If there’s one thing we probably all want, it’s to be really, really popular and these days, it’s all about your internet image.
You could be the Urkel of 2016 IRL, but as long as you’ve got a bitchin’ e-persona and a couple hundred thousand Instagram followers, you’re probably as kewl as they come.
But the question is, why do some posts perform better than others on social media, regardless of how many followers the poster has? The University of Sydney tackled that question in a recent study to find out what kind of content performs better on Facebook. SCIENCE.
The first of its kind, the study analysed the posts made by Facebook pages including beyondblue, R U OK Day, Movember Foundation, Cancer Council NSW and Heart Foundation to see which ones attracted the highest number of ‘likes’, shares and comments. These particular pages were used so the findings were beneficial to those promoting healthy living, but the same principals would apply to your own social media presence if that’s what ya workin’ at.
It turns out that video posts attract the most attention, receiving on average 25 percent more likes, almost 4 times the amount of shares and twice the number of comments of image posts. But this isn’t for the reason you might think.
“This finding almost certainly reflects the influence of the Facebook algorithm governing what is shown in user newsfeeds, and which appears to preference videos over other post types,” said PhD student and study leader James Kite.
Text-based posts got 31 percent fewer likes and 69 percent fewer shares, while link-based posts got 37 percent fewer likes and 30 percent fewer shares.
When comparing ’emotional’ and ‘call-to-action’ appeals, emotion was 18 percent better at scoring likes, but 27 percent shitter at getting shares. It also received 10 percent fewer comments than the latter. Posts laden with information received twice as many shares, but nothing noteworthy in the likes or comments department.
Humour-based appeals fared better, getting twice as many comments but nothing significant in terms of likes or share. Fear-based appeals scared people into commenting 72 percent more, but nothing significant for likes or shares.
Posts enjoyed 62 percent more likes when a celebrity or sportsperson was involved, along with twice the number of shares and 64 percent more comments than those with no endorsement. Partnerships and sponsorships were a real social media boner-killer, getting on average 41 percent fewer likes, 58 percent fewer shares and 50 percent fewer comments.
Giveaways and competitions got the comment train running though, copping 4 times more comments, but 29 percent fewer likes and 57 percent fewer shares.
Twice the number of comments resulted from posts that included special characters or mascots, but did little for likes and shares. Special offers and vouchers did nothing for anything.
So there you have it. If ya want premium Facey attention, video is a goer and vouchers should be thrown into the ocean.
Source: Gizmodo.
Photo: Getty.
