Facebook Devalues Fanpages

What company in the world could get away with making constant changes to its products against the desires of its customers?  What company in the world would jeopardize its relationship with its customers without regard to their desires?

I decided to complete this article today so nobody could accuse me of an April fools joke tomorrow. It amazes me how many times Facebook has made significant interface and functionality changes to its technology without regard to consumer and business users obvious dislike for it.  Most of the changes have proved largely harmless, with exception to unannounced privacy issues I have written about previously.  This most recent proposed change however could result in a massive reduction of value to Fanpage owners across the board.

I originally intended to write an article that asked the question, “What is a Fan or Follower?”  The intent of either can vary drastically from someone that visited a retailer in the past, all the way to a consumer that is a loyal repeat customer.  But how do you know?  The answer; in most cases you don’t.  Therein lies the problem that largely results in posting with content that is highly general, or frequently throwing out discounts that result in devaluing your brand and offering… But I digress.

The most recent change will affect Fanpages and the many brands and retailers that utilize them to engage consumers.  The reported intent of the change is to “unify” the way users “connect” to things they are “passionate about”.

There are so many problems with this mentality.  First and foremost, do people use the same emotion or “passion” to show a like of a comment made by an old high school buddy talking about a party last weekend as a consumer does when they express to their contacts their trust for a business?  I think not.

The fact is that “liking” a brand on Facebook and being a Fan, using the context that has become standard in social media, are two very different things.  True, gaining what are currently called fans can be a much faster process based on the change that is apparently inevitable.  True, it will definitely unify functions within Facebook.  True, people currently click “like” almost twice as much as “becoming a fan”.  But there is a reason for that, and it has nothing to do with un-unified link text.

What about the issue I brought up previously relating to what a fan really is?  This gray’s that issue further.

You can like the Steelers and be a Fan or the 49er’s.  You can like a burger but be a Fan of Burgerville.  The bottom line here is that there is a significant difference.  This self-serving decision by Facebook will immediately increase Fanbase for many larger brands and smaller businesses alike, which is undoubtedly the goal Facebook has in mind here.  The unfortunate result will be the further reduction of ROI from Fanpages and a further blurred line of what a Fan is/was.

By Robert M. Caruso
CEO fondalo, Inc. www.facebook.com/robertcaruso
www.twitter.com/fondalo