Back in January 2010, Nielsen released data showing U.S. Facebook users spent an average of 421 minutes per month on the social platform. That equals out to more than 14 minutes per day, an increase of roughly three minutes per day from just six months before.
From my experience, I can decidedly declare the average social media marketer spends significantly more time on Facebook per day. After all, social media marketers are doing more than scrolling through our News Feeds and updating statuses – we’re analyzing data, strategizing campaigns, sharing high-quality content and engaging with current and potential customers.
Which brings me to the infographic “Why We Need the ‘I don’t care’ Button on Facebook.” Jeff Bullas shared the snarky piece of content on his blog recently, and I, like many social media marketers, had a hearty chuckle. But then I thought about the idea of additional buttons a little more seriously. Since social media marketers spend so much more time on Facebook, wouldn’t it be great if we had access to buttons non-Page Managers don’t?
With that in mind, I brainstormed three Facebook buttons I believe should be available to social media marketers. See the potential buttons—and my rationale for creation—below!
We’ve been running sponsored stories for a few clients and have seen mostly positive results; however, we have run into the occasional Facebook user accusing us of issuing spam. (Want to see what actual Facebook spam looks like? See this post.) It’s times like these I wish I had a “Sponsored Stories Are Not Rocket Science” button.
Don’t get me wrong, as a Facebook user, I do find it a little disruptive Sponsored Stories intermittingly break up my News Feed content. As a social media marketer, I understand actions I have taken on Facebook (like “Liking” a brand Page or simply adding friends) put those stories there. Facebook is free, yet it’s a public company with stakeholders – stakeholders who expect to get paid. How does Facebook pay its stakeholders? Advertising. Unless Facebook begins charging users (think of the outcry!), you’re going to continue to see Sponsored Stories. It’s not rocket science.
Social media marketers put a lot of time and effort into creating original content and finding high-quality third-party content to share on social media. That’s why I wish social media marketers had a “Did You Even Read What the Post Was About?” button for times when a user submits a comment that has absolutely nothing to do with what the original post was about. This button, should it exist, should be reserved for early post comments and not those that stemmed from engagement.
Think of the “Really!?!” button as the non-verbal counterpart to the SNL Weekend Update “Really!?! With Seth & Amy” segment. Social media marketers would utilize this button in cases where users ranted about politics/political issues, declared the marketers’ brands are the worst thing known to mankind, promoted their own pages, instigated for the sake of instigating, et cetera.
Actually, the more I think about it, this button would be great for all Facebook users.
What Facebook buttons do you think should be available to social media marketers? Share your suggestions in the comment section!
Photo Credit: Thomas Hawke
Known as Hawkeye for her near superhuman copy editing abilities, Lisa Gulasy applies her unique experiences in agency and journalism to manage strategy and day-to-day engagement of client social media profiles and assist and researching and writing blogs, press releases and advanced content. Find her on Twitter and LinkedIn.
