UK newsbrands increase social media interactions by 87%
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UK newsbrands hit record highs on social media @Telegraph @MailOnlin e @guardian @DailyMirror @Independent @EveningStandard @thetimes Analysis of data from October 2014
description
UK newspaper brands have rapidly increased their presence and influence in social networks during the three months to September 2014
Transcript of UK newsbrands increase social media interactions by 87%
UK newsbrands hit record highs on social media
@Telegraph@MailOnline
@guardian @DailyMirror@Independent
@EveningStandard
@thetimes
Analysis of data from October 2014
Headlines
• UK newsbrands drove 295.1 million social media actions* between January and September 2014
• Facebook: 139.4 million article likes, 60 million comments, 62 million shares
• 30.6 million Twitter shares• 1.8m LinkedIn shares• 1m pins on Pinterest
• 87% increase in monthly social media interactions during September 2014 vs April 2014
• Facebook is the most important social medium for sharing stories for all UK newsbrands – increased by 33% in the last six months
*Direct activity from newsbrand url. Excludes likes etc for newsbrand Facebook pages, Twitter following, favourites & re-tweets. Global data.
Global social media interactions* from UK newsbrand articles have grown 87% since April
Jan-14 Feb-14 Mar-14 Apr-14 May-14 Jun-14 Jul-14 Aug-14 Sep-14
25,659 25,131
29,211 26,079 27,451
32,238
39,549 41,729
48,041
000s social media interactions
Source: Newswhip UK Newsbrands: dailymail.co.uk, theguardian.com, independent.co.uk, telegraph.co.uk, mirror.co.uk, express.co.uk, standard.co.uk, metro.co.uk (from March 2014), thetimes.co.uk (May 2014), dailystar.co.uk (May 2014)
*Facebook likes, shares & comments; Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest shares
A bumper three months has seen newsbrands overtake Buzzfeed
Jan-14 Feb-14 Mar-14 Apr-14 May-14 Jun-14 Jul-14 Aug-14 Sep-14
25,659
48,041
41,434
34,551
5,711 7,198
9,389
12,782
2,945 2,776
000s social media interactions
Newsbrands Buzzfeed Upworthy BBC Huffington Post
Source: Newswhip UK Newsbrands: dailymail.co.uk, theguardian.com, independent.co.uk, telegraph.co.uk, mirror.co.uk, express.co.uk, standard.co.uk, metro.co.uk (from March 2014), thetimes.co.uk (May 2014), dailystar.co.uk (May 2014)
UK newsbrand article shares rose to a high of 13m in September
Jan-14 Feb-14 Mar-14 Apr-14 May-14 Jun-14 Jul-14 Aug-14 Sep-14
5,990 5,840
6,748
5,606 5,964
7,036
8,145 8,094 8,641
2,812 2,685 3,039
2,622 3,033 3,204
4,559 4,271 4,377
000s shares
Facebook Twitter
Source: Newswhip *UK Newsbrands: dailymail.co.uk, theguardian.com, independent.co.uk, telegraph.co.uk, mirror.co.uk, express.co.uk, standard.co.uk, metro.co.uk (from March 2014), thetimes.co.uk (May 2014), dailystar.co.uk (May 2014)
Facebook and UK newsbrands
Facebook is the most important social media brand for newsbrands
Source: NewswhipUK Newsbrands total interactions Jan-May 2014: dailymail.co.uk, theguardian.com, independent.co.uk, telegraph.co.uk, mirror.co.uk, express.co.uk, standard.co.uk, metro.co.uk (from March 2014), thetimes.co.uk (May 2014), dailystar.co.uk (May 2014)
Jan-14 Feb-14 Mar-14 Apr-14 May-14 Jun-14 Jul-14 Aug-14 Sep-14
40% 42% 43% 45% 45% 47% 48% 52% 54%
23% 23% 23% 21% 22% 22% 21%19% 18%
25% 24% 22% 22% 21% 20% 19%17% 18%
11% 11% 10% 10% 11% 10% 12% 10% 9%1% 1% 1% 2% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1%
Share of UK newsbrand interactions by social media brand
