New Study: Why Australians Share Things on Social Media
An interesting report has been released in the last 24 hours by IPSOS which outlines the reasons why people share things via social media.
More than 20 countries were featured as part of the study, including Australia, and it turns out our motivations are slightly different to the rest of the world.
There are a number of reasons for the differences, but first let take a look at the overall results versus the global averages.
The areas where Australia is above the global average include:
- To share funny things (10% higher)
- To let others know what I’m doing (8% higher)
- To add to a thread or conversation (7% higher)
- To add my support to a cause, organisation or a belief (6% higher)
The areas where Australia is below the global average include:
- To let others know what I believe and who I really am (10% lower)
- To show others I’m in the know (6% lower)
One of the most striking conclusions that can be made from this analysis is that Aussies are a contradicted bunch!
On one hand, we’re philanthropic in the way we share information on social media, but on the other hand we’re a little self-involved.
But, the most glaring and important stat is the fact that Aussies love sharing funny things a lot more than the rest of the world does.
This can be put down to a few things, but personality, culture and geography each play a role.
It could be said, that these results suggest Aussies want to be liked by people in their networks more than they want to share knowledge or stimulate genuine conversations.
These are very broad interpretations, and studies like this need to be taken with a grain of salt, but it may help shape the direction of social media activity delivered by brands in the near future.