Facebook Like Button

Definition - What does Facebook Like Button mean?

The Facebook Like button is a social plugin provided by Facebook to other websites. When a user clicks the Like button on a piece of Web content, that Like will appear on the user's Facebook news feed, along with a link back to the Web page.

More generally, "Like" on Facebook refers to an action that can be taken within Facebook. The ability to Like is a key feature on Facebook that acts to promote social sharing and interaction.

Techopedia explains Facebook Like Button

Sites can use Like in one of two ways:

  • A Web page can behave much like a Facebook page if it represents something like a sports team, celebrity or restaurant. In this case, the Web page's administrator will use Open Graph protocol to specify this information. When a user clicks "Like" on that Web page, the page will appear in the "Likes & Interests" section of the user's profile. The Web page administrator will also be able to publish updates to the user.
  • A specific page on a website, such a news article, can use the Like button to promote social sharing of the story. In this case, when a Facebook user clicks "Like," the article will be posted to that user's wall and news feed, allowing his or her friends to like it as well and promote sharing.

Many websites show the number of likes on a given article as a means of self promotion.

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