In a recent Pew Research report about how people get their news today, sharing was highlighted as one of the integral activities associated with news content online.
“If searching for news was the most important development of the last decade, sharing news may be among the most important of the next.”
Share This just released the results of a study of sharing behaviors which shows that while sharing is still unexplored and untapped by many publishers and advertisers, it is shaping the way users interact with each other and with content online.
Here are some of the key findings:
- Sharing generates almost half of the traffic for websites and brands that is created by search
- Sharing also accounts for 31 percent of referral traffic
- Shared links are, on average, clicked on 4.9 times each
- Everyone who shares is an influencer on that specific topic
- Sharing is a viable marketing solution for reaching audiences when they are most receptive to a particular category of content or information
Are US companies aware of this effective social media marketing and PR tool? Is it indeed an unexplored and untapped opportunity?
PRESSfeed, the social media newsroom, studied the websites of companies both large and small in the US to see if they are offering share options on their websites and online newsrooms.
- 34% of Fortune 100 companies have share buttons on their website
- 13% have share buttons on their newsroom content
- 22% of INC 500 companies have share options on their website
- 6% of INC 500 have share buttons on their newsroom content
So the answer is a resounding YES – it is a big missed opportunity! Particularity for news content.
Last year the CMO Council talked about the “Engagement Gap.”
Now we have a “Sharing Gap.”
72% of PR pros polled earlier this year said they plan to add social features to their newsroom. If you’re one of them, check out the social media newsroom.
