A new survey has suggested that while branded content on social media is accessed by most users, it is not managing to engage with them often enough.

The study, conducted by  SurveyMonkey and Social@Ogilvy, polled more than 6,500 social media users in 16 countries. It also found that 46% are regularly sharing content that they are interested in, while 36% will share posts for a cause that they have strong feelings for.

The survey also identified marked variations among users from different countries, with a clear ’emerging’ and ‘mature’ market divide.

In mature markets, content that aims to inform and educate is more popular and is shared by 43% of users. Emerging markets meanwhile are more likely to share content that is funny and entertaining, with 40% likely to do this.

Understanding the audience you are producing content for is something that marketers need to be sure to get right. As the survey results show, what works well in one country may have minimal or no impact in another. Thomas Crampton, Social@Ogilvy’s global managing director, stated:

“You have to be careful you are addressing your audience in the right way. The things that cause people to share and engage with content varied tremendously with local nuances so you can’t just roll out a simple global campaign.”

Another factor, which we at Pressroom as a content writing service recognise, is how active each country’s users are. The least vigorous sharing country is Japan, whilst Brazil, China and Hong Kong have the users most likely to share.

Hong Kong also has a high percentage of users who react negatively to branded content, largely because of the number and frequency of ads that go hand in hand with branded content. Users in the US and in Korea are also likely to react negatively due to ads.

Steven Morris