UK newsbrands hit record highs on social media
@Telegraph@MailOnline
@guardian @DailyMirror@Independent
@EveningStandard
@thetimes
Analysis of data from August 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
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
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
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)
UK newbrands have more social media interactions than Buzzfeed
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
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
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)
UK newsbrand article shares have experienced steady growth throughout the year
Facebook and UK newsbrands
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
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
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 is the most important social media brand for UK newsbrands
Total Facebook interactions* for UK newsbrands have doubled over the year
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
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)
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)
…and UK newsbrand articles’ Facebook likes have also more than doubled in the last year
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
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)
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)
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
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
Source: Newswhip Oct ‘15
“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
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
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
Source: Newswhip Oct ‘15
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…
A Twitter account @Cameron’s Pig was created within minutes and gained over 15,000 followers within 24 hours …
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
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
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
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)
@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
1,560,000 followers*
@MailOnline
3,117,179 likes
1,290,000 followers*
@Telegraph
2,702,448 likes
1,370,000 followers*
@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.
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