As a marketer, you probably spend a lot of time thinking about how to promote and distribute the content your team creates -- which includes social media outreach. After all, you know that by tapping into the right social networks and key influencers at the right times, you can expose your content to a wider audience.
But what constitutes the "right" social networks, the "right" times to post, and the "right" key influencers? How do you know what's best for the niche you operate in?
To help you hone in on where you should be focusing your social media outreach efforts for your particular industry, the folks at Fractl and BuzzStream analyzed six months of content from 220 websites in 11 verticals -- everything from business and technology to education, food, travel, and more.
We've taken some key excerpts from their findings and arranged them by vertical. Scroll through to find out things like which social network sees the most shares, when the best times to publish are, which words were included in the most shared content, and more for each of the 11 industries.
Click on an industry vertical below to jump to that section:
Effective Social Outreach Strategies for 11 Different Industries
For each of the images below, the data on the left-hand side (offset by a grey/blue background) represents findings from high-engagement sites -- i.e., sites with more than 20,000 average total shares per site. The data on the right-hand side (offset by a yellow background) represents findings from mid- to low-engagement sites -- i.e., sites with less than 20,000 average total shares per site.
1) Business
For this analysis, content about business came from high-engagement sites likeBusiness Insider, Businessweek, Inc.com, HBR.org, and Fast Company; and mid- to low-engagement sites like HubSpot, Moz, First Round, Marketing Profs, and Small Biz Trends.
The Best Social Networks to Share Business Content
Fractl and BuzzStream's analysis found that Facebook led all the other social networks in social shares for both high-engagement sites (67% of the average social shares) and mid- to low-engagement sites (56% of the average shares).
The Best Days to Publish Business Content
They also found that Tuesday was the best day to share business content for all of the sites they analyzed. For high-engagement sites, Tuesday and Thursday were tied with 20% of social shares happening on those days. For mid- to low-engagement sites, Tuesday saw 24% of social shares, followed by Wednesday with 21% of social shares.
The weekends (especially Sunday) showed the least number of social shares for business content.
The Most Popular Words for Business Content
Of all the websites analyzed for business content, content with the words "study" and "infographic" were shared the most often.
Major Thought Leaders in the Business Space
Among the business sites analyzed for this study, the most-shared sites were Business Insider (among high-engagement sites) and The Business Journals (among mid- to low-engagement sites).
2) Technology
For this analysis, content about technology came from high-engagement sites like Tech Crunch, CNET, Wired, and Engadget; and mid- to low-engagement sites like PC World, Dropbox, and TechSpot.
The Best Social Networks to Share Technology Content
Fractl and BuzzStream's analysis found that Facebook led all the other social networks in social shares for both high-engagement sites (83% of the average social shares) and mid- to low-engagement sites (56% of the average shares).
The Best Days to Publish Technology Content
They also found that, for high-engagement sites, Tuesday and Wednesday tied for best day to share technology content, with 20% of social shares happening on those days. For mid- to low-engagement sites, Tuesday barely eked out the lead with 20% of social shares happening on that day, followed closely by Monday with 19%, and then Thursday with 18%.
The weekends (especially Sunday) showed the least number of social shares for technology content.
3) News
For this analysis, content about news came from high-engagement sites like CNN.com, Fox News, New York Times, The Guardian, USA Today, and NPR; and mid- to low-engagement sites like Newsweek, AP, U.S. News, Consortium News, and MSN.com.
The Best Social Networks to Share News Content
Fractl and BuzzStream's analysis found that Facebook led all the other social networks by far in social shares for both high-engagement sites (95% of the average social shares) and mid- to low-engagement sites (85% of the average shares).
The Best Days to Publish News Content
They also found that, for high-engagement sites, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday all tied for best day to share news content, with 17% of social shares happening on those days. This was followed closely by Monday and Tuesday, with 16% of social shares happening on those days. For mid- to low-engagement sites, Wednesday was by far the best day to share news content, with 24% of social shares happening on that day.
The weekends (especially Sunday) showed the least number of social shares for news content.
The Most Popular Words for News Content
Of all the websites analyzed for news content, content with the words "game" and "first" were shared the most often. That could mean the most shareable news content had to do with sporting events or new discoveries.