Facebook Likes Facebook Shares Facebook Comments Twitter Shares LinkedIn/Pinterest
Total Facebook interactions for UK newsbrands have almost doubled since January 2014
Jan-14 Feb-14 Mar-14 Apr-14 May-14 Jun-14 Jul-14 Aug-14 Sep-14
22,666 22,264
25,88323,032 24,126
28,681
34,56037,071
43,244
000s
Source: NewswhipUK Newsbrands Jan-May 2014 : dailymail.co.uk, theguardian.com, independent.co.uk, telegraph.co.uk, mirror.co.uk, express.co.uk, standard.co.uk, metro.co.uk (from March 2014), thetimes.co.uk (May 2014), dailystar.co.uk (May 2014)
…And UK newsbrand articles’ Facebook likes have more than doubled in the last six months
Jan-14 Feb-14 Mar-14 Apr-14 May-14 Jun-14 Jul-14 Aug-14 Sep-14
10,340 10,495
12,67911,616
12,468
15,110
19,099
21,724
25,867
6,336 5,929 6,456 5,810 5,6956,534 7,315 7,251
8,735
000s
Facebook likes Facebook comments
Source: NewswhipUK Newsbrands Jan-May 2014 : dailymail.co.uk, theguardian.com, independent.co.uk, telegraph.co.uk, mirror.co.uk, express.co.uk, standard.co.uk, metro.co.uk (from March 2014), thetimes.co.uk (May 2014), dailystar.co.uk (May 2014)
US providers more reliant on Facebook
upworthy.com
buzzfeed.com
metro.co.uk
huffingtonpost.co.uk
dailymail.co.uk
mirror.co.uk
express.co.uk
theguardian.com
independent.co.uk
standard.co.uk
telegraph.co.uk
bbc.co.uk
99.8%
96.5%
94.4%
93.5%
92.0%
91.6%
88.9%
87.3%
82.6%
79.7%
77.7%
63.0%
0.1%
2.3%
5.4%
6.0%
6.8%
8.2%
10.7%
11.5%
16.6%
18.5%
20.4%
35.6%
Share of interactions by social media brand
Facebook likes, shares and comments Twitter shares
Source: Newswhip Jan-Sep 2014
Guardian85.0m
Daily Mail73.8m
New York Times75.7m
USA Today42.2m
W/tonPost
38.9m
Total Facebook interactions Jan-Sep 2014
Source: Newswhip Jan-Sept 2014
UK has two of the top three biggest English language newspapers on Facebook
Facebook shares higher than Twitter for most UK newsbrands
Source: Newswhip Jan-Sept 2014UK Newsbrands: dailymail.co.uk, theguardian.com, independent.co.uk, telegraph.co.uk, mirror.co.uk, express.co.uk, standard.co.uk, metro.co.uk (from March 2014), thetimes.co.uk (May 2014), dailystar.co.uk (May 2014)
upworthy.com
buzzfeed.com
huffingtonpost.co.uk
metro.co.uk
dailymail.co.uk
mirror.co.uk
theguardian.com
express.co.uk
independent.co.uk
standard.co.uk
telegraph.co.uk
bbc.co.uk
99.6%
91.3%
79.6%
79.1%
77.9%
71.6%
65.6%
65.5%
56.2%
51.5%
49.7%
38.2%
0.4%
8.7%
20.4%
20.9%
22.1%
28.4%
34.4%
34.5%
43.8%
48.5%
50.3%
61.8%
Shares only – Facebook vs Twitter
Facebook shares Twitter shares
• Pure players more reliant on very high numbers sharing each article, especially Upworthy
• UK newsbrand success more dependent on larger number of articles being shared
• BUT the most shared UK newsbrands also have highest ratio of shares to articles
• Optimising number of shares, particularly on Facebook is key to social media success
“We actually created that huge traffic jump in June producing fewer stories, not more. On the day-to-day operational side, the team has made dozens of changes that add up to the newsroom working better and more efficiently. Seemingly mundane things make a huge difference – things such as better planning, more creative story conferences, and using audience data to decide what to stop doing.”Jason Seiken
Jan-14 Feb-14 Mar-14 Apr-14 May-14 Jun-14 Jul-14 Aug-14 Sep-14
1,152
2,086 2,701
5,916
11,651
Total Facebook interactions 000’s Mirror.co.uk
“…September crowns an amazing run of form for the Mirror, who we identified doing really well over the summer months.
