The Need to Stop Counting Likes, Starts Now.

Facebook has once again changed the playing field. Counting how many “Likes” you have on your Facebook Page post is now, Irrelevant.

That sounds like a pretty bold statement doesn’t it?  How can I be so sure?  I’m sure because Facebook has just given users more than just the usual “thumbs up” Like, to express their feelings of engagement.

After months of testing, Facebook has rolled out and “upgraded” version of Likes subbed ‘Reactions’.  Take a look at my screen capture from engaging with a friend’s update I did this morning.

That’s why the need for understanding engagement, is a ‘must’ for any company deploying a digital marketing strategy.  The need for Digital Transformation is rising.  The need for a sound strategy for creating a Demand Generation that’s an Omni-Channel experience for a customer has now gone well beyond a ‘nice to have’ and is now soundly in the “need” column for many businesses, not just online but offline as well.

Engagement & The Customer Journey Matters

No longer can you just count how many “likes” you have on the posts you have on Facebook.  Now companies need to pay attention to the emotion of the engagement on Facebook.  With the new “emoji” type actions available (Love, Haha, Wow, Sad and Angry) a bit more analysis needs to go understanding how the engagement is being perceived by the audience being engaged with.

Sure you can get so many “actions” on your posting, but what matters now is emotion.  Are they just liking it or do the love it.  Is it something that evokes anger, surprise or sadness?  This is something that digital marketers need to now work into their analysis of the success of their engagements.

Is It the Emotion You Want? On the Screen You Want?

Strategists now have another avenue of analysis to look into when determining how their efforts are succeeding.  It’s well known that people react differently from screen to screen (mobile-to-tablet-to-desktop), and understanding that part of the customer journey is vital.  What now adds to the picture is understanding the types of emotions the different screen types are relating.  Is someone from a mobile device consistently surprised by your content, or angry?  Not only is the screen or device important, but the referral is important as well.

If people are engaging with your content in an angry way and they are referred from an Instagram account or perhaps a survey site,  So is this the emotion you expected?  If it’s not what you expected, do you have a plan to handle the adverse reaction from what you planned for?  Do you know how to engage with the audience and figure out not just how to change the conversation’s direction, but understand why it is the way it is?

These are all part of marketing today.  It’s no longer about pushing a message, writing content and counting up fans and likes.  It’s about understanding the customer journey and how that many different avenues of engagement have different affects and create expected and unexpected outcomes.

Is your company’s marketing strategy ready for that?