Get Ready for New Reactions on Facebook

Brands on Facebook have new types of interactions to measure, as the social network has finally rolled out its anticipated "Reactions" feature.

Reactions essentially provide Facebook users with a new way to "like" a post. For example, instead of hitting the like button, users can choose one of five different reactions, including "love," "haha," "wow," "sad," or "angry." To add a reaction, users must simply hold down the like button on mobile or hover over it on desktop to see the reaction options.

"We understand that this is a big change, and want to be thoughtful about rolling this out," Facebook said in its announcement. "For more than a year we have been conducting global research including focus groups and surveys to determine what types of reactions people would want to use most. We also looked at how people are already commenting on posts and the top stickers and emoticons as signals for the types of reactions people are already using to determine which reactions to offer."

Reactions are currently being rolled out to everyone on Facebook around the world, and the social network notes that it will continue listening to feedback for the new feature. It will also be interesting to see how reactions impact brands, as audiences may be more likely to engage with posts if they can express the way it makes them feel with just a click (and with more than the traditional "like").