December 22, 2014
It has been a very busy year for Facebook, from the re-launch of Facebook Atlas; which has opened up up new opportunities for re-marketing without cookies and linking online ad engagement to offline purchases; to Facebook’s rooms, a new way to discover and explore interests with like-minded individuals. It’s clear that the platform is evolving at a rapid pace and the latest feature in the works is a new call to action button for business pages.
Prior to November “fan-gating” or “like-gating” The practice of placing coupons, special offers, codes and give-aways behind “Like-Gates” prompting the users to like or follow in order to receive the prize was a tried and trusted method of building a following. On November 5th Facebook deemed “like-gating” against its terms of service and since then page owners have wanted additional functionality to promote interactions and generate engagement.
This demand has apparently been answered with seven new call-to-action buttons that will appear next to the “Like” button including:
1. Book Now
2. Contact Us
3. Use App
4. Play Game
5. Shop Now
6. Sign Up
7. Watch Video
Designed to go beyond the simple attainment of followers, the buttons encourage engagement and interaction in place of the mass like-farming seen in previous iterations of Facebook CTA buttons.
The buttons can link to any destination or landing page on the web and provide a new way to bring primary objectives to the forefront of a business’ Facebook presence. This expansion of the Like button into a potential portal button is a step in the right direction for businesses who may struggle to funnel users from their Facebook page to the home site.
This is in addition to Facebook’s “buy button” for sponsored content in the news feed which has since been refined to include download, shop now, book now, learn more and sign up.
Over a three week trial with Dollar Shave Club – the ‘Sign Up’ Call to action button generated a 2.5x higher conversion rate than other comparable social placements for new user acquisition. It will be interesting to see how this will be utilized in campaigns by brands and marketers in 2015.