A new study from AOL and Nielsen suggests that men are more likely to share digital content than women. Social marketers looking to distribute their content and find brand advocates across the web should take note.
The study, relayed by MediaPost, found that there are more women online than men (53 percent versus 47 percent), yet males promote more content on the web. The study found that 51 percent of men versus 49 percent of women are likely to share online content.
This is not to say that women can't be valuable brand advocates. In fact, the study found that women are slightly more likely than their male counterparts to share information related to common interests (33 percent versus 31 percent). This ranges from arts news to parenting tips, indicating women are still potential advocates for a number of brands.
However, men are far more likely than women to share information that helps them “position themselves as experts,” Media Post quotes AOL's senior marketing director, Kristin Kovner, as saying. Forty-one percent of men versus 32 percent of women will share information such as how-to articles and industry reports.
Here are some other social sharing insights internet marketers may like:
• Twenty-seven million pieces of online content are shared daily.
• Twenty-three percent of all social media messages contain shared content.
• More than half (53 percent) of online time is accounted for by content consumption.
• Sixty percent of content shared on social platforms includes a link to an external site. (Read: Shared content is/ should be uses as a traffic driver.)
• Email is the primary sharing tool at 66 percent.
“As marketers, content is the way to become involved in that social conversation in an authentic, additive way,” Kovner said.
It seems many marketers are already aware of the need for quality social content. As Brafton has reported, marketing experts say social content marketing should be a top priority for 2011.
