I hit the like button on posts all the time. I like your status update, I like your picture. I like the fact you had fun on your vacation. It doesn’t mean I want to get into a long involved conversation or see all your vacation pictures. Sometimes hitting the like button is just a lot easier than commenting and it has recently made it even easier to stay connected with small businesses.
In February of 2009, Facebook added the “Like” feature to not only incorporate liking friends’ posts but also Facebook Pages that “allow entities such as public figures and organizations to broadcast information to their fans.” Simply put, Facebook Pages are created by companies and public figures who seek to build an online presence and engage with their fans and customers.
Small businesses complained in the past that their target market didn't exist on the social networking site, and consequently saw no point in investing its time on the site. The above statement was once true, when the site was solely geared toward college students, however, it has since grown to include over 500 million active users around the world. Facebook should no longer be ignored by small businesses, as it is definitely capable of producing a ROI. According to Pingdom, 61 percent of Facebook users are over the age of 35, the average user spends about seven hours a month on the site. Alternatively, online users spend around two hours using Google. If connecting with customers and building relationships serves no value, then a reevaluation of business goals is necessary. The last time I checked, the ultimate goal of marketing is to create and maintain perceived mutually beneficial exchange relationships between target organizations and its various customers. Facebook offers no better vehicle for small businesses to achieve this goal, because Facebook Pages provides administers detailed analytics, information about the demographic breakdown of its fan base with the “Page Insights" feature. Small businesses can benefit most by building brand awareness, engaging in conversation and furthering relationships.
Some users, myself included, prefer to keep their profile pages as barebones as possible. I try to not give more information than necessary; as much as I hit the like button for my friends’ posts, I try to stay away from liking Facebook pages because I can’t stand being bombarded with constant updates. Nevertheless, the few pages that I have "Liked" in the past keep me connected to the things I care about most, yet, there are other users that will share a greater degree of information than me and will “like” a whole lot more pages.
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