Emotes

It may not be the infamous dislike button, but we think it’s even better: Facebook recently announced it was beginning to test a brand new “reactions” system.

So far, we’ve seen reactions for like, love, a laughing face, a joyous face, a surprised face, a crying face, and an angry face. It’s a cute way to solve one of Facebook’s most heavily demanded requests for years.

It actually makes a lot of sense. Many of the status updates we see on Facebook are more in-depth than just a simple “Like” or “Unlike”. With emoticons, people can better convey how they’re really feeling.

How does this help businesses?
Facebook hasn’t talked about how these new changes will impact advertisements, but it’ll definitely give us a lot more insight over customer preferences. Are people excited by your upcoming event or are they angry you’re wasting your time?

It’s a double-edged sword. In the past, the only way people could show displeasure at your ad is by ignoring it or leaving a negative comment. Now people can add angry or crying faces to your ad, and it’s unclear if businesses will have the ability to remove reactions.

Alternatively, an ad that is positively received will be filled with happy and positive reactions, which could cause others to stop and take a closer look. With this update, it’s even more important to create an engaging and relevant ad on Facebook after this goes live.

This update will allow hardcore marketers to fine-tune their ads. If you don’t get the reaction you’re looking for (such as joyful or love), then you may have to look at your creative.

Excited? Not too fast. This feature is only available in Ireland and Spain for the time being. Still, with all the media attention, we wouldn’t be surprised if they hit North America before too long.