Are We Dating or Do You Just LIKE Me?

This infographic by the Online Dating University (via All Facebook) shows that three-fifths of people display their relationship status on the Facebook profiles. It’s not an earth-shattering piece of information, but it does give us an insight into the BEHAVIOUR of people who frequent social networks – it tells us that we live our lives in public. It reminds us that our lifestyles an our choices have been turned inside-out and are – at least on the surface – ready-made for the consumption of others.

But this is far from an isolated trend – it is one that has been tracking for at least the last five years. A recent ExactTarget / CoTweet report on Subscribers, Friends and Followers puts some data around this (and while it is US data, we can still apply the thinking more locally):

• 73% of US online consumers have  created a Facebook profile
• 42% of US online consumers are fans (and have liked at least one company)

But, while we LIKE these companies, 51% of fans say they rarely or never visit a company’s page after “liking” them. And if the relationship is over – if a fan no longer wants to see your posts, less than half will go to the trouble of “unliking” you.

There is, however, something we can learn from the world of dating. Look at the IMPACTS of living life in public as shown below. How can your brand affect the etiquette, moods and updates of your fans? What can you do to demonstrate that you are in a relationship and it’s not just a matter of liking each other? Remember, it’s a two way street and do the smart thing – build that knowledge and insight into your strategy.

Comments

[scott karambis]

Intriguing data, but I'm not quite sure i get the point. If this is making a comparison between relationship status updates and the "liking" of brands, I find the comparison suspect (I strongly bet people are more vigilant about the former) And the idea of using facebook behavior as a kind of psychological or self-worth analysis is great fun but if you play it out, you end up with the data meaning anything you want: many friends or few friends can be either positive or negative depending on how you relate to them, which leaves where I started. Or did I misunderstand completely.

[Gavin Heaton]

It's actually not about the data. It's even less about Facebook and more about behaviour.

If you identify the shifts in etiquette and mood towards your brand (ie at the bottom of the chart) and then work backwards to other decision/impact points, then it's possible to design communications that will positively impact your customers.

Then, if you are using the data to measure shifts in the digital manifestations of behaviour, you should be able to see whether your efforts are working and adjust accordingly. Make sense?

[free dating websites]

Based on my experience, I met a guy and we became friends and dated for about three months. Then he asked me to be his girlfriend and I accepted. Three weeks later he said he loves me but does not want to be committed. So, I guess there's a huge difference dating and engaging into a serious relationship. Right now, I don't even have to jump to conclusion that if a guy likes me and we go out on dates, means that he wants serious relationship. Men, therefore are also complicated.