What does Facebook’s Like button mean for content marketing?

I have to admit that I don’t know what Facebook’s new “Like” button is going to mean for those of us working with online marketing and communication. What I do know, though, is that just a day after it was announced, its cropping up all over the web. Hell, it’s even on this site and I’m not even sure why yet. I just wanted to see what would happen (get the WP Facebook Like Plugin here).

I suspect the introduction of “Like” will have businesses even more interested in Facebook –––the social media site that seems to be going from strength to strength.

With personal recommendations in the form of Retweets already (hopefully) driving traffic to your online content, Likes could mean more traffic to your business site. Hopefully.

What “Like” means for your business blog

If I had to put money on anything, I reckon it would be that this could be yet another comment killer for your blog. Why? Because it’s just so much easier to just say, yeah, “Like” rather than actually write a meaningful comment.

What’s more, it could drive the number of Retweets down. After all, who is going to click on TWO buttons?

It could drive more traffic to your blog from Facebook –if people actually see the link– but it could make people even more fed up with the noise in the Facebook Wall.

I already have a lot of friends who complain about me syncing my Tweets with my Facebook account. Imagine how much noise Likes will generate!

The Like button might also force those online content markets amongst us to be slicker, funnier, or downright rock ‘n’ roll just to get a reaction because that’s how we’ve been using Like on Facebook itself. Like-ing cute pictures of basset hounds puppies, and so on.

Trouble for Twitter

No doubt the folks at Twitter (and TweetMeme) sighed at the news of the launch of Facebook’s new button. After all, with 4 million people on Facebook and only a mere 1 million on Twitter, it doesn’t take much guess work to see which button may come out on top in the popularity stakes.

Without a doubt “Like” is set to propel Facebook to just about every nook and cranny of the Net – and that could well be at the expense of Twitter.

Help me figure Like out!

So have you added the Like button to your site yet?
Are you clients asking about it?
Is it too much having Like and Retweet buttons on your site? (I think it looks ugly)
Will this force you to take Facebook more seriously?
Are you worried?

As ever, I’m really curious to know your thoughts – but please remember to click the Like button before you go!

Update: 24/4/2010

I’ve removed the Facebook Like plugin after deliberating the whole thing more carefully. I just don’t like Facebook knowing more about people’s likes. It just feels creepy. What do you think?