Research into what people share most online offers valuable insights for public relations and marketing professionals.
The conventional view generally holds that articles on sex, cute animals, humorous and weird posts are the most shared. If you believe that, you’re wrong. New research published by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism shows that readers hunger for analytical, inspiring content. Publishers need not worry about the demise of quality journalism. Readers frequently share in-depth articles with comprehensive analysis.
Researcher Satu Vasantola analyzed 300 articles, the most shared articles from the BBC and two large Finnish media companies, Yleisradio and Helsingin Sanomat. Vasantola classified articles by topics, form, genre, headlines, length, angle and emotions.
News Not Popular on News Sites
One striking revelation: News was not widely shared, except for breaking news. Paradoxically, news articles account for the bulk of the publications’ content. Feature articles account for most of shares but only a small portion of total articles.
Mid-length stories perform well in Vasantola’s research. That could be because more articles fell into the mid-range, or it might indicate that quality of the article is more important than length, she says. Other studies produce conflicting recommendations about length, she notes. Some urge longer content; others urge short content.
Types of content that is frequently shared varies by publication. Traditional news with basic, fact-based headlines are shared more on the BBC. Helsingin Sanomat readers share more features and opinion. The Yleisradio audience prefers fact-based news and opinions, often ones that are strong or provocative. That finding suggests that traditional news websites and other types of publishers should analyze their own audiences to determine what type of content will be well received.
Characteristics of Frequently Shared Content
The study recommends these criteria to create articles that are shared extensively. While geared to journalists, the recommendations can also apply to PR and online marketing communications.
• Combine personal angles with national or international perspectives. People want both stories about individuals and facts and statistics.
• Evoke feelings, especially positive ones. “Pure facts and figures are not enough, people want the facts to be served with emotions and stories of individuals. This doesn’t mean cheap emotional stories, but stories that cleverly combine (inter)national and personal details,” Vasantola told News Whip. The same lesson can apply to PR and marketing.
• Consider video, visual storytelling and data-based journalism. Those forms are becoming more popular. New ways of produce data journalism such as infographics can produce richer and more interesting content, build a brand and its personality, differentiate publishers, and create a closer relationship with audiences.
• Offer opinions that people can agree or disagree with.
• Remember everyday topics like health, children and money.
Bottom Line: Research on the most popular content of news publishers sheds light on the types of articles that are shared the most. While there is no universal formula for achieving viral content, arousing positive feelings, provocative feelings and quality journalism that provides both personal and broader perspective tend to be shared the most frequently.
William J. Comcowich founded and served as CEO of CyberAlert LLC, the predecessor of Glean.info. He is currently serving as Interim CEO and member of the Board of Directors. Glean.info provides customized media monitoring, media measurement and analytics solutions across all types of traditional and social media.
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