4) Lifestyle
For this analysis, content about lifestyle came from high-engagement sites like New Yorker, Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, Cosmopolitan, Country Living, and Travel & Leisure;and mid- to low-engagement sites like Glamour, Real Simple, Men's Journal, andOutdoor Life.
The Best Social Networks to Share Lifestyle Content
Fractl and BuzzStream's analysis found that Facebook led all the other social networks by far in social shares for both high-engagement sites (91% of the average social shares) and mid- to low-engagement sites (84% of the average shares).
The Best Days to Publish Lifestyle Content
They also found that Tuesday was the best day to share business content for all of the sites they analyzed. For high-engagement sites, Tuesday had 20% of social shares, followed closely by Wednesday, which saw 19% of total shares happening on that day. For mid- to low-engagement sites, Tuesday was by far the best day to share lifestyle content, with 22% of social shares happening on that day.
The weekends showed the least number of social shares for lifestyle content.
5) Education
For this analysis, content about education came from high-engagement sites like TED.com, Scientific American, Lifehacker, National Geographic, About.com, and WikiHow; and mid- to low-engagement sites like Scholastic, HowStuffWorks, eHow, DIY Network, and Ask.com.
The Best Social Networks to Share Education Content
Fractl and BuzzStream's analysis found that Facebook led all the other social networks in social shares for both high-engagement sites (87% of the average social shares) and mid- to low-engagement sites (60% of the average shares).
The Best Days to Publish Education Content
They also found that, for high-engagement sites, Tuesday and Wednesday tied for best day to share education content, with 22% of social shares happening on those days. For mid- to low-engagement sites, Wednesday was by far the best day to share education content, with 26% of total shares happening on that day.
Friday saw the lowest number of social shares for education content on high-engagement sites (2%), but actually saw 11% of social shares for mid- to low-engagement sites. For mid- to low-engagement sites, weekends (especially Sunday) showed the least number of social shares for education content.
6) Entertainment
For this analysis, content about entertainment came from high-engagement sites likePeople, Yahoo! Celebrity, E! Online, MTV, and LA Times; and mid- to low-engagement sites like Hollywood.com, Redbox, GameSpot, Zynga, and CNN Show Biz.
The Best Social Networks to Share Education Content
Fractl and BuzzStream's analysis found that Facebook led all the other social networks in social shares for both high-engagement sites (by far, with 94% of the average social shares) and mid- to low-engagement sites (64% of the average shares).
The Best Days to Publish Entertainment Content
They also found that Wednesday was the best day to share entertainment content for all of the sites they analyzed. For high-engagement sites, Wednesday saw 19% of total social shares, followed closely by Tuesday, which saw 18% of social shares happening on that day. For mid- to low-engagement sites, Wednesday had by far the most social shares, with 27% of social shares happening on that day.
The weekends (especially Sunday) showed the least number of social shares for entertainment content.
The Most Popular Words for Entertainment Content
Of all the websites analyzed for entertainment content, content with the words "VMAs" (which stands for Video Music Awards) and "summer" were shared the most often.
7) Food
For this analysis, content about food came from high-engagement sites like Food Network, The Kitchn, Food and Wine, and Eater; and mid- to low-engagement sites like Allrecipes, Food Gawker, Zagat, and Epicurious.
The Best Social Networks to Share Food-Related Content
Fractl and BuzzStream's analysis found that Pinterest led all the other social networks in social shares for high-engagement sites, with 53% of the average social shares. This was the only industry that saw a social network other than Facebook lead the way in social shares in this study. For mid- to low-engagement sites, Facebook led all other social networks with 63% of the average shares.
The Best Days to Publish Food-Related Content
They also found that Tuesday was the best day to share food-related content for all of the sites they analyzed. For high-engagement sites, Monday had 23% of total social shares; for mid- to low-engagement sites, Monday had 24% of social shares -- and, interestingly, Friday had the second-highest number of total social shares with 20%. Entertainment was the only industry other than health and finance that had Friday in the top two days for social sharing.
The weekends (especially Sunday) showed the least number of social shares for food-related content.
