source: Sysomos Inc.

In April, Facebook faded out the concept of being a "Fan" of a brand, organization, or whatever you might be peddling on Facebook. The reason was subtle and simple: to make Facebook more commercially friendly. Psychologically speaking, it's less committing to say you "like" something than to say you're a "fan." The functional difference on Facebook?—absolutely nothing, simply semantics.

Whether this has resulted in actual increased interaction with brands is hard to determine (i.e. it's difficult to attribute increased brand interaction from normal organic growth over strategic moves...). However, if you want to get more "likes" for your brand, a recent study published the top reasons why Facebook Users choose to like a brand. What they learned is that FB Users are overwhelmingly looking for discounts, freebies and straight-up commercial stuff. Forget the lovey-dovy hype that users want to "interact" meaningfully with your brand, because—generally speaking—they don't. In fact, learning more about about your brand, interaction and brand education all ranked dead last among reasons why users choose to like you.

Also interesting to note, is that Users want to give public kudos, if nothing else, to their favorite brands. It's a nice gesture for sure, but keep in mind when managing a Facebook Page, you're pretty much preaching to the choir when it comes to telling your followers why you rock. Lastly, and not surprisingly, Facebook Users want to be entertained, not educated. If you can do both, great—otherwise don't waist your time sharing that riveting tutorial video of how to properly wash a wool sweater.

More notable survey results from Sysomos: Why People Use Facebook