newsbrands and social media

UK newsbrands hit record highs on social media

@Telegraph@MailOnline

@guardian @DailyMirror@Independent

@EveningStandard

@thetimes

Analysis of data from October 2015

UK newsbrands have driven 770 million social media interactions* so far in 2015

• Facebook: 587m article likes 111m shares 142m comments

• 53m Twitter shares• 4.7m LinkedIn shares• 2.9m pins on Pinterest

31% increase in social media interactions from January to October 2015

*Facebook likes, shares & comments; Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest shares

Headlines

Source: Newswhip Jan ‘15– Oct ‘15UK 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)

Oct-14 Nov-14 Dec-14 Jan-15 Feb-15 Mar-15 Apr-15 May-15 Jun-15 Jul-15 Aug-15 Sep-15 Oct-15

56,757 50,592

46,015

64,447

56,037

71,021 67,608

82,393 86,939

96,481

80,324 80,284 84,121

000s social media interactions

Source: Newswhip Oct ‘14 – Oct ‘15UK 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

Global social media interactions* from UK newsbrand articles have grown by 48% year on year


56,757

84,121

41,251 37,042

6,428 6,163

16,331

22,164

2,597

2,582

000s social media interactions

Newsbrands Buzzfeed Upworthy BBC Huffington Post


UK newbrands have more social media interactions than Buzzfeed


10,638

7,656 7,162

9,104 9,000 9,350 9,800 10,114

11,034 11,738

10,525 11,012

12,526

4,796 4,722 3,998

5,657 5,034

5,594 5,169 5,531 5,190 5,402 5,187 5,110 5,348

000s shares

Facebook Twitter Estimated data


UK newsbrand article shares have experienced steady growth throughout the year

Facebook and UK newsbrands


53% 56% 56% 59% 64% 69% 70% 65% 66% 67% 64% 63% 62%

19% 15% 15% 14% 8%7% 5% 12% 13% 12% 13% 14% 15%

19% 18% 18% 17% 18% 15% 16% 15% 15% 14% 15% 16% 16%

8% 9% 9% 9% 9% 8% 8% 7% 6% 6% 6% 6% 6%1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1%

Share of UK newsbrand interactions by social media brand*

Facebook Likes Facebook Shares Facebook Comments Twitter Shares LinkedIn/Pinterest


Facebook is the most important social media brand for UK newsbrands

Total Facebook interactions* for UK newsbrands have doubled over the year


51,520

42,592 41,518

58,236

50,437

64,69961,797

76,08580,925

90,211

74,354 74,28677,841

Interactions (000s)


…and UK newsbrand articles’ Facebook likes have also more than doubled in the last year


30,268 28,270 26,189

38,038 36,106

49,156 47,518

53,76157,034

64,868

51,595 50,804 52,152

(000s)


Daily Mail188m

Daily Mirror178m

New York Times155m

W/tonPost104m

USAToday83m

Total Facebook interactions January - August 2015

UK has three of the top four biggest English language newspapers on Facebook

The Guardian

155m

Source: Newswhip Oct ‘14 – Oct ‘15

Generally UK newsbrands are less reliant on Facebook than US providers

buzzfeed.com

dailymail.co.uk

huffingtonpost.com

metro.co.uk

mirror.co.uk

express.co.uk

standard.co.uk

independent.co.uk

telegraph.co.uk

dailystar.co.uk

theguardian.com

bbc.co.uk

89%

78%

82%

87%

70%

76%

64%

62%

52%

77%

72%

48%

11%

22%

18%

13%

30%

24%

36%

38%

48%

23%

28%

52%

Shares – Facebook vs Twitter

Facebook shares Twitter sharesSource: Newswhip Oct ‘14 – Oct ‘15UK 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)

• Pure players are more reliant on very high numbers sharing each article, e.g. Buzzfeed

