When it comes to sharing content on social media, pictures and links get the nod over quotes and videos, according to survey results from SocialToaster. The company surveyed its “Super Fans,” a collection of social media experts and professionals, finding 90% agreeing that pictures were most likely to be shared, and 68% saying the same about links. Quotes (51%) and videos came in next (47%), with studies and statistics (20%) far behind.
The social media experts’ opinions largely align with analysis of Facebook data from Socialbakers, though the Socialbakers data shows that photos are far and away the most engaging content on Facebook. Socialbakers took a sample of approximately 90,000 posts from 24,000 brand pages around the world during the week of November 26-December 2, and analyzed the top 10% most engaging posts. Of those, 89% were photos, with the remainder being links (4%), videos (4%), and status updates (3%).
Close Friends More Influential Than Celebrities
While consumers frequently search for news about celebrities online, they’re less likely to take their advice on important issues. Further results from the SocialToaster survey reveal that 95% of “Super Fans” say that a social media post from a close friend would likely influence them on an important issue. Family members (56%) and well-known bloggers (39%) are relatively less influential, while politicians and athletes were on the bottom rung.
The biggest celebrity influencers on social media? President Barack Obama (50% naming him an influencer), Justin Bieber (38.2%), Lady Gaga (35.2%), and Ashton Kutcher (32.4%).
Other Findings:
- Humorous content (86%) is more likely to be shared than sports (61%) and politics (49%), according to respondents.
- The types of content that would most likely cause a “Super Fan” to unfollow someone are: racism (73.2%); sexism (63.4%); pornographic content (53.7%); and repetitive content (51.2%).
