Shares surrounding events are 5x more likely to draw clickbacks within 24 hours. That’s a huge opportunity for marketers considering RTM strategies. Connecting with the right audiences at the right time allows marketers to tap into major swells in social engagement. But as we’ve found, RTM isn’t a “set it and forget it” affair. Sharing patterns around certain events can’t be predicted any more than the events themselves can be predicted. That’s why it’s especially important to rope in audience segmentation and media delivery with your RTM strategies, not just messaging.

1. SHARETHIS
Q3 2014 Sharing Trends
1

2. 2
The Q3 2014 Consumer Sharing Trends Report
Analyzes consumer sharing behavior from July to September across the
entire ShareThis network
450+ million unique users 2.5 million sites and apps 120+ social channels Desktop and mobile devices
In this issue, we focused on sharing around major events that occurred throughout the quarter:
• Shark Week
• NFL Season Opener
• Burning Man
• ISIS Attacks
• Ferguson Riots
• Derek Jeter’s Last Game
• Apple Launch Event
• Napa Valley Earthquake
• #IceBucketChallenge
USERS ARE 5X MORE ENGAGED IN THE DAYS SURROUNDING EVENTS
On average, shares surrounding major news or media events draw 83 clickbacks. Within a 24 hour window, that number jumps to
186.
MAJOR EVENTS CAUSE SWINGS IN CHANNEL USAGE
Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit are the primary forums for discussion about current events, but Twitter and Reddit activity spikes by 2-
4x.
CHANNEL USAGE IS CONTEXT-DEPENDENT
Entertainment events tend to be socialized more often on facebook. Sports events, like the NFL kickoff, have a heavy Twitter skew.
MOBILE IS A MAJOR DRIVER OF EVENT-BASED ENGAGEMENT
In the week before and after an event, mobile devices drive 72% of total sharing (33% more than average)
TABLETS ARE THE TRUE SECOND SCREEN
Broadcast events drew over 2x more sharing on tablets. Much of this activity occurs when the events are being broadcast.
YOUNGER AUDIENCES ARE THE FIRST TO REACT
In the first 24 hours, users 18-25 are at their most active, sharing 2.1x more often than usual. Users 55+ are most active during the
1-2 weeks following events.

3. 3
Users are 5x more engaged in the days
surrounding events
On average, shares surrounding major news or media events draw 83 clickbacks.
12 14
EVENT CLICKBACKS BY DAY
114
186
151
87
78
26
12
-10 -9 -8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 +7 +8 +9 +10
Clickbacks per Share
Days before / after event
The bulk of this activity happens within a 24 hour window.

4. Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit are the primary forums for discussion about current events.
4
Major events cause swings in channel usage
Facebook is the dominant social channel in the
surrounding 2-3 weeks, with 85% of sharing activity
(31% more than usual).
However, Twitter and Reddit are more reactive.
Within 2-3 days of an event, Twitter activity jumps
by 3x.
5.0x
4.0x
3.0x
2.0x
1.0x
–
LIFT IN CHANNEL ACTIVITY BY DAY
SOCIAL CHANNELS
1% 1%
-10 -9 -8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 +7 +8 +9 +10
Facebook Twitter Reddit
71%
21%
6%
Facebook
Twitter
Reddit
Pinterest
Other

5. 5
Channel Usage is Context-Dependent
+31%
+13%
+200%
+150%
+100%
+50%
–
-50%
Entertainment events
tend to be socialized
more often on Facebook.
Sports events, like the NFL
kickoff, have a heavy
Twitter skew.
Facebook Twitter Reddit
+28%
+13%
+29% +22%
-41%
+104%
-47%
+38%
+23%
-35%
-87%
-39%
-53%
+45%
-32%
+159%
-100%
Shark Week NFL Kickoff Burning Man Napa Earthquake Ferguson Unrest Middle East Crisis
When the earthquake hit
Napa, Twitter was
immediately responsive,
but conversations moved
to Reddit in the days and
weeks following.
Reddit draws notable
attention following
international news events.
Throughout the ongoing
middle east crisis, the
channel experienced 2.6x
more sharing activity.

