Facebook introduced 5 new reaction emojis - angry, sad, wow, haha and love - to allow users to express more nuanced responses to posts. This provides both opportunities and challenges for brands. It offers more audience engagement and insight into sentiment, but brands must also consider how to address negative reactions and adjust their strategies and measurement frameworks for the increased emotional data. Reactions also have implications for how other social platforms approach user interactions.

1. Facebook Reactions
Briefing: How Will This New Functionality Impact Brands?
By: Lindsey Brylow; Digital Strategist
February 25, 2016

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Introducing…Facebook Reactions
When you only have a like button, if you share a sad piece of
content or something that makes you angry, people may not
have the tool to react to it.
- Mark Zuckerberg
“
”

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Why is this Happening?
Life is more complex than a simple “like.” For this reason, Facebook
launched five new emoji-style reactions in February, 2016. And no,
“dislike” is not one of them.
The new emoji reactions include: angry, sad, wow, haha and love. “Yay”
was reported to be a proposed reaction; however, this sentiment is not
universally understood.
Introducing… Facebook Reactions
“The like button is…a blunt,
clumsy tool."
- Bloomberg
What’s Happening?
Mark Zuckerberg finally conceded that Facebook was in need of a more
nuanced mechanism for users to interact with posts for obvious reasons
– not every post is likable. Facebook’s “like” button doesn’t
accommodate the emotions of Facebook’s 1.6 billion users who click
“like” more than 6 billion times per day.
Geoff Teehan, design director at Facebook explained that these
reactions fulfill two criteria: universality and expressivity. Emojis are
non-verbal in nature, in turn there is no ambiguity as to what they mean,
even in different cultures.
“We’ve been listening to people and know
that there should be more ways to easily
and quickly express how something you
see in News Feed makes you feel.” -
Facebook
Image: Wired.com

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While Facebook is responding to user demand for the “dislike” button, it
is likely that we can infer the massive advertising implications reactions
will have.
Facebook advertisers are loving the possibility of leveraging Facebook’s
new reactions to better target their audiences. However, Facebook has
yet to say exactly how the new reactions will impact their advertising
capabilities. For now, “wow,” “sad,” “like,” “love” and “angry” will be
weighted as the same metric.
Although Facebook has yet to reveal the affects on ads, this still means
good news for brands. Brands now have the opportunity to gain greater
insight based on the wide palate of emotional reactions. Individuals have
the ability to react to your ads in the same manner as they do with the
individuals they are friends with. This provides an immediate opportunity
for brands to optimize campaigns and recalibrate ad targeting.
Facebook Reactions & Paid Media
Paid Media Implications
HAHA

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What Does This Mean For Brands?
More Audience Engagement
Giving audiences various ways to react to content means more engagement.
Previously, individuals may have passed on engaging with a post because “like”
didn’t accurately describe their feelings toward the content. Now, they have the
chance to “angry” it – and beyond.
Better Optimization
Reactions add a new layer of tracking and reporting capabilities, allowing
brands to truly gauge their audience’s reactions to content and optimize
accordingly.
Enhanced Sentiment Tracking
Opportunity now exists to collect even more specific sentiment data. Brands
can understand what consumers are feeling and why they are feeling that way.
Improved Ad Targeting
Ad targeting will likely be improved because Facebook’s advertising capabilities
rely heavily on personal interests and behaviors in order to serve ads effectively.
Facebook Reactions & Brands
WOW

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What Now?
Examine Your Emotional Intelligence
Industry professionals must become experts at decoding these
emotionally nuanced reactions.
Establish a New Reporting Framework
Facebook Insights currently categorizes all reactions as “likes” within
its system. How will you measure a “haha” vs “love”? Consult your
Ogilvy team on a measurement system that allows for the tracking of
sentiment across all reactions.
Update Guidelines for Responding to Negative
Reactions
The new “angry” and “sad” reactions leave brands vulnerable to a
new form of negative sentiment. Do “angry” and “sad” reactions
warrant responses? Be cognizant of this new capability when crafting
content, monitoring, and responding to comments.
Facebook Reactions & The Future
LOVE

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What Now?
Adjust Your Content Strategy
Evaluate your current content to determine if it is eliciting desired
emotions from your target audience. Consider auditing your
content to identify themes in reactions from your fans.
Brainstorm ways that your brand can leave a positive mark in
this increasingly complex, emotional world.
What Are the Implications for Other Platforms?
Now that we have a way to better express our emotions and
engage with content on a deeper level, what does this mean for
other social networks? Will this force Twitter or Instagram to
rethink their platform experience and binary interactions?
Facebook Reactions & The Future Cont.
Image: Wired.com
SAD

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Check This Out
Chevrolet was one of the first brands to jump on
the Facebook Reactions button just hours after
their launch. Their new Malibu commercial ad
encourages viewers to show their “love” for the
new 2016 Malibu – because you can’t just “like”
the Malibu.
Paul Edwards, Vice President of Chevrolet
Marketing stated that the midsize vehicle
traditionally has a lot of options to “like,” but he
hopes that the new Malibu will spark the emotion
of “love.”
To date the video has received 358 “likes,”115
“loves” and 405 “wows.”
Facebook Reactions in Action
LOVE
"Timing couldn't be more perfect for
Chevrolet to bring the all-new 2016 Malibu
and Facebook's new Reaction buttons
together.” – Paul Edwards

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Thanks
Questions? Thoughts?
To further discuss, please contact:
Suresh Raj, Managing Director Global Business Development
suresh.raj@ogilvy.com
+1-212-880-5333
Learn more on the Social@Ogilvy blog: social.ogilvy.com/thinking

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Further Reading
Sources:
http://www.popsci.com/long-psychological-journey-facebooks-reactions
http://mashable.com/2016/02/24/how-to-get-facebook-reactions/
http://www.wired.com/2016/02/facebook-reactions-totally-redesigned-like-button/
http://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-facebook-reactions-chris-cox/