In a recent Q&A session at Facebook headquarters, Mark Zuckerberg revealed that the social media giant is working on developing a “dislike” button. “What people really want is the ability to express empathy,” Zuckerberg said. “Not every moment is a good moment.”
People have been asking about a “dislike” button for years, but according to Zuckerberg, “it’s surprisingly complicated to make an interaction that you want to be that simple.” Despite this, Zuckerberg says the company has an idea it is ready to start testing soon. He did not make it clear what the scope of the button will be nor how it will apply to business or fan pages on the site.
But what does this mean for social media marketing? The most obvious answer is better feedback from consumers on company posts. With such a quick and simple way for people to emote about a service, product, article, etc., a company can receive clearer information about its offerings. People likely won’t turn out in droves to hit “dislike” on posts (unless it’s about cable companies), but in time, users will start to see how their negative feelings towards products and companies can effect change in the things they care about.