Why Aussies Like and Unlike Facebook Pages

In a recent survey conducted by Crossman Insights, Australians revealed how they use Facebook and why they decide to ‘like’ certain brand.

The survey found that 73% of Australians aged 18 to 64 use the service. Of those users, 55% of them claimed to have ‘liked’ a company or brand page during the past 3 months. However, 17% of users admitted to clicking ‘unlike’ on a page. 

The top 3 reasons cited for this decision was due to:

• lack of relevance
• excessive updates crowding their newsfeed
• content simply being too boring. 

Crossman has stated that companies “risk death by ‘Unlike’ if they fail to find inventive ways to engage and excite their Facebook fans”.

In terms of why people ‘like’ a page, the survey shows that:

• 69% stated that it was to be in the running to win something
• 58% cited the appeal of getting discounts on products or free samples.

More genuine reasons were also cited, including to learn about products and services (55%), access exclusive content at (53%), follow company news (53%), and share the contents of a page with friends (51%).

The report also showed that 18 - 34 year olds are the most active users, with 85% of those surveyed using the social network site. Additionally, 53% of them stated they access Facebook through their smartphones.

While they are the largest user base, they are also the most fickle. Managing Director of Crossman Communications, Jackie Crossman, said, “They will hit the ‘Unlike’ button if a company or friend’s page is dull, or cluttering their news feed with too many updates.”

According to Crossman, marketers can only learn about the benefits and pitfalls of social media through experience, encouraging them to look at different approaches.