has on Facebook brand pages and their former “Fans”.

Facebook’s idea behind the change stems from research that says people are much more likely to “Like” a brand than they are to “Become a Fan”.  When the user becomes a fan of a page on Facebook, they are putting their full-fledged endorsement behind that brand.  “Liking” a page is a little more subtle and easier to swallow for the user.  Users are so used to “Liking” comments, statuses, pictures etc. on Facebook already that they’ll be more apt to “Like” a page now that it utilizes familiar language.  This will also likely send a spike in interaction with paid engagement ads on Facebook, which is great for brands and even better for Facebook’s wallet.

I think this is another smart move on Facebook’s part in their quest to take over the digital world.  My one concern lies in the fact that they aren’t going to explain the change to users.  It may seem like a simple shift and one users can understand without explanation.  However, it will undoubtedly cause some confusion on the part of the user.  Many will see a clever ad or page and “Like” it, but will be bewildered when they start receiving updates from that brand (as they would if they were a full Fan previously).  I’m predicting a lot of “Listen brand, I like you… just not in that way” backlash initially.

Is a “Like” a full opt-in for users to say they want to communicate with a brand?  Is “Liking” a brand still too strong for some users?  Does it diminish the value of passionate devotees who have already become “Fans” of a page?  Will this shift the definition of the word “like” as we know it?  There are a lot of questions that won’t be answered until the change is complete.

What are your thoughts?  Would you jump on the “Like” bandwagon faster than you would become a fan of a page on Facebook?

Tags: Facebook, Fan, Like