Facebook Takes Over the Internet With the Like Button

A couple of days ago you may have noticed the Like button on TheAbundantArtist.com. This new button, rolled out by Facebook last week, looks so innocuous – but don’t be deceived. The Like button has the potential to change the way you sell art online.

The Power of the Like Button for Art

I rarely buy a piece of art that I just find on the Internet. Nearly every piece that I own was shown to me by someone first – a friend, family member or business associate.

Art gets sold on referrals, and the Like button will become the Internet’s de facto “hey, check this out.”

That’s not hyperbole when you consider that there are over 100 Million Facebook users in the United States alone (one-third of the country). Since the button is so easy to use, it will become ubiquitous.

What You Should do with the Like Button

If you are using WordPress, there are already several Like button plugins.

If you are using a different website, you or your webmaster can visit Facebook’s Like button generation page. There’s a bunch of technical talk there. If you don’t understand it, just have your webmaster do it.

Ask your friends to share your stuff. Other than displaying the button prominently on your page, you could also try asking your fans to click like on a bunch of your stuff, so that it propagates out to their friends pages.

There’s More to Come

The Like button is just the beginning of Facebook’s Internet takeover. Stay tuned as Facebook rolls out things like ads on other websites that are directly targeted at users based on what they like. Imagine visiting CNN.com and seeing an ad for your favorite game – simply because you have it listed in your profile. Like this one (yes, I’m a giant nerd). That same ad could be for your art – so stay tuned to what Facebook is doing!

What do you think? Are you excited about the new Like button and what it can do for your art?