"Like" button more important than online reviews
In just one year, Facebook's «Like» feature has become more important than online reviews of companies or products.
The click by users cannot replace negative reviews in particular. The social network does not offer a "don't like" button. In addition, the rating does not provide information about the pros and cons or experiences of other consumers. As the market researchers at City Grid Media and Harris Interactive show according to the press release, the brief recommendations are nevertheless more popular with users than more detailed reviews.
Facebook still plays a subordinate role in purchasing decisions. Compared to Google, company websites, price comparison sites and other research tools, social communities are still a secondary source of information. Nevertheless, the networks are becoming increasingly important, especially for web stores and internet retailers. According to City Grid, potential customers like to get an overall impression on the web. Ratings by other users are increasingly playing a decisive role and are spreading much faster than entire reviews, for example among Facebook friends.
According to City Grid, around a fifth of users now click on Facebook's "Like" button to give companies a good review, for example. In contrast, only around 13 percent write short reviews. At 75 percent, word of mouth is still the most popular way of spreading positive reviews. According to the data, Facebook's "Like" recommendation can provide the impetus for a possible purchase, although it is not usually used as the sole and final basis for a decision. Users first verify a good rating with other sources.