• UK newsbrand success is 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

Examples of top Facebook shares

October 2015, dailystar.co.uk790k interactions, 100k shares

October 2015, metro.co.uk 575k interactions, 63k shares

October 2015, independent.co.uk 453k interactions, 56k shares

October 2015, telegraph.co.uk 180k interactions, 34k shares

October 2015, dailymail.co.uk92k interactions, 15k shares

Source: Newswhip Oct ‘15

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/there-is-a-ned-flanders-themed-metal-band-called-okilly-dokilly-10453357.html








It’s not just trivia, lists and snippets

Biggest categories among UK top newsbrand stories:

• 72 UK news, world news and current affairs

• 5 sport• 5 showbiz• 1 video/gallery links• 13 science• and 3 list/quiz


“I think I first saw the Guardian on Facebook. Friends just started posting links to articles. I found myself clicking on them. After a while I liked the page and began reading more. Then

when I started getting the train regularly I found myself buying the paper for the journey

Camille, 23

Developing newsbrand reading habits via Facebook

Source: Generation News 2015

73 % of Millennials say they that:

Developing newsbrand reading habits via Facebook

“ If I hear about an interesting news story on social media I’ll go to my

preferred newspaper website to get more info ”

Source: Generation News 2015

Twitter and UK newsbrands

UK newsbrand Twitter shares similar to BBC


4,796

4,722 3,964

5,657 5,034

5,594

5,169

5,531 5,190

5,402 5,187 5,110

5,348

4,212

3,960 3,752

4,563

5,038 5,411

3,605

3,946

3,570

3,947 3,574

3,526 3,488

924 861 820 937

1,501

1,079 964 954 1,054 903 833 749 802

142 118 99 140 107 117 109 110 110 134 118 115 115

Twitter shares (000s)

UK newsbrands BBC Buzzfeed Huffington Post (UK)Source: Newswhip Oct ‘14 – Oct ‘15UK 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)

Examples of top Twitter shares


October 2015, telegraph.co.uk16k shares

October 2015, mirror.co.uk7.5k shares

October 2015, dailymail.co.uk5.7k shares

October 2015, theguardian.co.uk3.5k shares

October 2015, bbc.co.uk3.9k shares











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)

Newsbrands often are Twitter conversation catalysts

Following The Mail on Sunday's publication of an extract from Lord Ashcroft's unathorised biography of David Cameron 'Call me Dave', #Hameron #Oink and #piggate were trending on Twitter.

According to it, the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, took part in an obscene act with a dead pig's head in his young student days, as part of an initiation ceremony…

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3242550/Cameron-pig-bemused-look-face-future-PM-took-outrageous-initiation-ceremony-joining-Oxford-dining-society.html#ixzz3mTXrd64H

A Twitter account @Cameron’s Pig was created within minutes and gained over 15,000 followers within 24 hours …

https://twitter.com/cameronpig

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:

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 - Oct 2015

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.

% of Top 100 stories shared at this time

Newsbrands are also big content providers for LinkedIn and Pinterest


328 332

264

409367

431 404440

496529

508528

569

112 120 144 145

199

298

238

337 328 340

275

360364

000s interactions

LinkedIn Pinterest


@thetimes

439,246 likes

608,000 followers*

*excluding sub-brands and journalists

@standardnews

488,626 likes

270,000 followers*

@guardian

4,993,469 likes

4,590,000 followers*

@DailyMirror

1,862,938 likes

548,000 followers*

@Independent

3,433,949 likes


@MailOnline

3,117,179 likes


@Telegraph

2,702,448 likes


@TheSunNewspaper

1,935,844 likes

920,000 followers*

1,113,679 likes

216,000 followers*

@MetroUK

Summary and implications

• UK newsbrands have driven 770 million social media interactions so far in 2015.

• Massive shared audiences on a daily basis

• Facebook sharing is increasing UK newsbrand audiences, this 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.

http://spike.newswhip.com/

newsbrands and social media

Data & Analytics