For B2B Social Media Marketing: Facebook “Like” or “Share” Button?

I noticed in reading my daily B2B marketing blogs, that some had a Facebook “Like” buttons for social sharing whereas others had Facebook “Share” buttons. Personally, I prefer the “Share” button because it allows me to comment on what I am sharing, but I wondered whether or not my preference was in fact a best practice. So I contacted our friends at HubSpot to find out what the best practice is. Here is what they told me:

Facebook “Like” Button

The Like button is similar to a “virtual thumbs up”, and shows that a reader liked what s/he read. It then shows up on the Facebook News Feed that the person liked it.

Facebook “Share” Button

The Share button differs in that it allows the reader to share the direct link on his/her own timeline. This means that it shows up – and stays – on his/her timeline until it is removed. This is great real estate compared to the Like button which simply makes its way down the feed and then is gone. (It does show up in a smaller place on the lower left of your timeline, but it is very inconspicuous.)

The Share button also allows the reader to add her/his own commentary. This part is huge in my book – it allows me to engage with my audience about what I liked/disliked about the article – rather than just throwing it out there with no commentary at all.

The Final Verdict

The final verdict according to me – and HubSpot – is the Facebook “Share” button. The personal commentary/endorsement, as well as the real estate on the reader’s timeline, makes it the easy winner. In case you didn’t notice, we have a Facebook Like button on our blog, but in our constant pursuit to always be learning and testing, we now know differently and will be updating our blog as well to coincide with this best practice!