Sharing Trends « ShareThis Blog

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Sharing Data Around Oscar Winners Reveal It’s No Popularity Contest

February 29th, 2012

If there’s one thing we love sharing about, it’s Oscar. From the glitz and glamour of the red carpet to the onstage theatrics, tears and tradition, viewers are never left wanting for more and the 84th Annual Academy Awards were no exception. This year, a number of new faces were mixed in to the parade of usual suspects on the red carpet, some of whom stole the show later that night. We shared about who they were wearing, what they were wearing – or, weren’t wearing, in the case of Angie’s right leg – what they said, who was predicted to be the favorite, and who ended up taking home the prize.

There were some pleasant surprises among the winners, like the touching silent film, “The Artist,” in the category of Best Picture. And we nodded our heads knowingly as Hollywood sweetheart Meryl Streep swept onstage to accept the statue for Best Actress in a Leading Role. So we were curious about how sharing activity leading up to the Awards reflected the outcomes. Predictably, sharing around most celebrities, films and awards categories spiked the day of Oscars. But based on what we uncovered, it was certainly no popularity contest. Let’s take a closer look.

On the Best Director front, newcomer Michel Hazanavicius of “The Artist” fame may have won over the Academy, but Hollywood titan Martin Scorsese charmed the masses. Scorsese generated nearly three times as much sharing activity as the winning director, who came in next to last, beating out only “Tree of Life” director Terrence Malick.

Of the women up for Best Actress, it was the lesser known Viola Davis of “The Help,” not Ms. Streep, who reigned when it came to sharing activity. It was a close call, as both generated a flurry of online sharing, but Ms. Davis squeaked out on top. The remaining three nominees – Glenn Close, Rooney Mara and Michelle Williams – combined managed to stir up only as much sharing as Ms. Davis or Ms. Streep each did on their own.

On to the dashing men of the Oscars. The one and only George Clooney may not have taken home a trophy, but he wiped the floor with his fellow nominees when it came to online sharing. Perhaps he picked up a few tips from his ex-wrestler girlfriend who looked like a golden trophy herself or maybe it’s just that he can rock an Armani tux like no other – either way, he was the most shared subject of all the nominees on Oscar night, men or women.

See you next year in Hollywood!

by, Tom Spano, Social Media Manager, ShareThis, Inc.

Memories of Whitney Flood Sharing Channels

February 21st, 2012

The most awarded female artist in history, Whitney Houston was a larger than life legend whose death shook fans to the core as news of the tragedy spread like wildfire, clogging the Twitterverse and flooding Facebook with memories, tributes and prayers. It’s no surprise that social media channels streamed with these sentiments, but the sheer numbers are still staggering. What is notable is that it wasn’t until Sunday, the day after her death, that sharing across Facebook, Twitter and email spiked, with Facebook predictably leading the way. The likely explanation is that her death wasn’t until late in the afternoon – 4 p.m. PST Feb. 11 – and, despite several tweets alluding to her passing, the rumors weren’t confirmed until closer to 5 p.m. PST by the Associated Press.

Interestingly, Facebook saw more than three times as much sharing activity as Twitter, possibly because what was most likely being shared was videos of the iconic singer’s greatest hits. Oddly, sharing on Facebook and Twitter dropped to less than half peak levels by Monday but declined much more gradually on email. Perhaps that trend resulted from the start of the work week and people not having access to social media channels from their work computers, or trying to disguise their Whitney-related sharing as work.

Sharing around the late singer’s death also far outpaced the Grammy Awards, which took place Sunday, the evening after Houston’s death. As expected, sharing activity related to the awards show ramped up the day of the ceremony and spiked on Monday as viewers traded articles and video recaps. But still, this paled in comparison to the shares of stories and videos about Houston. Again, Facebook saw the most sharing activity, followed by Twitter and then email. Surprisingly, the Grammys only garnered a fraction of the attention of Houston, who was a fixture at the event in past years, often performing onstage herself or accepting one of the countless awards in her collection. Without a doubt, the overlap of content related to both Houston and the Grammys – Jennifer Hudson’s heart-rending performance of “I Will Always Love You” and various on-stage tributes – fueled sharing activity around both topics, but the explosion of Whitney-inspired sharing over the past few days is a true testament to the indelible mark she left on the world.

Whitney, we will always love you.

by, Tom Spano, Social Media Manager, ShareThis, Inc.

ShareThis Makes Forbes’ List of America’s Most Promising Companies

November 30th, 2011

Here at ShareThis, we always knew we were working with a pretty exceptional idea, but it’s always nice to get a little reminder. Today, that came in the form of making Forbes’ list of America’s Most Promising Companies. What started off as a simple idea – to offer a service to help consumers share great content — has blossomed over the years into something that helps publishers better understand how their content performs, gives brands deeper insights into the best content with which to match their advertising, and is truly transforming the online content economy. We’re thrilled that the editors at Forbes recognize the value we bring to our customers, see the size of the market we’re tackling and have validated the strength of our management team through today’s recognition.

Initially, we envisioned a set of tools that would make it easy for consumers to share the best content on the Web. Kind of like the notion of survival of the fittest, our tool would help proliferate engaging content, allowing readers to separate the wheat from the chaff. Now, we’re at the next phase of our business: sharing matters, and publishers should be rewarded for creating engaging, highly share-able content. And this idea also brings immense value to the brands that are working to match their message with the right content all over the Web. Engaged readers mean an engaged audience of consumers receptive to a brand’s message.

