Email is still a key component of digital marketing: 49% of consumers share content online at least once a week, with most of it shared via email (86%) and Facebook (49%), according to a study from Chadwick Martin Bailey and iModerate Research Technologies. Just 4% of surveyed consumers share content via Twitter and 2% do so via LinkedIn.
Among those age 18-24, Facebook (76%) is the most popular way to share online content, followed by email (70%), while 11% of such consumers say they share content via Twitter.
Among consumers age 35 and over, email is the primary vehicle for sharing content online (93%).
Entertainment is the primary reason people share content: 72% of consumers say they share content because it's interesting or entertaining, 58% do so because they think the recipient might value the content, and 58% say they share content to get a laugh.
Overall, branded and unbranded content are viewed similarly: 58% of consumers say it doesn't matter—they share both types of content, whereas 14% say they are more likely to share branded content and 10% say they are less likely to share branded content.
The top 5 types of content that consumers like to share are the following:
- News about a family member or friends: 81%
- Family pictures or video: 80%
- Funny videos: 63%
- Coupons/discount: 54%
- News articles and blog posts (e.g., CNN, NY Times): 53%
About the data: Findings are from a study of 1,504 US adults age 18+, conducted by Chadwick Martin Bailey during the week of August 23, 2010.
