Social Media Nuggets – Likes vs Shares

On Facebook, you have Likes and Shares. On Twitter, the equivalents are Favorites (Favs) and Retweets.

Likes and Favs are good.  They are very simple attention indicators. They make you feel that people are paying enough attention and are kind enough to take a few seconds to “Like” what you posted or tweeted. It is some kind of validation that your content may be consumed.

Shares and Retweets are better than Likes/Favs. You get a lot less of them, though. When some on shares/retweets, they are signalling you, that “this content is good for my readers/followers”.

Shares with comments are even better. Replies or retweets with edits are great too. They all show that you are engaging your readers.

The best Tweets/Posts are the ones that generate discussions. Even if the comments are negative, you learn something new. You get to know your community better through these discussions. You come to know what they like and what they don’t. You learn different view points

I spend a couple of hours in social media and moderate 5-7 groups on Facebook. It is an investment in time in understanding your communities. I enjoy being there and the interactions.