Pinterest and LinkedIn Hot on the Heels of Facebook and Twitter in Content Sharing

That 75% of all online content is shared on Twitter and Facebook may not come as a big surprise to anyone. But here’s the big news: two well-known players are making rapid inroads into the content-sharing space. LinkedIn and Pinterest have reported robust sharing numbers; the world’s largest professional sharing network saw its content sharing rise by over 19% while the photo-sharing website posted a 15% growth in sharing. Facebook moved at a relatively slow pace, recording a growth of just under 15% while Twitter declined 8%.

Industry observers say that the latest numbers are proof that there is room for niche-focused social media channels. LinkedIn and Pinterest give advertisers access to niche target audiences, and are fast becoming the go-to sites beyond the Big Two.

Sharing is driven by interests rather than transactions. Advertisers are more interested in displaying their brand value than merely marketing to target markets through search ads. Pinterest and LinkedIn have emerged as popular sharing platforms among both content publishers and advertisers.

Here is a look at the latest content-sharing numbers:

  • Pinterest is taking on email as the preferred medium to share content online. It is currently the third most-popular content-sharing channel, just beating email to the fourth spot.
  • The growth rate of LinkedIn and Pinterest has been faster than all other online channels, making them forces to reckon with as far as FB and Twitter are concerned.

Leading social bookmarking utility ShareThis prepared the Consumer Sharing Trends Report Q3 2013. It analyzed sharing behavior across more than 120 channels and reached over 95% of the U.S internet population on mobile devices and desktop. The report is intended to help advertisers understand how consumers are using social channels beyond Twitter and Facebook, which they can use to develop improved social media campaigns.

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