6. EVENT SHARING
43%
AVERAGE
SHARING
11%
28%
43%
52%
20%
Smartphone Tablet Desktop
6
Mobile is a major driver of timely engagement
In the week before and after
an event, mobile devices
drive 72% of total sharing
(33% more than average)
In the 24 hours surrounding a major event, 85%
of sharing activity occurs on mobile devices
(58% more than average)
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
–
Mobile Desktop
-10 -9 -8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 +7 +8 +9 +10
DEVICE ACTIVITY AS % OF TOTAL
DAYS BEFORE / AFTER EVENT

7. 7
Tablets are the true second screen
Broadcast events, like
Shark Week and the
NFL season opener,
drew over 2x more
sharing on tablets.
-30%
+2%
+38%
-25%
+18%
-37%
+99%
+159%
+3%
+156%
+8%
-53%
+13%
-34% -32%
-6% -13%
+58%
+200%
+150%
+100%
+50%
–
-50%
-100%
Shark Week NFL Kickoff Burning Man Napa
Earthquake
Ferguson
Unrest
Middle East
Crisis
Smartphone Tablet Desktop
Much of this activity
occurs in the evening,
between 8pm and 10pm,
presumably when the
events are being
broadcast.
18.0%
16.0%
14.0%
12.0%
10.0%
8.0%
6.0%
4.0%
2.0%
–
Desktop Smartphone Tablet
0:00 2:00 4:00 6:00 8:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00 0:00
% OF TOTAL DEVICE ACTIVITY
TIME OF DAY

8. 8
Event sharing generates social buzz around
related topics
During the NFL season opener, users shared
8x more sports content than usual. Much of
this was unrelated to football.
Shark Week triggered a 16x surge in
animal/nature sharing, and a 13x surge in
general TV sharing.
NFL KICKOFF SHARERS SHARK WEEK SHARERS
Activity among Shark Week Sharers
Lift vs General Population
15.9x
0.6x
0.6x
3.0x
7.5x
29.4x
14.2x
23.2x
Animals
Book & Literature
Celebrity News
Humor
Movies
Nature
TV - Comedy
TV - Drama
Activity among NFL Kickoff Sharers
Lift vs General Population
7.9x
7.7x
10.5x
18.9x
5.7x
22.2x
19.8x
44.5x
Baseball
Basketball
Exercise & Fitness
Football
Hockey
Lacrosse
Rugby
Soccer

9. Users Lift vs Average
9
Younger Audiences are Often the first to react
2.1x
1.2x
24 HOURS
Users Lift vs Average
1.1x
0.9x
0.8x 0.7x
18-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 56-65 65+
1 - 2 WEEKS
0.8x 0.7x 0.8x
0.9x
1.2x
1.5x
18-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 56-65 65+
1.2x
1 - 2 DAYS
1.0x
Users Lift vs Average
0.9x
0.9x
1.1x
1.2x
18-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 56-65 65+
In the first 24 hours, users
18-25 are at their most
active, sharing 2.1x more
often than usual.
After the dust has settled,
older audiences begin to
join the discussion.
Users 55+ are most active
during the 1-2 weeks
following events.

10. 10
Event sharing is highly localized
CA
4.9x
2.9x AZ
3.1x
OR
2.4x
4.8x
NV
2.7x
6.4x
MO
7.7x
IL
2.4x
KY
2.2x
TN
2.2x
AR
2.5x MS
2.6x
CO
4.5x
EARTHQUAKE
BURNING MAN
FERGUSON RIOTS
• The Napa earthquake
caused a 5x social surge in
California, rippling out out
to 2-3x in neighboring states
• Similarly, Missouri saw a 8x
surge in activity around the
Ferguson riots.
• Burning Man shares
occurred mostly in Nevada,
Colorado, and Oregon.

11. 11
Audiences are 5x more engaged in the hours
surrounding an event
That’s a huge opportunity for marketers considering RTM strategies. But marketers should
always consider the social “fingerprints” particular to each event, especially since they can
change on a daily or even hourly basis. So don’t just set it and forget it - develop a true,
comprehensive RTM platform that layers in social data and make sure audience identification,
segmentation, and media delivery are all optimized programmatically.
LEVERAGE THE REACTIVE CHANNELS
We already know that different platforms lend
themselves to different conversations. This
phenomenon is only amplified when it comes to
event sharing. Immediately after something
happens, you can expect Twitter and Reddit
sharing to spike. But be aware of context: look to
Twitter when it comes to sports and TV events, and
Reddit when reaching out to users with interests in
politics and current events.
ACT FAST TO REACH MILLENNIALS
Millennials are often the first to react on social
media, providing a powerful incentive for brands
looking to reach such audiences with RTM
strategies. But they should act fast – millennials are
most active within the first 24 hours of an event.
UTILIZE THE SECOND SCREEN
Social users flock to lean on their handheld
devices to stay updated on events throughout
the day. Brands should take advantage of this by
layering in a mobile component to all their RTM
efforts. For broadcast events, focus on tablets to
reach users at peak engagement as they’re
tuning in.
DIVERSIFY CONTENT STRATEGIES
Many events cause ripples in social activity across
many different topics. For example, shark week
conversation weren’t just about sharks, general
discussions about TV and nature spiked even as
episodes were being broadcast. In order to truly
capture an event’s audience, marketers shouldn’t
limit their focus on content specifically related to
the event in question.

12. THANK YOU
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