Concluding our series on those who engage with news stories via social, today we examine which types of people/organizations they say they ‘follow’.
Unsurprisingly, Social News Consumers are 37% more likely than average to follow news/media organizations. But even with this over-index, that still means that over half of them are not doing this.
With that in mind, the reach of re-posting becomes clear – from friends and contacts but also public figures. In fact, this group is 63% more likely to be following journalists or TV presenters and, although engaging these influencers can mean publishers lose the ability to control how their content is presented, they represent a crucial way to optimize the reach of news content.
Crucially, news organization accounts are most popular among 55-64-year-old Social News Consumers. In contrast, younger users lead for following other types of accounts – emphasizing the importance of sharing when it comes to reaching the coveted younger demographics.
