Sharing is a warm caring type of word. It meant time spent together over a cup of coffee, a conversation or a meal.
It was about sharing a holiday, helping people out and maybe putting your hand in your pocket or purse and handing out some cash to people and communities in need.
When it comes to social media marketing it has been bent into a sterile statistic that doesn’t mean much more than hitting a “social sharing button” and counting the return in dollars and cents.
In a world of infinite data points, sharing can now be calculated in cold hard numbers. Technology has transformed sharing into a metric that can be used to calculate the value of a “Share” on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.
The Dollar Value of Social Sharing is Increasing
Eventbrite (the online ticketing company) started measuring the value of a Facebook share in 2010 using their own in house technology and back then it was worth $2.52 when I first reported their findings. In 2012 their latest study shows that the value of a Facebook share has increased to $4.15 which is an increase of 65%.
The most interesting statistic for me is that the value of a Twitter share has increased by 330%, from $0.43 to a $1.85. LinkedIn’s value has only increased at the margins which translates to a minimal increase of only 2%.
Twitter Drives More Traffic
Despite Twitter not producing the same level of revenue for Eventbrite, the numbers on traffic reveal that a share on Twitter drives significantly more traffic than Facebook with 33 visits compared to Facebook at only 14 visits per share.
LinkedIn visits for every share are not insignificant at 10 visits per share but sit at less than one third of the Twitter stat.
In looking at the analytics on my blog the study by Eventbrite confirms that Twitter sharing does drives much more traffic than Facebook.
Sharing Value Varies in Different Countries
In looking at various countries it appears that all sharing is not equal when comparing the platforms globally.
- In Ireland a Facebook share is worth $10.37 while in Australia its valued at only $5.32
- In Ireland a Twitter Share is priced at $9.03 and it sits at $2.36 in the UK
- In France a LinkedIn Share is worth $12.56 while in Canada it’s only worth $3.13
How ever you look at it and measure the numbers social sharing is significant. Making it easy to share on social networks can be calculated in cold hard cash.
Infographic Source: Eventbrite blog
What About You?
Can you measure the value of a Facebook or Twitter share to your business? Does Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin drive the most traffic to your web properties?
Are you making it easy for people to share your content on your blog or website? Are your sharing buttons large enough and are they at the top or the bottom of your articles and content?
Look forward to hearing your stories in the comments below?
Want to Learn How to Market Your Business and Brand on Social Networks?
My book – Blogging the Smart Way “How to Create and Market a Killer Blog with Social Media” – will show you how.
