Web Shares: The metric powering the top Norwegian newsrooms

Web Shares: The hidden metric powering the top Norwegian newsrooms.

Web Shares have overtaken Post Engagement across Europe
Web Shares are not available through tools provided by Facebook.
Post Engagement alone provides an incomplete picture.

In terms of newsrooms working with data, Norway is one of the most advanced countries in the world. Every major news publisher tracks performance weekly, daily, hourly and even in real-time.

But what if they were looking at only part of the picture?

Analysing country data, it’s essential to take into account both Post Engagement and Web Shares to get a full view of what the landscape really looks like.

In the graph below we have combined and contrasted both forms of engagement to provide a more accurate picture of each publisher’s true influence. Although most publishers focus on Post Engagement alone, it is Web Shares that make up the bulk of engagement.

*We have used TV2 Nyhetene’s Post Engagement combined with TV2’s Web Share engagement, and the same with NRK Nyheter and NRK. Some Web Shares will come from non-news content, but the vast majority of them come from news articles, so we believe it is as accurate as possible.

Web Share Winners

The top five publishers by Web Shares command an impressive 77% share amongst major Norwegian news publishers. Dagsavisen also performs much better on Web Shares than via Post engagement.

The top five news publishers all use EzyInsights to track Web Shares.

What is the difference between Post Engagement and Web Shares?

Post Engagement on Facebook refers to the likes, reactions, comments and shares that are directly generated from a publisher’s Facebook post. Each of these elements contributes toward how many people will see this post in their own newsfeed.

Web Shares are a count of the number of times an article’s URL is shared to Facebook.

What makes Web Shares so valuable?

They are a count of actual shares, not less valuable engagement such as likes.

They come directly from Facebook users to their friends.
They significantly influence traffic.
Facebook gives priority to what your friends share over what publishers publish on Facebook.

While measuring Post Engagement is an essential first step for all publishers, getting a full view of the media landscape ensures you can make the right calls in the newsroom.

For more info on Web Shares or to try out EzyInsights, visit us at ezyinsights.com