The Psychology Behind The Facebook ‘Like’ [Infographic]

Bob Hutchins

This past week at Kinekt, nearing the close of the conference, my friend Josh Collins made a great point from the stage. “Why do we like and share on Facebook?” he asked. “It’s because we want to say ‘me too’.”

“Me too.” That’s a powerful phrase – a phrase that encompasses empathy, identity, and connection. It’s at the core of what it means to be human. Me too.

It only takes a week or so of using Facebook to figure out that a ‘Like’ can mean a lot more than, well, liking something. It’s a way of raising your hand and saying, Yes! That’s EXACTLY how I feel.

Why Marketers Need to Understand This.
A recent infographic from Quicksprout has neatly compiled research from 11 different studies and articles to explain the why behind the gut instinct we already have about liking and sharing on Facebook.

Whether you’re a creative-driven marketer or a data marketer… you need to understand the sociology and psychology behind liking on Facebook. Learn the why behind what makes people click.

4 Reasons Why We Like On Facebook
Quick Facts:

• On average, 44% of Facebook users “like” content posted by their friends at least once a day.
  
• 29% of users do so several times a day.

The infographic below explains four reasons why we do this:

• The Like is a quick and easy nod.
  
• Liking content affirms something about ourselves. Remarkably, a study of 58,000+ people found that users could accurately identify (based on the subject’s likes alone) whether that person is:
  
  
  
  • White or African American (95%)
    
  • Male or Female (93%)
    
  • Gay or Straight (88%)
    
  • Democrat or Republican (85%)
    
  • Age (75%)
  
  
• We like to express virtual empathy. (In fact, researchers found that, “Spending more time using social networks and engaging on instant messaging chats predicted more ability to be virtually empathetic.”)
  
• Lastly, we like because it’s practical and we get something in return. So, for all you data-driven folks, “liking” isn’t all wishy-washy feelings. Users will like just to get a coupon or discount (42%), participate in contests (35%), and share personal good experiences (31%).

The Like Is a Big Deal.
But liking isn’t the only psychologically-charged action that means something on Facebook! Check out the full infographic below for insights into why we comment, share, and interact the way we do on the world’s biggest social network.

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