How to Get More Shares on Facebook

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Greg No Comments

Facebook “likes” and comments are okay, but Facebook shares are where it’s at.

Facebook recently ran a month-long study that investigated more than 1,200 posts from 23 brands. Based on the data, Sean Bruich, head of Facebook’s Measurement Research, advises brands to remain relevant (i.e., don’t stray). After all, people are seeing what you’re posting because they’re interested in your brand.

As it turns out, the most valuable interaction you can get on Facebook is a share. A share is the most valuable because it results in your company’s post being shared (inserted) in your fan’s timeline. That’s when the viral effect has a fighting chance, because all of that fan’s friends will potentially see your post and, in turn, share it with their friends… all over the world!

An image of Facebook's global data traffic

Facebook's Global Data Traffic - December 2010

But what can you do to coach more SHARES?

Turns out there are two activities that positively affect how likely your company’s post will be shared: post more photos and video. Yup, that’s it. Easy to say, but hard (and potentially expensive) to do.

Also, asking questions of your fans increases commenting, but not liking and sharing. Buddy Media did a study to try and get more insights on Facebook’s News Feed algorithm (named EdgeRank). They discovered that using questions helps encourage more comments. But questions beginning with “why” were interpreted as being too intrusive and therefore did not help. instead, Buddy Media suggests using questions that begin with “where” “when” “would” and “should.”

Facebook Demographics

Age Range	Male	Female
14–17	9.8%	9.1%
18–20	13.7%	13.2%
21–24	17.5%	16.6%
25–29	13.2%	11.7%
30–34	10.2%	9.7%
35–44	15.3%	15.4%
45–54	10.4%	12.3%
55–63	5.5%	7.2%
64+	4.5%	4.8%

* Source: AdAge – May 2012

In Summary

I often refer to the proverbial “16-legged table” of marketing. Facebook is one of those legs, albeit an important one. So it deserves attention. But social media and other digital marketing tactics are ultimately dependent on quality content.