On social media, we all share content produced by others—brands, creators, YouTubers, and friends—but why? It might be because it's socially rewarding.
Of course, that's not exactly what some studies say.
For example, if you'd previously seen this infographic breaking down what motivates people to share content on Facebook, you’d think social rewards have little to do with anything. Maybe, maybe not, as that wasn’t one of the choices proposed. The choices were:
At first glance, all of this is true, but also very generous. If you think about it honestly, much of it is about value. The value of you, in your own eyes and in the eyes of others, as a person attuned with interesting things—someone with convictions and humor who considers the world we live in.
And if you push intellectual honesty a bit further, you'd admit that you share mainly for two reasons that are eminently "social" and closely related:
All while putting in very little effort since you're simply pressing a button. That's the magic of social media.
If you admit, personally, that your credibility, reputation, and popularity are at stake in your sharing, you also understand why you don’t just share anything with anyone. In fact, you likely apply most of the rules of "the art of sharing", described in this Harvard Business Review article. These are 17 injunctions that aim to make you a champion of high sharing spin-offs (professional, in this case): Be appreciated, be interesting, be bold, be brief, be grateful, be visual, be organized, be smart, be trackable, be active, be predictive, be a "mensch” (if you do not know what that means, that gives you more reason to read the article), be able to promote yourself, be multilingual, be analytical, be curious, and be lucid.
In practicing this art, on a professional network like LinkedIn, you’ll mainly share content of "top influencers" or recognized authors in the "business" universe, showing that you adhere to certain values—credit in the eyes of potential employers, clients, or partners. That's why we take so little risk on LinkedIn.
Twitter, however, is a network where the best thing you could do is share something interesting first. This is what makes LinkedIn so politically correct and Twitter so stressful—there’s less restraint practiced on the latter.
On Facebook, however, [most] people post a bit conservatively. In the aforementioned study (fractl), 52% of respondents said they did not want to share content that could cause controversy, and 65% said that certain content could give a bad image. Although a great space of freedom, there's also great visibility on Facebook, making it an area of self-censorship.
Ultimately, what do we really share on social media? Mainly, we share what is most easily consumed:
Textual content, on the other hand, spreads a bit differently. Of course, if there’s an image attached, they’ll get shared more, especially with the way links appear on Twitter.
But, to the displeasure of those who produce them, it's been proven that most shared articles aren't read by those who share them. In June 2016, 46,000 people shared this article on The Science Post on Facebook after reading the headline: "Study:70% of Facebook users only read the title of scientific papers before commenting." As it turned out, those 46,000 people shared that article without realizing it purposefully and ironically contained unintelligible nonsense—because they hadn't read it.
For brands that are concerned about their social media image but have not necessarily considered how impactful their logos are – here's some perspective on why your brand logo can go a long way to building a lasting impression on your customers' minds.
Brand logos are ubiquitous in our daily lives, and for good reason - they make a strong impression on our minds. A well-designed logo is instantly recognizable and can evoke positive emotions and associations with the brand it represents. This power of recognition and association is what makes logos shareable content on social media.
As your customer comes across a logo they love or identify with, they are more likely to share it with their followers, who in turn may share it with their own networks. This creates a snowball effect, increasing the reach of the logo and the brand it represents. Additionally, sharing a brand or logo in this case, can be an intuitive way for individuals to express their own identity or values, further reinforcing the emotional connection between the logo and its audience.
Logos are essential when it comes to visual storytelling on social media. They give customers the freedom to use a brand's logo and express their thoughts and feelings through content creation.
It seems that after a decade of strong growth, social sharing is falling on Facebook and Twitter. We talk about "social fatigue" on Twitter and on Facebook, "Context Collapse" (similar to but different than "fake news").
According to Viuz, the sharing of Facebook and Twitter seems to "have given way to more intimate, authentic and ephemeral modes of sharing on Snapchat and WhatsApp." It remains to be seen whether increasing the power of these applications would preserve the intimacy and authenticity that the users look for. If not, they’ll continue to share their own content elsewhere.