We see them all the time: “Like us on Facebook!”, “Tweet this to your friends!”, and to a lesser extent (sorry, Google), “+1 this page!”. The vast majority of these requests are ignored. What causes us to share X with our friends, but not Y? What’s people’s motivation behind sharing the things they do on social networks or via email? The New York Times asked 2,500 “medium to heavy sharers” in a study entitled The Psychology of Sharing. I’ve highlighted the key motivators for sharing, according to the Times study:
94% consider how the information they share will be useful to the recipient
84% share because it is a way to support causes or issues they care about
78% share information online because it lets them stay connected to people they may not otherwise stay in touch with
73% share information because it helps them connect with others who share their interests
69% share information because it allows them to feel more involved in the world
68% share to give people a better sense of who they are and what they care about
As business owners and marketers, we often have a clouded vision as to public interest in our work. We, naturally, find our product or service more valuable and more interesting than the general population will. It can be hard to remove this bias, but considering “will people with no stake in my business find this interesting or helpful enough to share it with their friends, colleagues, and family members?” is an important task. As always, content is king, and in a world where “sharing” opportunities are plentiful, only the most interesting and informative content will be truly embraced and distributed by the public.
If you’d like to produce interesting and engaging content for your brand, the kind of content that users will want to spread for you, give us a shout! We’ll help you craft and execute a content and social media strategy to grow and empower your customer base.
