Dive Brief:
- Younger demographics prefer to comment on news stories on social media, while older generations prefer commenting on publisher sites, according to new research by social engagement platform provider Spot.IM.
- About one-third of respondents of all ages said they want fewer news articles in their social feeds, according to the study.
- Humor, politics and food are the three most popular topics for comments on social media.
Dive Insight:
Understanding the generational divide in how internet users consume online content is key for marketers.
The research underscores the importance of reaching an audience where they want to engage with you and what they want to engage with you about. It might be on social media for a younger demographic, it might be on a website for older generations. Taking the time to learn where a key audience is willing to engage should be an ongoing process for any marketing team.
The findings of the study may vindicate Facebook's recent news feed algorithm change, which re-emphasized posts from everyday users over posts from brands and publishers. Facebook’s internal research found users engaged more with friends and family over posts from brands and news organizations.
The new predictive algorithm signal will rank stories on a scale of one to five on how informative users might find a given post, “taking into account things like your relationship with the person or publisher that posted, or what you choose to click on, comment on or share — to best predict stories that you might personally find informative," Facebook wrote in a blog post. "Informative stories are therefore different for each person and will likely change over time.”
News has generally been on the decline on Facebook, with publishers seeing dramatic drops in traffic from the social giant over the last year.