Brands are increasingly adopting content marketing strategies, with a report from Junta 42 indicating that nearly two-thirds (59 percent) of marketers are spending more on producing quality content this year. One of the benefits of marketing through content is that it serves as linkbait, which helps maximize traffic to a site. A new study from Chadwick Martin Bailey entitled the Social Sharing Research Report indicates marketers should deliver consumers content via email and Facebook to increase the likelihood that it will be further spread on the web.
To start, the study found that almost half of consumers (48 percent) are reading content – including articles, blogs and websites – each day. Three-quarters of consumers say they are somewhat or highly likely to share the content they like online, and 49 percent say they share something they find on the internet at least once a week. This could translate into the spread of inbound links for marketers.
The report reveals that consumers are selective in what they will share online, which should remind marketers that well-researched, frequently updated content is important. Consumers say some types of content they are likely to share include coupons (54 percent) news articles (53 percent) and blog posts with advice or business tips (52 percent). Companies should prepare industry-relevant content accordingly.
Marketers may be happy to learn that Facebook is a top forum for sharing, with 49 percent of consumers indicating they spread information found online to friends and family on this public site. Social media is widely recognized as a leading channel for link building. As Brafton reported just this week, Creators and Megaphones are active social users who help spread branded content across the web.
Still, the Social Sharing Research Report serves as a reminder to marketers that email campaigns are vital strategies to distributing content online. Email proved to be the most popular platform for sharing content. Eighty-six percent of respondents said they typically share content via inboxes. While links shared via email messages may be more private than those posted on social networks, they can still convert prospective shoppers into customers.
Plus, email may be a top way to gain credibility among consumers. A study from Epsilon shows that email is one of the most trusted sources of information among consumers, where social networks, including Facebook, ranked much lower in terms of trustworthiness.
