Content Strategy – Why Do People Share Content?

Social Media make sharing information quick and easy, but why do people share information with one another? The New York Times recently conducted a quantitative and qualitative study into this subject among a group of over 2,500 people. The study provides insights for marketing professionals when implementing Social Media and content sharing strategies.

According to the report, people share information with others based on the relationship that exists between them. Sharing information is nothing new. We have always done so and the motivation to do so can be found in the upper three levels of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, i.e. the need for social contact, esteem and recognition, and self-actualization.

Five Motives for Sharing Information

The study identified five motives as to why people share information online:

• Information may be valuable, entertaining or beneficial to the recipient. People forward useful tips, links to certain products or services, and fun games or competitions if they think that that the recipient will find them useful or amusing. It was found that 94% of sharers considered whether the information would be useful to the recipient before sharing.

• People sharing information want to show who they are and what they stand for. They thereby consciously project an online image. Sharing information therefore forms part of their personal branding.

• Establishing and maintaining relationships. This applies to 78% of people sharing, especially among those with common interests. Seventy-three percent shares information to prevent a relationship from dissipating.

• Self-fulfilment. People sharing information feel appreciated if they receive gratitude and acknowledgement from recipients. Sixty-nine percent feels more engaged with the world by sharing information.

• Involvement in good causes or social dialogues, and the aim to involve others in the discourse.

Six Personas

The study went on to define six personas based on these sharers’ intrinsic motives:

1. Altruists
Altruists share information to help others. They are trustworthy, attentive and helpful. They generally use e-mail to share content.
2.   Careerists
Careerists exchange ideas that contribute towards improving operating processes, products and services. They are intelligent and generally use LinkedIn.
3.   Hipsters
Hipsters share content in order to let others know who they are. They are generally younger people. They are creative and popular. They are looking for exciting experiences. This group uses e-mail less than any of the other personas identified.
4.   Boomerangs
Boomerangs share content to elicit a response from their audiences. Their aim is recognition. They generally use Twitter and Facebook as their preferred means of communication.
5.   Connectors
Connectors look to bring people together within certain subject areas and aim to do what is in the group’s best interest. They are creative, attentive and relaxed. They love making plans with friends and generally use e-mail and Facebook.
6.   Selectives

Selectives share relevant information with specific, selected people. They are astute, precise and attentive. They prefer to share information by e-mail.

Conclusion & Tips

Marketing professionals should take the motives and personas listed above into account when developing their content-sharing strategy. This entails that content should not only attract a person to the brand, but should enable that person to get in touch and stay in touch with others who share the same goals, needs or interests.

Brands and/or companies can achieve this by building communities. These can be established by defining themes that are important to your target group/audience. Provide them with interesting and relevant content based on your knowledge of these groups. This may be in the form of whitepapers or software that provide certain solutions for your B2B customers or a competition in which you need your friends’ help in order to win, e.g. Lay’s Dutch Maak de Smaak campaign ['Create the Taste'], or an amusing video that has the potential to go viral, e.g. Heineken’s sneak preview for its fans of its walking fridge commercial.

Other tips for influencing the spread of information involve creating trust (information is only shared from trusted sources), keeping the message simple, using humour and emphasizing urgency. A clear message in the study’s findings is that e-mail should not be forgotten as a distribution channel. E-mail still plays an important role in sharing information.

Social Media have content-sharing power! Make sure that your brand and your customers profit from this power!