The Most Popular Words for Food-Related Content
Of all the websites analyzed for food-related content, content with the words "instructions" and "make" were shared the most often. So, if you're in the food industry, the most shareable content might be around recipes and how-tos.
8) Health
For this analysis, content about business came from high-engagement sites like Yahoo! Health, Fitness Magazine, Men's Health, and Health.com; and mid- to low-engagement sites like Web MD, NIH.gov, CDC.gov, Mayo Clinic, and Medical News Today.
The Best Social Networks to Share Health Content
Fractl and BuzzStream's analysis found that Facebook led all the other social networks in social shares for both high-engagement sites (79% of the average social shares) and mid- to low-engagement sites (77% of the average shares).
The Best Days to Publish Health Content
They also found that, for high-engagement sites, Friday was the best day to share health content, with 22% of social shares happening on that day. Health was the only industry other than entertainment and finance that had Friday in the top two days for social sharing. For mid- to low-engagement sites, Tuesday was by far the best day to share health content, with 25% of total shares happening on that day.
The weekends showed the least number of social shares for health content.
9) Travel
For this analysis, content about travel came from high-engagement sites like National Geographic, Travel & Leisure, Lonely Planet, and The Smart Local; and mid- to low-engagement sites like Trip Advisor, Budget Travel, Londonist, and A Luxury Travel Blog.
The Best Social Networks to Share Travel Content
Fractl and BuzzStream's analysis found that Facebook led all the other social networks in social shares for both high-engagement sites (by far, with 95% of the average social shares) and mid- to low-engagement sites (77% of the average shares).
The Best Days to Publish Travel Content
They also found that, for high-engagement sites, Tuesday and Wednesday tied for the best days to share travel content, with 19% of social shares happening on those days. For mid- to low-engagement sites, Wednesday was the best day to share travel content, with 20% of total shares happening on that day, followed closely by Thursday, which saw 19% of social shares happening on that day.
The weekends (especially Sunday) showed the least number of social shares for health content.
10) Finance
For this analysis, content about business came from high-engagement sites likeBloomberg, Forbes, The Economist, Wall Street Journal, and Reuters; and mid- to low-engagement sites like Daily Finance, 24/7 Wall St., National Post, and The Fiscal Times.
The Best Social Networks to Share Finance Content
Fractl and BuzzStream's analysis found that Facebook led all the other social networks in social shares for both high-engagement sites (86% of the average social shares) and mid- to low-engagement sites (64% of the average shares).
The Best Days to Publish Finance Content
They also found that, for high-engagement sites, Tuesday was the best day to share finance content, with 20% of social shares happening on that day, followed closely by Wednesday and Thursday, which both had 19% of total social shares happening on that day. For mid- to low-engagement sites, Friday was the best day to share finance content, with 19% of total shares happening on that day. Finance was the only industry other than health and entertainment that had Friday in the top two days for social sharing.
The weekends (especially Sunday) showed the least number of social shares for finance content -- although, for mid- to low-engagement sites, Saturday and Sunday still saw 11% and 10% of total social shares happening on those days, respectively.
11) Automotive
For this analysis, content about business came from high-engagement sites like Top Gear, NASCAR, Motor Authority, and The Car Connection; and mid- to low-engagement sites like Cars.com, Autotrader, Autoblog, and Green Car Reports.
The Best Social Networks to Share Automotive Content
Fractl and BuzzStream's analysis found that Facebook led all the other social networks in social shares for both high-engagement sites (by far, with 97% of the average social shares) and mid- to low-engagement sites (85% of the average shares).
The Best Days to Publish Automotive Content
They also found that Wednesday was the best day to share automotive content for all of the sites they analyzed. For high-engagement sites, Wednesday had 21% of total social shares; for mid- to low-engagement sites, Wednesday had 23% of social shares.
The weekends (especially Saturday) showed the least number of social shares for automotive content.
Major Thought Leaders in the Automotive Space
Among the automotive sites analyzed for this study, the most-shared sites were Motor Authority (among high-engagement sites) and Autoblog (among mid- to low-engagement sites).
There you have it: data to help you understand where to focus your social media outreach efforts for your niche industry. To learn more about promoting your content and generating leads, download our Comprehensive Guide to Content Promotion here.
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