Companies can learn from consumer habits to generate a greater impact on social media

Online users and consumers have increased the habit and the tendency to share content in a variety of ways and through different platforms. However, despite the rise of social media, 93% of internet users still use email to share content, while 89% use social networks and 82% use blogs.

This is how the data reveal the new study “Content is the fuel of the Social Web”, developed jointly by Nielsen and AOL.

Despite this, this variety of platforms are used with different groups of people. Social networks, for example, are the main channel for sharing content with friends, 92% of people do so, while 86% use e-mail to share it with family members and 26% with co-workers. In the exchange of online content with the general public, consumers prefer to use forums (51%) or blogs (41%).

By studying the way consumers share content online, marketers can determine the best ways to reach consumers and have a greater impact on social media or through advertising.

In addition, the study found that 60% of the shares were links to published content such as news. Meanwhile, 36% of the actions consisted of integrated content, such as brand experiences in a social network, allowing users to share content without leaving the platform.

The corporate website, on the other hand, constitutes a small part of all the actions. By being an active part of the conversation on social platforms such as Facebook, or by having branded entertainment content available, marketers can take advantage of the popularity of the built-in content and still extend their message.

Advertising in media and websites can help merchants reach their target audience and connect with people with whom consumers are sharing that content and this behavior should be used by marketers.