The New York Times has recently released a study called 'Psychology of Sharing' , a study that reveals the motivation behind sharing content online. It talks about how different types of personalities have different motivational factors for content sharing, and this can help marketers target their audience more accurately.

A survey was conducted with 2500 medium/heavy online sharers and according to these results they highlight some interesting points like: sharing personas, cycle of sharing, relationships and key factors that influence sharing. 

Here is a brief overview of this study:



INTERESTING STATISTICS

• 85% say that reading responses from others helps them in grasping and understanding the information better.

• People don't just share content because they like it, 94% say that they are careful about the usefulness of the content to the recipients.

• 69% share content because it gives them a feeling of being involved in what is happening around the world. 

• Causes or issues are important catalysts when it comes to sharing content, 84% share to show their support to causes they care about. 

KEY FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE SHARING:


They like to connect with each other...more than they want to connect with your brand:

If you are a regular reader with Mashable, you will notice that there are a lot of ways through which their readers can connect with each other. Their commenting system lets you follow other readers within the site, this way they are more connected with each other than the brand 'Mashable'. This is just an example, which basically points out the fact that if they like your brand, they will like to share your content with people who they think would appreciate and understand it.

They must trust you first

I would share something with my friends and followers only when I am convinced that whatever I share holds credibility. I might like reading fun, interesting and useful information, but I will not share it until I have full faith in the authenticity of that information.

Keep it simple silly:

It is easier to share simple stuff than complicated analysis or information (unless it is academic or strictly professional). Content that is easily understood and doesn't require a lot of effort in digesting the information receives more 'retweets' or 'share on Facebook' hits than any other.  Hand Hoffman defines simplicity as “the ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.”

Sense of humor:

I believe after a juicy rumor, humor is the next best motivational factor when it comes to sharing stuff with your friends. Sense of humor does two good things to your content, first it grabs reader's attention and second it motivates them to share it. You don't have to be outrageously funny, a hint of humor with splash of wit is more than enough to get you that recognition.

A Sense of urgency:

Creating a sense of urgency within your content is another motivational factor that makes your reader feel that they just have to share this stuff right away before it's too late. Mostly such content covers news articles, contests, early bird contests etc. There are a lot of creative ways in which you can create that sense of urgency.


Other than these five factors, the study also highlights that getting your content shared is only the beginning, ultimately you want it to be shared again and again, eventually receive responses and interaction. It also mentions that in spite of social media taking over our all forms on communication, email is still #1.

Since this study is based on psychology, it also recognizes PERSONALITY TRAITS of online sharers:


Altruists: Helpful, reliable and thoughtful people who mostly rely on emails for sharing content.

Careerists: People who only share work or business related content and have a strong network where they share valuable information.

Hipsters: These are the kind of people that are mostly targeted by social media marketers (it does not say so in the study, but I personally believe so). They hardly use emails, like creative, cool and popular stuff; most of them consists of youngsters.

Boomerangs: They like to share controversial and provocative content to make sure that they will receive some kind of reaction. They mostly use Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon or Digg.

Connectors: People who know how and where to get the right deal online or make that perfect plan with friends or family using the power of internet.

Selectives: This is a difficult crowd that shares selective content with specific people. They are very picky since they want to ensure that the content they share is useful to the recipients.

For more details about this study, please visit The New York Times Insights link to download the entire presentation. 

I would love to hear your views and ideas about what influences or rather motivates someone to share content online. I am sure there are many more creative ways to trigger that sense of sharing...let's hear yours. :)