The importance of sharing is catching on throughout the online ecosystem of publishers, advertisers and consumers, and we couldn’t be happier. It’s a true honor to have made this prestigious list and we see it as a nod that others agree that our ideas will change the world. Thanks to Forbes for recognizing this in us.

by, Kristen Fergason, CMO, ShareThis, Inc.

Follow Kristen on Twitter: @sharekris

Follow ShareThis on Twitter: @ShareThis

Sharing and Passion: Essentials For Building Your Brand

October 31st, 2011

Way before joining the ShareThis team, I knew the importance of sharing and how it not only increased traffic on my blogs but how I was able to optimize my content based on popular posts. Our publishers know this too!

In the last week, two of our publishers shared back and invited me to two amazing events. Both events reinforced something we have been saying all along; Sharing can and will help grow your business.

Ever heard of a little website called PerezHilton.com? I was invited to his star-studded event in NYC along with Kelly Norris who is the ShareThis Account Manager for his websites. Perez had arranged for 9 musical acts to play at Hammerstein Ballroom. Kelly and I fist pumped while DJ Pauly D spun “Party Rock” to a packed house. Other acts included Anjulie, Iggy Azalea, Karmin, Mia Moretti DJ Set, Boyz II Men, Mary J. Blige and a DJ set by Little Boots.

Amidst the glamour and the celebrities that walked by us, I couldn’t help but think about how far Perez has come. When he first started blogging, how did his content get distributed before Facebook? Sharing! People emailed and AIMed links to content. As the social media bubble grew, Perez embraced it and created multiple outlets for this content to be shared to. How did he turn a simple blog into an enterprise? Sharing was a huge ingredient of his successful recipe.

Another event I attended was a “Power Lunch” with Marie Claire @WORK presented by Express. This was the first of four lively discussions in their Speaker Series. Set in NYC’s very exclusive Core Club, about fifty women were given the opportunity to learn from top entrepreneurs paving the way in their fields.

The featured panelists, (Erica Huss – Co-Founder, BluePrint Cleanse, Jenn Hyman – Co-Founder, Rent the Runway, Rochelle Behrens – Founder, The Shirt, Julie Rice – Co-Founder, SoulCycle) immediately started off by sharing the stories behind their success. Each spoke about their background and how passion drove their success. They shared stories about why they saw a need in the marketplace for their products and the process of building a company around an idea. It was truly inspirational.

Just in September, we saw 17.5MM shares. Sure some of those shares are silly cat videos, but some of them could be shares around your brand or content. To me, sharing is like an endless digital version of the childhood game “operator”. Messaging is shared to a community from one platform, and in turn may be shared to another platform and on and on it goes. Its clear to me that sharing is a major part in building a brand while gaining and retaining loyal customers.

By, Missy Steiner, Director of Marketing, ShareThis, Inc.

Follow Missy on Twitter: @Missypoo586

How Headlines Are Shared: Chairman and Founder Tim Schigel Takes the Stage at AdWeek

October 11th, 2011

A great turnout in NYC for this year’s Advertising Week – everywhere you turn, you encounter another company or idea that’s bound to transform advertising in some shape or form, and we like to think our co-attendees feel the same way about us. Not only did ShareThis power Advertising Week’s MVP program, but Chairman and Founder Tim Schigel took the stage Thursday afternoon to illustrate the flurry of sharing activity that takes place around every news event, from headlines that hit earlier this year – Bin Laden’s capture, Japan’s devastating earthquake and Mubarak’s overthrow – to ongoing events such as the protests on Wall Street and the political unrest transforming Libya. Let’s take a look.

Sharing activity surrounding the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations remained steady in the days leading up to the Oct. 1 march on the Brooklyn Bridge, and accelerated significantly as the news that police arrested more than 700 protesters hit the wires. Up until Oct. 1, sharing via Twitter and email remained relatively low, with Facebook steadily leading the pack. However, Twitter shares picked up the day before and day of the march, presumably as people began sharing updates of the days’ activities in short bursts. Still, social networking giant Facebook lead the pack when it came to sharing channels, showing that this event was one fostered and shared via social media, rather than traditional email. The increase in sharing activity continued to trend on Oct. 2 as people shared updates on the aftermath of the march and subsequent arrests.

Despite the fact that the march on the Brooklyn Bridge happened right here in New York, news surrounding the events taking place in Libya toward the end of August – specifically, the Battle of Tripoli – had a far wider social reach, perhaps a reflection of the severity of the circumstances and a broad, international concern with the outcome. As expected, Facebook, with its massive user base, prevailed over Twitter and email in terms of sharing channels. Overall Facebook sharing peaked on Aug. 23 amid reports surfacing about the capture of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the second son of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, by rebel forces, the assault on Bab al-Azizia and the raising of the rebel flag over Gaddafi’s personal residence. Interestingly enough, Facebook sharing dropped dramatically going into Aug. 24 as rebels continued their search for Gaddafi, possibly because the major battles had mostly subsided compared to fighting on previous days, while email steadily increased, though never reaching the social reach of Facebook.

This analysis provides a unique, bird’s-eye-view of the way news travels – what’s being read, how key events inspire sharing activity and which channels readers choose to spread the word. News has always traveled fast and sharing tools allow it to move all the more quickly, shining a spotlight onto the events that matter most to readers around the world and fostering the spread of information.

by Kristen Fergason, CMO, ShareThis, Inc.

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