2012.04.04
We care about how you share
An example of one sharing tool tracker
One of the measures of a popular story is how often it’s read — either directly from the story’s host page or through sharing.
Sharing is how stories can become viral — and research has shown that you’re more likely to read a story (or watch a video or click through a photo gallery) if someone you know sent it to you as a link. Shared stories also get traffic via Facebook and Twitter.
According to an October 2011 story on poynter.org, each pasted link in September 2011 received an average of 200 click-throughs, while links shared via a social network button averaged only a few clicks. The number came from Greg Cypes, director of product for Clearspring Technologies, the parent company of AddThis, which provides sharing tools embedded on millions of websites.
The social network numbers may be changing however, as some of the most popular stories The Roanoke Times has shared on its Twitter and Facebook accounts have averaged around 200 click-throughs.
The Roanoke Times' current sharing tools
As we continue discussing our redesign, we’d like to find out more about your sharing habits. Here are the questions for you:
1. Do you often share content?
2. If so, how are you most likely to share it? (via email, social media, etc.)
3. Do you use website-based sharing tools, or do you send direct links?
4. If someone you know shares a story with you (either via email or social media sites), are you more likely to read it?
I do share content, a couple times a week, from different websites. I usually post them to Facebook, I like that I can do that from my phone for this site and ESPN, the 2 I most often share, using the built-in sharing tools available. And when people share links on FB that look interesting, I do tend to check them out if they’re from a website I recognize (since some spam hacking can also happen). I also have e-mailed articles if they’re relevant to just a person or two. Facebook is a pretty valuable tool though, and I really enjoy using it. But I will reiterate that I do not want to see it used for commenting. Websites that use a FB log-in for comments are blocked, I cannot access them. I would not use them anyway, because the couple times I did, I did not care for that stuff showing up in my feed/profile there. My FB is for friends and family only…having to use it for anything else just means there will be fewer things I do online.
Comment by Other John — April 4, 2012 @ 8:00 am
Yes, I share content if it’s of interest to me, or affects people I know. If it’s geared to a specific person I’ll send via email, but usually it’s through Facebook and/or Twitter. If the link works I’ll use the website-based sharing tools, as long as I don’t have to use apps. Otherwise I paste a direct link. I’ll read other shared stories if they are of interest to me.
Comment by Elena — April 4, 2012 @ 8:15 am
I do use the share feature and it is to Facebook most often. Sometimes in an email. I like being able to share a story with friends and family who are not local. I think it is an easy feature to use but emailing a link or even posting a link in Facebook is almost as easy so no biggie if you do not offer it for me.
Comment by Sandi Saunders — April 4, 2012 @ 8:40 am
I occasionally share, mostly via email, less often to FB. I tend to use direct links rather than fooling with sharing widgets.
I’ll read almost anything sent to my email from friends. With FB or other social media, it’s more luck of the draw.
Comment by Mark — April 4, 2012 @ 8:59 am
Just as an example, I shared the news of nTelos offering the iPhone, since I am an nTelos customer along with several folks I know, and it’s already got several people commenting on it and reading the link.
Comment by Other John — April 4, 2012 @ 9:15 am
If I’m sharing with a specific person (or people), then I’ll do it through email. If it’s something I think might be of general interest or it happened to catch my eye (usually something I find amusing), then I’ll tweet it.
If I’m on my desktop computer then I’ll use the Web-sharing tools, but if I’m reading from my phone then I’ll use the built-in app to send it on either through email or Twitter.
Comment by Laura — April 4, 2012 @ 11:42 am