23% of Social Media Messages Include Links to Content

A recent study from Nielsen and AOL found that more than half of people’s time is spent with published content, while nearly a quarter is spent with social media. “This prompted the question: How much of a user’s communications also involve content?”

The study, titled “Content is the Fuel of the Social Web,” noted that 53 percent of people spend their time on the Web with published content (portals, entertainment, news/info, lifestyles and auto). Meanwhile, 23 percent is spent with social media, and 7 percent is spent with email, for a combined 30 percent of the time spent with places where content can be shared.

So, is content the fuel of the social Web? According to Nielsen and AOL, yes, it is. The study found that 23 percent of social media messages include links to content (“published articles, videos and photos – not family videos or party pics”). This is the equivalent of about 27 million pieces of content shared each day.

The study also found that when messages are industry-specific, people are nearly twice as likely to share content. While 23 percent all messages are shared, 47 percent of industry-specific messages are shared. For industry-specific messages, 60 percent of conversations include a product or brand name mention.

This trend is observed across all major channels, including Twitter, blogs, news and Facebook.

The study notes that 51 percent of content sharers are males, while 49 percent are female. A third are between the ages of 35-49, 31 percent are 50+, 24 percent are 25-34 and 12 percent are 18-24.

Ninety-three percent of content sharers share via email, 89 percent via social networks, 82 percent via blogs, 81 percent via message boards and 80 percent via instant messages.

A whopping 66 percent of content is shared via email, while 28 percent is shared via social networking, 4 percent via instant messages, 1 percent via message boards and 1 percent via blogs. The study found that 99 percent of sharers who share content via a social network are sharing via multiple platforms.

Friends are the most popular recipient of shared content across social networks, email, instant messages, blogs and message boards. Email is the most popular overall sharing tool, while 51 percent of sharers who wish to share content with the general public turn to message boards.

The study highlights two key ways to engage with content sharing: pass-along media (“users never leave the social platform to access 36% of shared content) and link-back media (“content that’s shared via links,” which account for 60 percent of shared content). Marketers are encouraged to have a strategy for both.

Source:

http://www.slideshare.net/duckofdoom/aol-nielsen-content-sharing-study