CNN has released the results of of a June to August global study into the “power of news and recommendation” (POWNAR). The company surveyed 2300 global respondents, and used “semiotic analysis, neuro-marketing techniques, news tracking and an ad effectiveness survey to demonstrate that shared news drives global uplifts in brand metrics.”
According to the survey, people who received news content from a friend or associate via social media, were 19% more likely to recommend the brand that advertised around that story to others, and 27% more likely to favour that brand themselves.
27% of all frequent sharers–those who share 6 or more stories a week–account for 87% of all news stories shared. The average global user shares 13 stories per week and receives 26 stories through shared social media links or emails.
43% of news sharing comes from social media networks and tools e.g. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, MySpace, followed by email (30%), SMS (15%) and IM (12%).
What makes news “shareable”?
- 65% of shared content comprises ongoing stories
- 19% comprises breaking news
- 16% of content falls into the “quirky or funny” category
- Additionally, news recommendations are driven by content that is visually spectacular, stories about science and technology, human interest stories and money-related stories. The majority of stories being shared carry an underlying message of the “sharer” imparting knowledge.
Here’s the CNN International press release.
The Guardian covered the research here.
