Social media giant Facebook has dropped the ‘like’ button from its public pages which are accessed by public figures, actors, artists, and brands. The move is aimed at simplifying the overall design for the users and to facilitate easier connect with various artists and brands.
Facebook Pages will now only display the number of followers along with a dedicated news feed section for users to take part in conversations, interact, and engage with others.
In a blog post, Facebook said, “We are removing Likes and focusing on Followers to simplify the way people connect with their favourite Pages. Unlike Likes, Followers of a Page represent the people who can receive updates from Pages, which helps give public figures a stronger indication of their fan base.”
The new update will be officially rolled out to all the Facebook Pages in the coming months. Last year in July, Facebook was seen testing a new design for Pages which included removing the ‘like button’ to provide a cleaner interface for Pages.
Facebook has introduced a host of other changes to Pages which include: Redesigned layout that makes it simpler for people to view bios, posts and other important information; new text-based Q&A format to enable interactive conversations; Easy navigation between personal profile and Pages; Updated task-based admin controls giving trusted Page admins full control or partial access; Actionable insights and more relevant notifications; and Safety and integrity features to detect spammy content and impersonator accounts.
Further, “to make Page conversations more visible to a wider audience and surfaced more frequently in their followers’ News Feed, comments from public figures will be bumped to the top of the comments section. People will also be able to follow Pages directly from comments and recommendations posts,” Facebook added.