Do you like? Do your share? What’s the difference? – End of the Day for July 15, 2014

Originally posted as part of the End of the Day series on My Word with Douglas E. Welch

Rosanne and I got into a short discussion about the difference between “liking” something and “sharing” something on online. There are subtle differences between services and the names they use, but the meanings and benefits of each of these actions is fairly similar. Here is a little chart I cooked up to, hopefully, make it a bit clearer.

Key: FB=Facebook, TW=Tiwtter, G+=Google Plus, P=Pinterest

Like(FB) or Favorite(TW) or +1(G+) or Like(P)

Meaning: Hey, this is cool. I want to remember this, for myself, so I can come back to it later. It benefits the original poster a little, as it is figured into some popularity ratings, depending on the system, but doesn’t active share it any further.

Share(FB, G+) or ReTweet(TW) or Re-Pin(P)

Meaning: Not only is is the cool, but I want to share it with everyone that is following me. This is a step above the “Like” as it shares a copy to everyone who follows you on that particular service. Very important for original poster, as it spreads the content further around the social media world, hopefully getting shared again and again from different people and connections.

As you might imagine, as a content creator, the second action is the one we would like everyone to take. This doesn’t just mark the content for an individual user, but helps spread the, hopefully, good, funny, useful information further and further, generating web site traffic, advertising revenue and sales for us.

Shares directly effect the popularity, views, suggested items, traffic and sales, which is why you often hear YouTubers urging you to “Hit that Like Button, Post a Comments and Subscribe”. For someone who is making a living producing content, this is critical. Likes and Subscribers directly effects how often their videos are “Suggested” to viewers when they watch another video or at the end of a video.

Clicking Like and Share also helps you in many ways. First, when you share great content, people (and computer systems like Google and Facebook) come to see as a good source of good material in the future. They will begin to suggest your shares to more people, and in the case of Facebook, your posts will be more likely to appear in other user’s News Feeds and those New Feeds on Facebook pages. This is “Reach” number you see after each Facebook post you make. It is how many people actually saw the post, even if you have hundreds of “Friends or Followers.” Share great content, have enough people Like and Share that content and your Reach will rise.

So, as a content consumer, which by reading this blog, you are, I hope you can better see the results of your actions online. They do actually mean something to you, your friends and followers and the people producing the content you are consuming. If you like something, click that Like button. If you REALLY like something, share it with your followers — whether on Facebook, Twitter, G+, Pinterest or any other social media network. It really does help the creator gain more than just fame. It might actually put a few dollars in their pocket and help them create even more great content. It can also help you to raise your own status in your favorite online community. A win-win for everyone.

Previously on End of the Day:

Careers in New Media

Helping to Build New Careers in New Media

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