Small Shares, Big Changes

In my last column I asked you to embrace your inner shareaholic and elevate the share metric to the top of your social media performance indicators. Well, guess what, shareaholics? Recent developments have made our sharing powers even stronger!

Google’s recent launch of the +1 button has blurred the proverbial lines between church and state in the world of search engine rankings. At first glance, the new +1 button seems quite similar in function to Facebook’s ‘like’ button. However, there is a fundamental difference between them. While they both represent the intention of positive sentiment and recommendation to others, Google +1’s now influence unaided search engine results, whereas Facebook ‘likes’ only influence your in-network Facebook environments. This means your immediate friends, family, and social connections now have direct influence on the way you search the Internet – a sacred place that previously could not be touched by anyone but Google algorithm engineers.

In the short term, there won’t appear to be a major behavioural shift in the way Internet users go about their daily lives. Those that were avid users of the ‘like’ button will easily adapt to ‘+1-ing’ content they find useful and willing to recommend. However, as we accumulate more sharing data over time, we will begin to notice a major shift in the way that the Internet is structured around us.

Therefore, I’ve identified three trends to put on your radar that will help you adjust your strategies to meet these shifting market conditions:

1. Higher propensity to share and recommend

As an Internet community, we have warmed to the idea of putting our stamp of approval on the things we like and recommend.

Think back to just one year ago when Facebook launched the universal ‘like’ button and predicted billions of ‘likes’ to follow. Now here we are a year later, with the new meaning of ‘like’ comfortably embedded into our vocabularies and an assortment of other sharing tools at our disposal – from diggs and stumbles to tweets and +1’s. We love to share good things and we love the benefits of others sharing back. This behaviour will only increase as we expand our sharing toolset.

2. Socially influenced search

Our toolbelt for sharing continues to grow in size and influence, and with the addition of Google’s +1 we enter into an unprecedented landscape where our sharing actions not only shape our personalised web experience but also reconfigure the foundation of everyone else’s Internet experience.

As digital marketers, we’ve been accustomed to tweaking our SEO methodology or running campaigns to drive more attention to our online content. We’re now shifting to an environment where the most important currency to gain exposure is the amount of shares (i.e., ‘likes’ and +1’s) you receive on your content. Google allowing social recommendations into its search engine results is the tipping point of this shift. If you haven’t done so already, start thinking about how to win more shares from your audience.

3. Expanding the social graph

Increased sharing also leads to increased data to the social graph.

Most of you probably aren’t thinking about the impact of the social graph, but I urge you to begin to understand it. Each action we take in social media, including the much beloved sharing action, is building a rich data network of our social connections.

To understand the potential of what the social graph has to offer, let’s examine the recent launch of the social photo application, Color. This app strives to be the next generation’s social camera. Using social graph data, each photo contains information about the audience profile surrounding you and accurately identifies other users in the room. It invites you to capture moments on the go with your friends while the photos are automatically tagged and categorised by social relevance through the app.

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While this app received polarised love/hate opinions from the outset, it gives us a glimpse of how powerful the social graph can be towards enhancing our social experiences. So whether it’s a photo on Color or ‘likes’ and +1’s to a photo album, our actions contribute to building the social graph that will eventually redefine our Internet experience.

Your Contribution Counts!

With over 266 million sites and an uncountable number of pages, the Internet has reached a state of infinite complexity. It’s inevitable that we’ll develop an increased dependence on social recommendations to simplify our navigation process.

As we share more, search differently, and navigate a more personalised and socialised web, I ask you again to reevaluate your perspectives on sharing – both as a marketer and a fellow Internet user.

The next time you have the opportunity to share and recommend something online, think twice about the impact you’re creating for others. Your sharing action is a small part in building a better future for the rest of us.