Survey reveals importance of shareable content

Graeme Parton +

A study carried out by market research firm BrainJuicer has revealed that more than 12 million adults in the UK share some form of content over their mobile phones on a weekly basis.

The survey, which BrainJuicer conducted with mobile operator Three, also stated that 67 million pieces of content are shared in a normal week.

As well as highlighting the astronomical increase in mobile web use, the results of the survey should be examined carefully by businesses and brands using social media as a marketing tool.

Social media platforms tend to offer their users the opportunity to share content quickly and easily. Sites like Facebook and Twitter are often integrated with other sites and programs, such as YouTube and Spotify, to allow everything from music and videos to articles and website links to be shared amongst contacts at the click of a button, or with a tap of the screen.

This is where modern marketing techniques blend with more traditional methods to create something extremely viable and often successful for today’s attention-hungry brands. With the right content, social media can be used as a form of word-of-mouth advertising on a scale never seen before.

The new findings also revealed that location is no longer an issue when it comes to users sharing content online. The popularity and accessibility of such mobile devices as smartphones, tablet computers and netbooks has allowed consumers to share material from wherever they are, providing, of course, there is a data connection available. The survey actually found that users share more content outside of the home than they do at their computer desk; with an average of 17 items shared from mobile devices every week compared to 13 shared from home.

The results of BrainJuicer’s survey should only encourage brands to put even more thought into the content with which they represent themselves and the effect it can have on the end user and, in turn, their business.