Picture by phaewilk.
We learn our social skills over time but based on our childhood experiences.
Do you remember the first time you saw someone blow bubbles and you wanted to do it too? Do you remember asking that person how narrow you should purse your lips and how deep you should breathe out for the bubble to grow and float?
It is ingrained in our minds to connect and befriend people who share common interests and live in common geographies. This is why we understand the power of being Facebook friends.
But liking a page? What does that mean? Because you like to blow bubbles, you should visit Mattel’s page and click their like button? Where’s the sociability? Where’s the shared interest? Where’s Mattel telling you what to do next and the two of you embarking on an activity together?
One observes that adults tend to send and accept friend requests on a much higher frequency than liking brand pages.
Do you attach yourself to this stereotype?
What do you think? Comment below.
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{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Liking a page is basically social because then people can see what you like on facebook for example. They can then like the fact that you like something, making it social. They can even comment on what you like, and then someone can see it on their profile and they can comment/like it too, making it even more social. A stupid little comment can go viral in your network of friends..
@jooksed Your arguments also work with wall updates, so why the page?
September 19, 2011 at 11:01 AM
I am far more apt to like a fan page than accept a friend request from someone I have never met or from someone with whom the relationship is “strictly business.”
My Facebook personal profile is a connection to close friends and family. I share attaboys about my boys, photos from family picnics, and opinions about politics and religion. I allow some causes and businesses (Don’t Move Firewood and Cracked.com, e.g.) into my news stream if those pages broadcast news I am likely to share on my personal profile.
I manage anything B2B (or B2C where I am the “B”) via other social channels including my fan pages.
I don’t imagine I would ever like bubbles on Mattel, but the people who do like Mattel probably think my likes are absurd.
@tammikibler Question: If you like a page, would you subsequently accept a friend request from the owner of that page? (I don’t refer to large firms like Mattel or Victoria’s Secret, but smaller agencies where you know the principals to begin.)
And, when you like those pages, how frequently do you like/comment on their distributed content?
September 20, 2011 at 5:28 PM
@Ari Herzog I don’t often accept Facebook friend requests from people that are not friends or family. My personal stream is rife with my political and religious opinions, stuff I try to keep out of my business conversations.
The pages I tend to interact with on my personal profile are those with causes I wish to promote or those that share content I think friends and family would find interesting. I don’t know how it breaks down by page, but I would guess I share/like about 5-10 content items per week.
I also interact (though less frequently) with pages that I have liked from my fan page. Again the emphasis is on sharing content I think would be useful to those who have liked my page.
September 19, 2011 at 1:16 PM
If I like a page, it’s because that page provides me with information that I find useful or it engages me in some way. By engagement, I don’t necessarily mean that I respond to everything I read. Instead, I may file it away, make a note or plan a trip. I also may visit the website, read the full blog and comment on the blog instead of on the page, or share the information with others I think might be interested. Of course, I may just read it and forget it. Not every post requires a response — nor should it. I don’t want to respond to everything I read because it would take up my entire day. Hitting the like button is a quick and easy way to say, I read what you wrote and I appreciate it. Hitting the like button also tends to imply that I agree with the content of the post.
Like tammikibler, I too am more apt to like a fan page than accept a friend request from someone I don’t know. I am friends with a number of people I have never met, but we have established a relationship — either through another online community or over the phone or some combination of the two. I have also accepted a few friend requests from clients — which is not always ideal, but it is what it is.
Just because I like your company — regardless of whether it is a large corporation or a small business — does not mean that I have any interest in sharing all of my photos, stories and the weird little details of my life with you. Nope. I’ll reserve that for the folks who already understand my sense of humor and will forgive my little quirks.
@JoppaThoughts Looking at your Facebook news feed, you can “like” updates from your friends and from your pages. But you can only “share” updates from those pages, virally spreading that content from its wall to your wall.
If you’re not clicking the share button as often as you’re liking or commenting on whatever was written, then you might as well be friends.
September 19, 2011 at 2:43 PM
I disagree.
Just because I don’t share content from a page doesn’t mean that I didn’t find it valuable. It may well mean that I didn’t think my friends would find it valuable. It also doesn’t mean that I want to be friends with the person who created the page. By following a page, none of my status updates or personal information is available to the folks who manage that page. If I become friends with them, then that information is available (otherwise, why would you become friends?).
As an individual, my purpose on Facebook is to connect with family, friends, associates and, in my case, colleagues. I share information that is important to me — about a wide variety of issues. Sometimes it’s work related, sometimes it’s deeply personal, and sometimes it’s just silly. I don’t want that kind of relationship with a business. If I know the person who owns the business, I may or may not become friends with them on Facebook. It depends on whether I want to take the relationship to that next level — and if I care enough to know how their day is going, when they are struggling or when they’re flying high.
I also manage a page for my business, and I do not expect (or, frankly, want) to know every little detail about the lives of those who choose to like my business page. I simply want to be of use to them. I want to be a resource. My hope, of course, is that by being useful I also create a name for myself and that a few of my fans become clients or great referral sources.
Interestingly, I do share a great deal of information from other pages on my business page. If it is relevant to what I do or I think my fans will find it helpful, I share it.
Oh, and I can share updates from friends when it is a link (which makes sense). Of course, I could also cut and paste a status update. But unless my friend is using their profile for both business and personal purposes, they probably wouldn’t want me sharing their updates with folks they don’t know.
September 19, 2011 at 1:50 PM
I actually will like a page much easier than accepting a friend request. I like keeping my facebook friends to personal (and a few close business) only. I am happy to fan any page I might find interesting, just in case. They are easier to remove later if they cease to be engaging.
September 19, 2011 at 1:56 PM
I think I’m with Kirsten on this one. Personally, I’m more likely to “Like” a page than connect with someone on Facebook as a “Friend.”
Lately, over the course of the last ~2 weeks, I’ve been on a trimming phase. I’m “unFriending” people that I don’t know. They post things on my wall that are nothing more than blatant self-promotion. I don’t think that’s engaging at all. Although I could very well block the applications they use to do this, I’d rather just un-Friend them if that’s the kind of engagement we’re going to have. Nothing personal, you’re just in my space in a way that I don’t deem appropriate.
@RicardoBueno Why are you unfriending people you don’t know? Had you said yes to friend requests from strangers?
September 19, 2011 at 2:13 PM
@Ari Herzog sorry, I was going to elaborate but cut my comment short (it was long enough as it was, heh). To answer your question, yes. I’d initially accepted all Friend requests from Real Estate Agents I had met at a conference. Lots of them.
@KirstenWright If a client of yours sends you a friend request, will you say no?
this is a big social network and anyone can earn benefits deployed by it.
I don`t think that spending hours in social networks for children is a good thing/