Facebook Moves from “Fans” to “Likes”

Image Credit: Facebook “Language Change” document (March 26, 2010).

Facebook has announced to its partners that in the next two to three weeks, the “Become a Fan” concept for branded pages will be replaced with the more prevalent “Like” button and brands will no longer accumulate “Fans,” but “Connections” instead.

This change narrows the list of actions available to Facebook fans, and consolidates the bulk of interactions fans will have with brand content to “Like,” “Comment” and “Share.” Brands will still be able to communicate with opt-in users on a regular basis, but only users who have “liked” their page itself — not just one of their updates.

The change also affects engagement ads — the “Become a Fan” verbiage will disappear, being replaced by the simple “Like” button and thumbs up icon.

For the complete scoop — and to learn what the shift means for marketers — read David Berkowitz’s latest Ad Age Digital Next column.