End of the 'Like' Era? Publishers Cool on Facebook

We are entering the end of the like era. There was a time, not long ago, when all industries, including publishing, wondered how to turbocharge their growth via Facebook. But as the plunging fortunes of Zynga show, that’s a dangerous proposition. Many publishers are realizing Facebook won’t offer much salvation. Sure, it still drives plenty of traffic, but those numbers aren’t growing as fast — and in some cases, they’re going in reverse.

That means publishers aren’t pushing readers to “like them on Facebook” as much as they used to. After all, only 16 percent of a publisher’s fans