A report from PR Newswire and Crowd Factory found that social media plays a critical role in the success of content marketing campaigns.

Sharing press releases and other articles developed as part of a content marketing campaign through social media platforms drives an average of two page views per share, according to a study from PR Newswire and Crowd Factory.

Prospects and others who see links to content in their Facebook News Feed or Twitter Activity stream are likely to click links if content is compelling. From there, they’re likely to share it with their friends or followers should they find the content interesting. Beyond that, it could compel them to convert.

Businesses using web marketing campaigns must understand that all forms of their initiatives are connected and benefit each other when used properly.

Moreover, the study found that Facebook is the most popular platform for sharing, with 48 percent of content being shared on the site. Twitter (37 percent) and LinkedIn (15 percent) rounded out the top three.

In terms of generating page views, Twitter results in the most traffic with 2.2 views per share, while Facebook (two) and LinkedIn (1.7) help as well

Frequent sharing of content as part of social media marketing campaigns is critical for web marketing success. However, there are certain times businesses should target more than others. Brafton recently reported that most content is shared socially around 9:30 a.m. and Wednesday mornings are the most popular time for people to share.

Joe Meloni is Brafton's former Executive News and Content Writer. He studied journalism at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and has written for a number of print and web-based publications.