Facebook, great prankster before the Eternal, has decided to remove "Likes" from company pages and keep only subscribers.
Differentiate between subscribers and "likes
On the classic version of Pages, when someone "liked" your page, they automatically subscribed, and could see the Page's publications in their feed. But it was possible to unsubscribe, and no longer see the publications. So you end up liking your friends' Pages but not subscribing to them because the content doesn't interest you, but you feel like you're supporting the cause!
Facebook states on its site that "Subscribers are a more relevant indicator of the number of people who would like to see your Page's posts in their News Feed."
The new version of Pages without "Likes
With the Facebook update, a Page's "Likes" counter will no longer be accessible. There are 3 possible scenarios:
- If a user likes and subscribes to your classic Page, they will be transferred as a subscriber to your new Page, and will continue to be subscribed.
- If a user likes your classic Page, but is not subscribed to it, they will not be transferred as a subscriber to your new Page.
- If a user subscribes to your classic Page, but doesn't like it, they won't be transferred as a subscriber to your new Page.
Facebook lets you switch back to a classic Page
The social network lets Pages choose between the classic version and the new version. You can switch from the new version to the classic one at any time, if it's available on your Page.
If you make the change, you should be aware that :
- Your subscribers will remain the same.
- You'll keep all the "Likes" from your classic Page, unless people who liked your classic Page have unsubscribed from the new Page.
- All new subscribers to your Page will be added to the subscribers of your classic Page.
But don't forget to take these changes into account if you decide to launch a contest. The new version could "fall on you" at any time and disrupt the smooth running of your contest. If you need advice on your online strategy, and particularly for social networks, contact us 🙂
