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I've always wondered if anyone used sharing buttons on news sites and blogs

ankursethi.com

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Re: I've always wondered if anyone used sharing buttons on news sites and blogs

#71

Post by deadbabe »

raincole wrote: post #10

> The share buttons got clicked 14,078 times. That’s a 0.21% usage rate, which works out to about 1 in 476 visitors. In other words, people not only click share buttons, but do it quite often?

If you want to be a pedant, sure, you could say people do click it! But then you always have to speak in disclaimers and technicality, or you will give the wrong impression.

Most reasonable people will compare usage rate to some minimum effective threshold, under which you could basically say no one clicks the button. Even though that’s not technically true, it becomes a useful rule of thumb for how you should think about the button, and it’s easier to remember.

IMO if less than 5% of people are clicking the share button, then basically no one is clicking it.

Similarly, if more than 95% of people are clicking the button, then everyone clicks it!

Re: I've always wondered if anyone used sharing buttons on news sites and blogs

#72

Post by Grombobulous »

raincole wrote: post #10

> The share buttons got clicked 14,078 times. That’s a 0.21% usage rate, which works out to about 1 in 476 visitors. In other words, people not only click share buttons, but do it quite often?

It seems like the number isn't very useful unless we have a baseline for how often the site is shared at all.

If 0.2% of users share the site via a direct link, and 0.2% of your users share the site via a share button, for an overall share rate of 0.4%, that probably means the share button is worth keeping around.

Re: I've always wondered if anyone used sharing buttons on news sites and blogs

#73

Post by fmajid »

Of course, but the real purpose for those buttons is to allow Google, Meta et al to build a marketing dossier of the websites you visit. Made a little less effective with cookie partitioning, but that's where browser fingerprinting kicks in.

Cynical exploitation of publishers who are desperate for any revenue stream or virality in a collapsing ad market.

Re: I've always wondered if anyone used sharing buttons on news sites and blogs

#74

Post by theturtletalks »

spockz wrote: post #65
theturtletalks wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly but companies have started hijacking the copy icon button as well. You’d think that would just copy what’s in the text box, but they add tracking and other stuff. The worst is the YouTube share button. You can share the button with the exact second mark in the video and I would do that. Then one time I noticed the URL was shortened and added a lot of tracking.

It’s even weirder now. When you share a video through the button (which is the only way in the app) and another person opens the link while logged in you will now be linked in YouTube and you can share “directly” to the other’s YouTube. …

Google Maps share button is filled with tracking too, now I just copy the address and send it.

I fear it’s all futile because even if we are privacy focused, if our friends and families are sharing links like this, Google knows how all of us are connected to each other in the real world.

Re: I've always wondered if anyone used sharing buttons on news sites and blogs

#75

Post by iknowstuff »

joshstrange wrote: post #31

0.21% sounds low but my initial thought is "I don't know if they are making the point they think they are". Conversion rates are always pretty low. That said, I've never clicked on a share button mostly because: - I don't know what it will do, it's not consistent at all - It might add extra crap "Your friend shared 'Story Title' with you!" - It will probably try/want to add tracking crap I always just copy the URL an…

I agree, I do the same thing, but e.g. my parents still don't understand copy&paste. For all of us who do, there's the other ~half (total guess) of people who don't, and will benefit from the share UI. It's sad but real.

> a 2023 peer-reviewed survey of 124 geriatric computer users, mean age about 80.6, found that 59% were unfamiliar with the copy/paste function. That is among older adults who were already computer users, so it probably understates the issue for all elderly people.

Re: I've always wondered if anyone used sharing buttons on news sites and blogs

#76

Post by ludwik »

preciousoo wrote: post #59
kxrm wrote: post #35

Reddit is full of YouTube links with the `si=` param which indicates they clicked the "Share" button. All indicators are this article's premise is not true.

The link sharing platform is full of people interested in sharing links, that makes sense, similar to how a mall would be full of people interested in shopping

The article is about how people decide to share links, nie whether they share links at all.

Re: I've always wondered if anyone used sharing buttons on news sites and blogs

#77

Post by ingvay7 »

jatora wrote: post #57
blitzar wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Visitors were twelve times more likely to click an advertisement. I would have guessed clicking on ads was rare

I work in digital marketing and I am continually shocked by the amount of people that click my disgusting ads. (nearly all advertisements are morally disgusting)

Im always surprised when i see the significant opens in the promotions tab of the gmail inbox. Looks like a lot of folks want those ads.

Re: I've always wondered if anyone used sharing buttons on news sites and blogs

#79

Post by raincole »

deadbabe wrote: post #71
raincole wrote: post #10

> The share buttons got clicked 14,078 times. That’s a 0.21% usage rate, which works out to about 1 in 476 visitors. In other words, people not only click share buttons, but do it quite often?

If you want to be a pedant, sure, you could say people do click it! But then you always have to speak in disclaimers and technicality, or you will give the wrong impression. Most reasonable people will compare usage rate to some minimum effective threshold, under which you could basically say no one clicks the button. Even though that’s not technically true, it becomes a useful rule of thumb for how you should think…

> IMO if less than 5% of people are clicking the share button, then basically no one is clicking it.

It's a crazy take and honestly just lack of sense over numbers. 5% is really high for something that the users have to actively do, even it's just a single button.

MrBeast's videos have a like:view ratio less than 5%. Your take is saying that basically no one is clicking likes on MrBeast's videos.

Re: I've always wondered if anyone used sharing buttons on news sites and blogs

#80

Post by donohoe »

User behavior shifts over time. When I was at The New Yorker you’d see that a tiny but meaningful % of users used share tools. Even with that decline the % in this story is ‘good’ especially if you assume 40% of their traffic are probably bots.

What it also misses is: even if someone doesn’t use share tools, they do act as an call-to-action that can inspire people to share - though they may copy the url and not use the button.

It’s a tough game.

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