Do you use share buttons?

[kolakube]

When you want to share a post or page with someone, do you use share buttons from the website, your operating system, or copy and share the links yourself?

I personally can't think of ever using share buttons from a website and always copy a link from the browser bar. I usually find share buttons are just a waste of space and an annoyance, especially when they are scrolling down the page as I read.

What about you?

 

[Ravenfreak]

The only time I share content with the share button is if I'm sharing a invite link to my Guilded server or one of my videos from Youtube. Other than that I just copy the url from my browser and share the link.

 

[kolakube]

The only time I share content with the share button is if I'm sharing a invite link to my Guilded server or one of my videos from Youtube. Other than that I just copy the url from my browser and share the link.

That's interesting and it makes me wonder if messaging apps like Guilded/Telegram/Discord get more share usage than "out of app" networks like X/Facebook/LinkedIn. I doubt it's much more impactful but you have given me some thought on this.

 

[Reverie]

I typically use the URL and not a share button. When I'm on Facebook for example though I do use the share button rather than the URL since I'm not using the browser. I hadn't even really noticed the share graphic on each post til this thread!

 

[Kyng]

No, I manually copy them. In my experience, most of the 'share' buttons are either intended for specific social networks, or just copy the link anyway (which is more work than just copying it manually!)

 

[DigNap15]

I think I removed the share buttons on my forum to have less clutter.
No one has complained.

 

[Arantor]

I find I use the share button on apps where I don't readily have access to the URL - e.g. I definitely use the share buttons on the YouTube app.

I think the last great era of the share icons was when bookmarking sites were a thing, when del.icio.us and StumbleUpon and Digg were still around and they were things people would bookmark for themselves but also share with other people before social media ate that particular lunch.

For web content it's inevitably the easiest way to just grab the URL and plonk it into whatever you want to share it to.

That said I did spend a couple of years on a SaaS app where businesses would create content for other businesses (e.g. think someone like Microsoft writing a blog post, then writing social media posts for their resellers to give them ready-made social content that also pointed back to the blog, everyone wins), and that was basically share buttons on steroids, with scheduled posting. It's just not a thing any more, I think.

 

[Empire]

I think it wildly depends on your content and social media strategy. If you have stuff people want to share and encourage them to, they will, and the buttons make that easier.

I don't normally use them because 90% of the content I want to share cones from apps with a general purpose share button I can text a link from.

 

[Cedric]

Not really. I usually copy and paste the link.

 

[Cory]

I'll just copy and paste the link considering I don't post on any type of social media that would warrant me into using a share button.

 

[Husk]

Nah, I just copy the URL and share it that way. I feel like share buttons just become background noise that I never bother to look at or engage with.

 

[Shortie]

I have in the past used share buttons on places such as websites and forums to share to social media if I see something I would like to share with others.

I find it much easier to use the share button if they have that option instead of copying, opening up the social media platform and pasting.