2. The Psychology of Sharing: What Is This Study About?
A first-of-its-kind inquiry
into the motivations behind why we share
Understanding the motivational
forces behind the act of sharing will help marketers
get their content shared
3. Why do consumers share content online?
What motivates Are there distinct How can
consumers to personalities understanding
share content? with different why people
motivations? share help
advertisers?
4. Overview
Overview
4
Methodology Motivations Online Sharing Key Guidelines Consumer
for Sharing Personas for Getting Categories
Shared
5. Methodology
1 Ethnographies
●In-person interviews in New York,
Chicago and San Francisco
2
We worked with Latitude
Research to conduct a three-
Immersion/Deprivation phase study to understand
●One-week sharing panel
why people share content
online
3
Quantitative Survey
●Survey of 2,500 medium/heavy
online sharers
●Conducted segmentation to identify
main types of sharers
7. In the past, people shared at lunch
with their girlfriends when they saw
someone with something cool. We still
share things when it’s relevant… we
just share more and online.
– Ethnography participant, female
8. Sharing is not new, it's human nature
Self-
actualization
Self-
actualization
Love/ Esteem
Belonging Esteem
Love/Belonging
Safety
Safety
Physiological
9. We now live in the Information Age
We share From With MORE MORE
MORE MORE MORE often quickly
content sources people
10. I have a hard time imagining how much
more to-the-minute information can
become. With twitter, instant FB
updates, e-mail updates, what would
have been considered fast even five
years ago is obsolete.
– Deprivation participant, female
11. From Broadcasters to Sharecasters
Mashing up
Receiving
Redistributing Creating and
recreating
Combining
12. Sharing acts as “information management”
73%
say they process
information more
deeply, thoroughly
and thoughtfully Sharing information
when they share it helps me do my job.
I remember products
and information
sources better when I
85% share them and am
say reading other more likely to use
people’s responses them.
helps them
understand and – Deprivation participant, male
process information
and events
14. To bring valuable and entertaining content to others
49%
say sharing allows
them to inform
others of products
they care about and
potentially change
opinions or
encourage action
94% [I share] to enrich the
carefully consider lives of those around
how the me.
information they
share will be useful - Immersion
to the recipient participant, female
15. To define ourselves to others
68%
share to give
people a better
sense of who they
are and what
they care about
I try to share only
information that will reinforce
the image I’d like to present:
thoughtful, reasoned, kind,
interested and passionate
about certain things.
- Deprivation participant, male
16. To grow and nourish our relationships
73%
share information
because it helps
them connect with I miss the companionship and
others who share conversations on Facebook.
their interests I feel like I’m probably missing
out on some things without the
connection.
- Deprivation participant,
78% male
share information
online because it lets
them stay connected
to people they may
not otherwise stay
in touch with
17. Self-fulfillment
69%
share
information
because it allows
them to feel more
I enjoy getting comments involved in the world
that I sent great information
and that my friends will forward
it to their friends because
it’s so helpful. It
makes me feel valuable.
-
- Ethnography participant, female
18. To get the word out about causes or brands
I forwarded an article
about Proposition B to
Everyone in my union. I
wanted them to learn about
the issue and rally against it.
- Ethnography participant, male
84%
share because
it is a way to
support causes or
issues they care
about
19. Sharing is all about relationships
1 2 3 4 5
To bring
valuable and To define To grow and To get the word
entertaining ourselves to nourish our Self-fulfillment out about causes
content to others relationships or brands
others
20.
21. Six personas of online sharers
1
Altruists 5 SEGMENTS ARE
Connectors DEFINED BY:
● Emotional
3 motivations
Hipsters
● Desired
presentation of
self
6 ● Role of sharing
Selectives in life
2 ● Value of being
Careerists 4 first to share
Boomerangs
22. KEY GUIDELINES FOR GETTING
KEY GUIDELINES FOR GETTING
CONTENT SHARED
CONTENT SHARED
