What do people like to share? Are you curious to know?

Do you want to know which social channels users share on most frequently?

In this article, you will discover the latest findings on what types of content are most shared, which channels seem to have the most users who share, and which posts often result in the most shares.

1 - Mobile Sharing Has Doubled

In 2014, consumers doubled their mobile sharing activity, according to the Q4 Social Sharing Report. ShareThis. Mobile device (smartphone) users now spend 20% of their device activity sharing content. When using a desktop computer, they spend only 6% of their time sharing content. In fact, sharing activity on a desktop fell by 30.2% in 2014.

Key findings: First, with mobile devices becoming the social focus, the authors of the ShareThis study recommend that brands “adopt a mobile-first strategy” if their goal is to reach customers through social media. Research from January 2015 tells us that 80% of consumers already own a mobile device.

Secondly, since sharing is a social activity, it makes sense that consumers would do it from the privacy of their smartphones and tablets, which they use mostly during their leisure time. With desktops and laptops serving as work platforms, consumers would be concerned about employees accessing internet activity there.

2 - Facebook Dominates All Channels for Sharing Activity

In the same study mentioned above, ShareThis compared sharing activity on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, and three other platforms. They found that Facebook surpassed the sharing activity of its closest competitor, Pinterest, by more than 10 to 1,81% of all shares occurring across the seven channels combined (including email newsletters) originating from Facebook.

In Q4 of 2014, 81% of all shares came from Facebook. Far behind was Pinterest, which originated 7% of all shares. This study did not analyze Instagram.

Despite this statistic, keep in mind that ShareThis does not include Instagram in the study.

Instagram has a much higher engagement rate than any of the channels in the ShareThis study. Several studies have concluded that Instagram's engagement rate far surpasses Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. Considering that "engagement" is composed of likes, shares, and comments, we can assume that shares make up a reasonable portion of Instagram's engagement rate.

Keep in mind, too, that researchers have found that both sharing and global engagement rates are declining. Content Marketing Paradox Report by TrackMaven The study analyzed two years of marketing activity for 8,800 brands, including 13.8 million pieces of content across seven marketing channels. The chart below compares the increase in the amount of social content with the decline in sharing and engagement. As more content floods the internet, each piece is forced to compete for the limited number of readers available to consume it. The chart below also shows that in January 2013, brands were averaging 25 posts per channel. This number doubled to 50 posts per channel in September 2014 before dropping slightly. Engagement rate went in the opposite direction. Whereas the interaction rate in January 2013 per post was 0.35 per 1,000 followers or 3 interactions per 10,000 followers, by September 2014, this number had reduced to about 0.15 per 1,000 followers.

On social media, branded content is seeing the lowest engagement rates now than at any time in 2013 and 2014; 43% of blog posts that do professional marketing received slightly less than 10 interactions. On Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, and LinkedIn, more than half of all posts receive fewer than 10 interactions (73%, 60%, 65%, and 68%, respectively).

As the graph above demonstrates, Twitter receives the lowest sharing rate and Facebook the highest. Don't forget that, for now, Instagram has a much higher engagement/sharing rate than any of the platforms studied by TrackMaven.

3 - What consumers share most are "List" and "Why?" posts.“

Have you ever heard of a "Listicle"? It's an article in list format, and it's one of the most common types of content on Facebook and other channels. (Due to its popularity, “listicle” still managed to get into the Oxford English Dictionary in 2014.) From June to November 2014, the web-based marketing tool BuzzStream and the agency Fractl tracked 220,000 pieces of content from 10 high-engagement and 10 low-engagement businesses. They discovered that the most shared content took the form of “listicles” and “why content.”

So common it hardly needs explanation, “List” or “listicle” posts appear as typical “5 Reasons to Create Content for Your Business” or ”Top 7 Pinterest Marketing Strategies.” The number of shares of “list” posts measured in the study ranged from 21,000 to 24,500 each month.

“Why” content, on the other hand, explains a concept or clarifies a topic. Also considered were “how-to” or “explainer” posts, which provide useful information. “Why” posts, out of the 220,000 pieces of content that BuzzStream evaluated from September to November 2014, gained an average of 24,500 shares each month.

"How-to" articles and videos received the fewest shares overall.

Keep in mind that, with the large amount of data from the biggest channels available now, researchers have discovered which topics are most popular on each platform.

ShareThis found that Facebook serves as the internet's watering hole and social hub where friendships dominate. Therefore, users discuss all sorts of topics. On the other hand, other platforms provide a meeting point for people who focus on specific categories. Beauty and Fitness, Food and Drink, and Shopping dominated conversations on Pinterest. And 2014 saw a sudden increase in the sports, news, and finance categories, to some extent on Twitter.

Key findings: “List” and “why” posts get the most shares, possibly because these formats fit the habits of the digital reader. The “list” promises to keep the reader's eye moving to the section that interests them most. The “why” promises a brief explanation of a topic the reader likely searched for.

4 - Post on Facebook During the Early Afternoon

In his blog on QuickSprout, internet marketing entrepreneur Neil Patel compiled the results of 11 solid studies on the subject into an infographic. best times to post on social media. We've only included the Facebook results below for space reasons, but if you click the link above, the infographic covers Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, and Google+ as well.

Consider these best times to post per channel:

Twitter: 5 PM for more retweets
Facebook: 1 PM, Monday to Friday, for more shares.
LinkedIn: Most shares occur on Tuesdays from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM.
Pinterest: 9:00 AM on Friday or Saturday night has the most traffic.
Google+: Best engagement is at 9:00 AM on Wednesdays.
Instagram: For brands, overnight

See the post at the link above for more specific results.

Key takeaways: While these times may seem random, Neil Patel claims he increased his social media traffic (from his channels to his website) by 39% when he followed the guidelines. Always good to test!

Conclusion

Adapting your social media strategy using these findings can help you get more shares and expand your reach.

Companies with younger audiences have opportunities on Instagram, where a 2015 Pew study It was discovered that 53% of all internet users aged 18 to 29 are active. Half in that age group use Instagram daily.

Marketing professionals in the athletic industry can get more shares on Twitter, which appears to be a meeting place for sports fans.

On Pinterest, retailers have the opportunity to provide the promotions and new products that users want to share with their friends. Sharing excellent content improves Pinterest user profiles and gives them a way to connect with friends, building their relationships.

Finally, experimenting with posting times could be a low-cost way to get more shares.

What do you think? How do you get the most shares of your content? Have you noticed times that work better than others? Leave your comments and questions below.