How We Shared Content In 2011. What Traffic You May Have Missed Out On. How You Can Do Better In 2012…
The website social media sharing widget AddThis recently published statistics on how people shared their content in 2011 and while some of the stats were predictable, a few others were surprising. I thought this would be good information for us all to know when moving forward in 2012 in how we share our content for maximum exposure.
Just to give you a little background information, AddThis is installed on over 11 million websites and reaches over 1.2 billion users. So these statistics give a pretty good view of the kind of sharing being done on the web today.
1. Facebook makes up 52.1% of sharing on the web, which is up from last year’s 44%. This statistic is not really surprising as we all are well aware of how much of a powerhouse Facebook is – but if you were on the fence about joining because you are afraid of the technology or learning curve it’s time to get over it! Sign up for your account and create your own FB page this year and ensure that your content is part of the 52% being shared across the web in 2012. I will be publishing instructional videos around the topic of Facebook for business this year, so look out for those. Find me on Facebook at: http://LisaLovesFacebook.com
2. Twitter makes up about 13.5% of sharing on the web and has grown 576.9% since last year. While not a huge percentage of content sharing, the increase is significant enough for all entrepreneurs to establish a Twitter account and get tweeting this year. Find me on Twitter at @LisaAngelettie
3. StumbleUpon increased its sharing power by 320% this year. StumbleUpon has steadily increased it’s sharing power over the years and this year they even redesigned the site. It’s doubled it’s users over the last 16 months to about 20 million users, so it’s an important sharing tool when considering where you want to be found on social media this year. Find me on StumbleUpon.
4. Tumblr sharing is growing by 1299.5% and is accelerating. In fact, in June surpassed WordPress as the most popular blogging platform hosting 20.8 million sites! Who knew right? So this is a very important content sharing platform every entrepreneur needs to be taking advantage of in 2012. The numbers speak for themselves. Find me on Tumblr.
5. What isn’t working: Newcomer Google+ grew tremendously this year but has plateaued, Digg declined by a whopping 47.7%, MySpace continues to decline by 56.9% (are people still on there?), and sharing via emailing and printing are down to 14% (which honestly is still how I like to share).
I hope these statistics give you an outlook on what content sharing platforms are working, where you need to be, and where you need to share your content this year. Are you using these content sharing tools right now? I’ll admit that I have neglected StumbleUpon because I hated the interface, but the new design is very user friendly so I will give it more attention this year. I’ve also fully automated my sharing on Tumblr but may take a more active approach towards my sharing over there in order to fully engage the community. Let me know your thoughts…
Source: Atomic Reach, AddThis
So many of these things seem to be dependent on using smart-phone technology. Is that a correct view? I don’t have a smart phone, and don’t foresee getting one. Will that just increase my workload–having to post to each sharing site individually?
For instance, Twitter is almost useless unless tied to my computer–andthen it is cumbersome andnot much fun to use. I find no personal value init. Do you gain followers who are not yet customers from Twitter?
Hi Dale:)
Well I personally do most of my social networking via computer because I do it as part of my work day. Occasionally I will use my phone or iPad. Statistically you are right. Most people connect socially using a smart phone. But these statistics are specifically about sharing content which I feel is part of my job. So I share my content during the work day sitting at my computer. All and all I suppose it’s a personal preference — and yes I have found value in social media (specifically Facebook and LinkedIn).