ShareThis Research Reveals Social Sharing Habits of Web Users
Ask any marketer and he or she will tell you that the gold standard of any social media engagement is the sharing of content, and knowing what motivates your audience to work on your behalf is key to the success of your social media strategy. According to the Q4 Consumer Trends Sharing Report conducted by ShareThis, social sharing trends continue to evolve and marketers will have to stay ahead to capitalize on their many social platforms. Let’s explore some of the reports highlights:
- Mobile sharing has exploded
ShareThis’ Q2 report found a massive expansion of mobile sharing growth, and this continued throughout the latter portion of 2014. Since January 2014, overall mobile device sharing activity increased by 28 percent, as tablet use has grown by leaps and bounds and account for 15 percent of all sharing activity. In addition, total browsing and sharing activity through mobile grew 32 percent of total activity and leaving the traditional desktop in the rear view mirror.
- Facebook is still the king of sharing
Facebook is the social media juggernaut that never seems to go away, and in ShareThis’ examination of top platforms like Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr and others, Facebook outranked the sharing activity of its next closest competitor, Pinterest, by a staggering 10 to 1.
- Sharing is not the same as engagement
While increasing your share rates is a great step in the right direction, these numbers don’t speak to the same level of consumer interaction that brands are striving for. For instance, ShareThis did not include Instagram in its study of social sharing trends on various platforms, and marketers have found that Instagram posts typically have a higher level of engagement due to more likes, shares and comments. Ultimately, shares make up just one portion of the social media puzzle, but sparking conversation alongside your compelling content will help it go even further.