“They shot up the ranks right to number nine overall […] increasing their total interactions by almost 4m in a single month.The Mirror are the first ‘legacy’ media outlet that we’ve seen break into the top ten in a long time.”Newswhip blog
“At the digital first Mirror.co.uk, the four main weekday peak times, with devices, are as follows:
7am - Mobile
Midday - Desktop
4.30pm - Desktop and Mobile
8pm - Mobile and Tablet
To respond to these surges in expectant visitors, the Mirror’s newsroom has big refreshes of content at each of these times. Posting new stories on Facebook at these times is part of that strategy.”Newswhip sharing guide
Source: Newswhip Jan-Sep 2014
Exceptional growth for the Mirror has seen it enter the top 10 English language news sites on Facebook
UK newsbrands prompt more Facebook interactions than the BBC, led by Guardian and MailOnline
Jan-14 Feb-14 Mar-14 Apr-14 May-14 Jun-14 Jul-14 Aug-14 Sep-14
22,666 22,264
25,883
23,03224,126
28,681
34,56037,071
43,244
6,596 5,659 4,947 4,661 5,6454,292 5,134 5,844
8,6577,1998,051 7,805 8,462
9,2519,936 10,605
11,536 12,519
9,5927,617 8,296 7,380
7,076
8,696 8,295 8,167 8,840
000s shares, likes & comments
Newsbrands bbc.co.uk theguardian.com dailymail.co.uk
Source: Newswhip Jan-Sep 2014UK Newsbrands: dailymail.co.uk, theguardian.com, independent.co.uk, telegraph.co.uk, mirror.co.uk, express.co.uk, standard.co.uk, metro.co.uk (from March 2014), thetimes.co.uk (May 2014), dailystar.co.uk (May 2014)
Some top Facebook stories
July 2014, mirror.co.uk586,250 interactions, 132,024 shares
August, telegraph.co.uk82,090 interactions, 18,097 shares
September 2014, MailOnline 295,620 interactions, 70,873 shares
June 2014, The Guardian 317,860 interactions, 85,240 shares
September 2014, The Guardian 221,542 interactions, 44,024 shares
September 2014, mirror.co.uk314,213 interactions, 65,015 shares
It’s not just trivia, lists and snippets
• Biggest UK newsbrand stories, Facebook September 2014:• 29 UK and world news, current affairs and comment• 10 sport• 2 showbiz• 6 video/gallery links• 2 science• and just 2 lists or quizzes
The most shared story was from MailOnline…
It’s not just trivia, lists and snippets…
• In September 2014 this story helped the Guardian break the 12m monthly Facebook interactions barrier for the first time
September 2014, theguardian.com182,231 Facebook interactions
It’s not just trivia, lists and snippets
• Story length is no barrier to sharing
• Analysis of top 10 most shared stories for 5 big publishers on Facebook showed that long form, high quality writing and interesting editorials make up the bulk of the big hits (except BBC)
• The Guardian’s top stories averaged 1,740 words and included a six-part multimedia feature on NSA revelations, totalling 4,000+ words
UK newsbrand Twitter shares similar to BBC
Jan-14 Feb-14 Mar-14 Apr-14 May-14 Jun-14 Jul-14 Aug-14 Sep-14
2,812 2,685 3,039
2,622
3,033 3,204
4,559 4,271 4,377
2,704 2,490
2,729
2,876
3,607 3,221
3,582 3,498
3,960
756 846 855 864 782 779 1,020
865 880
98 113 115 97 108 118 157 132 152
000s shares
UK newsbrands BBC Buzzfeed Huffington Post
UK Newsbrands: dailymail.co.uk, theguardian.com, independent.co.uk, telegraph.co.uk, mirror.co.uk, express.co.uk, standard.co.uk, metro.co.uk (from March 2014), thetimes.co.uk (May 2014), dailystar.co.uk (May 2014)
Some top Twitter shares
September 2014, MailOnline37,076 shares
July 2014, mirror.co.uk14,619 shares
August 2014, Independent.co.uk5,757 shares
June 2014,The Guardian6,984 shares
September 2014, Independent.co.uk5,431 shares
September 2014, The Times4,972 shares
Top 10 most shared UK newsbrand stories each month on Twitter are almost all in top 35 of Facebook shares – usually with higher interactions on Facebook
But top Facebook stories are not always big on Twitter:
• timing of story?• demographics?• Twitter more biased towards quality sector and serious news
Source: Newswhip Jan-May 2014
What’s the best time to post a story on Facebook?
6 am to 12pm 12pm to 2pm 2pm to 4pm 4pm to 6pm 6pm to 8pm 8pm to 10pm 10pm to 6am
9 9
15
17
20
17
13
Source: Newswhip blog. Times are GMT. Based on data from MailOnline, BuzzFeed, Huffington Post, Upworthy, The New York Times, Elite Daily, MTV and Fox News
The most shared stories were published between 4pm and 10pm.
