The different social networks give your followers different ways to interact with you, but they fall into a number of common categories:
- Replies/Comments
- Shares/Retweets
- Likes
Generally speaking, if a post has significantly more replies than likes, it's a good sign that the audience has taken offence and is complaining about the content of that post.
An example of a positive Ratio
I try to avoid being too controversial on my social networking profiles, but this example from April 2019 shows a tweet that received a positive response.
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| A tweet from my account @bobblebardsley, April 2019. |
As of January 2020 the total number of impressions for this tweet is over 20,000 and its Ratio is as shown in the image above:
- 9 replies
- 26 retweets
- 139 likes
Most of the replies are from people who either didn't know about the keyboard shortcut to insert date in Microsoft Excel, or offering extra advice such as how to insert the current time in Excel or expand this functionality using Virtual Basic.
I even got a reply from the official Microsoft Excel account:
The rising numbers as you read from left to right are a sign that in addition to the nine people who replied to me, at least another 17 other users retweeted my post, and another 130 liked it.It's the little things, right? 😉— Microsoft Excel (@msexcel) April 3, 2019
How to tell if your Social Media Ratio is good
Numbers alone don't tell the whole story. It's quite possible to post a tweet or other social media update that gets a ton of replies compared to likes/shares, without that being a bad thing.
Because of this, if you see a post with a bad Ratio - many more replies than other interactions - it's always worth diving down into those replies to try and assess the positive to negative ratio within them.
As a rule of thumb though, if the numbers get bigger from left to right, it's usually a good sign. If the numbers fall as you read across from left to right, it's potentially a bad sign.
What is 'getting Ratioed'?
In a fine example of modern day verbification, the noun Ratio has become the verb 'to Ratio' which refers to the process by which a specific social media post develops these negative statistics.
If one of your posts 'gets Ratioed' it's an indication of widespread disapproval among your audience and may require swift action to protect your brand reputation and follower numbers.
You may, in severe instances, encounter the artificial practice of 'getting Ratioed' by coordinated groups of users who hit the dislike button en masse or otherwise engage with your post in a way that pushes the statistics in a negative direction.
How to recover from a negative Ratio
Recovering from a negative Ratio isn't an exact science, but there are a few things you can try:
- Own it. Admit you made a mistake, say sorry and mean it, and take any remedial action as required.
- Fight it. If you truly believe you are in the right, you might want to take the hit, especially if the people responding to you are not part of your customer base anyway.
- Delete it. But don't assume that will end the controversy. There's almost certainly a screenshot or cached version of your post out there, especially if many people have already objected to it.
Humour can sometimes defuse the situation too, but be careful. Don't joke about serious incidents or try to laugh off a post if it really was ill-judged.
In general, it's best to try to be positive in all of your social media posts and interactions. Be very careful before making jokes, especially at the expense of others, and don't stray into areas where your brand doesn't belong, except in a wholly positive and supportive way.
Summary
- The Social Media Ratio tells you if a post is perceived as good or bad.
- A large number of replies compared to likes/shares is usually bad.
- It's a rule of thumb - some or all of your replies might be positive!
- You can recover from a bad Ratio to turn a bad situation good.
- But it's easier to be positive throughout and avoid controversial topics.
What about the 5:3:2 Social Media Ratio?
There is another Social Media Ratio used in social media marketing, and that's the 5:3:2 Rule. This suggests that on average for every ten updates you post, your social network profile should feature:
- 5 curated/shared posts by other people.
- 3 created/original posts of your own.
- 2 'humanising' informal posts.
The 5:3:2 Ratio has been around for years and personally, I wouldn't worry too much about hitting it exactly. In fact I'd avoid putting any hard and fast rules on your social network profile, compared with taking a more natural approach to what you decide to post and share.
However, it's a useful reminder that a good social media profile includes a healthy mix of shared content, original posts of your own and lighter, informal updates that show your human side.
People want interaction and when you give it to them, they'll often feel more engaged with your brand and potentially more forgiving of any future mistakes you might make.