How many follow UK newsbrands
Follow newspaper brand
Follow newspaper sub-brand
Follow newspaper journalist
Any of these
35%
17%
49%
59%
% Twitter users
Source: You Gov January 2014
Base: All UK Twitter Users (1266)
Opinion I want to know what people think Twitter is a way of discovering different points of opinion and commentary on news stories. More personal opinions of celebrities/writers.
Interaction with the news on Twitter
Twitter adds four core benefits as a news platform for users…
Source: #NewsOnTheTweet 2014
CommunityAn opportunity to connect with like-minded content and peopleThrough their sub-section handles and the overarching strength of newsbrand identities newsbrands offer users the opportunity to discover more content that is relevant to them and engage with other people through these communities.
Opinion Honest and expert opinions and debate Newsbrands offer expert opinion pieces and the individual journalists offer honest and frank opinions as well as engaging with followers.
Interaction with the news on Twitter
Newsbrands underpin these 4 key benefits
Source: #NewsOnTheTweet 2014
Newspaper brands provide an authoritative viewpoint and offer verified news in a user generated content world.
Twitter helps newspaper brands to become part of
breaking news in people’s minds through
instant updates
Newspaper brands provide detailed analysis behind 140
character Tweets
Twitter provides opportunities for users to engage with newspaper
brands that they wouldn’t normally read in other formats.
Newspaper brands offer content and recognisable
brands that can bring people together through
shared interests
Twitter enables newspaper readers to connect with
newsbrands and content in a more direct dialogue
The whole is stronger than the sum of the parts
http://www.newsworks.org.uk/newsonthetweet
For further information see:
Newsbrands are also big content providers for LinkedIn and Pinterest
Jan-14 Feb-14 Mar-14 Apr-14 May-14 Jun-14 Jul-14 Aug-14 Sep-14
120109
196
199
203215
284266
280
6172
94
226
89
137 145
120141
000s interactions
LinkedIn Pinterest
UK Newsbrands: dailymail.co.uk, theguardian.com, independent.co.uk, telegraph.co.uk, mirror.co.uk, express.co.uk, standard.co.uk, metro.co.uk (from March 2014), thetimes.co.uk (May 2014), dailystar.co.uk (May 2014)
@Telegraph
@MailOnline
@guardian @DailyMirror@thetimes
269,664 likes
274,373 followers*
*excluding sub-brands and journalists
@EveningStandard
287,007 likes
132,599 followers*
3,782,065 likes
2,798,428 followers*
1,123,412 likes
235,223 followers*
@Independent
2,554,787 likes
856,970 followers*
2,122,409 likes
742,836 followers* 1,821,753 likes
670,874 followers*
@TheSunNewspaper
1,600,951 likes
587,468 followers*
Summary and implications
• UK newsbrands are highly influential social media activators, delivering over 48 million social interactions in September 2014
• Massive shared audiences on a daily basis
• Facebook sharing is increasing audiences to UK newsbrands and is vital to social media velocity
• Wide range of stories to tap into for advertisers
methodology
What Are NewsWhip’s Social Rankings?
Each month, NewsWhip publishes lists of the top social publishers of the previous month, covering Twitter, Facebook and sometimes LinkedIn and Pinterest.The rankings are based on the number of shares, tweets, comments and other interactions accrued to content published by each site in the relevant month.
What content is covered?
For Facebook, NewsWhip combines the total number of likes, shares and comments on content published during that month alone.For Facebook, if someone on a site uses an on-site share button to share an article to their timeline, that action counts as one share. If someone copy-pastes the link directly to Facebook, that share will count in the exact same way.The rankings have nothing to do with the number of people who ‘like’ a publication’s Facebook page that month, although that may have some effect on how engaged the audience is with the content. A publisher with many “likes” has better audience access and may have access needed to drive more activity around their content.
For Twitter, NewsWhip counts the total number of tweets that include links to each publisher’s articles (that includes re-tweets) from that month. Twitter favourites are not currently included.
For all sites, the figures relate solely to content published during the month in question alone. Older content that continued going viral, or archived material posted without a new URL is not taken into account. Where does the data come from?All the data comes from Spike, which monitors about 50,000 publications in 12 languages, categorising content from each one by country, topic and publisher, and gathering data on topics, authors, and videos associated with each story. Spike tracks the speed at which each story spreads on Facebook and Twitter.
