How Sharing Will Transform Online Advertising

Written by Kurt Abrahamson

Before Internet search, people relied on each other for information – “each other” being defined as the smartest person in the vicinity or, if all else failed, Mom. Seeking out knowledge from our peers – more so than texts or other forms of written wisdom – is as basic a human instinct as breathing. We turn to each other for answers to our toughest questions. Always have, always will. Asking family, friends and colleagues to share their knowledge comes far more naturally than searching through reams of often irrelevant information.

This is important and here’s why.

Just as search defined the online experience of the past two decades, sharing is poised to upend the online ecosystem in a whole new, and more social, way, introducing untold value to Web publishers and online advertisers alike. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, search put an immense wealth of information at our fingertips. And in a world where more and bigger is typically better, this vast pool of information seemed like a good thing. But so much information is often difficult to navigate and digest for consumers, publishers and brands alike. It’s the act of sharing that will calm the chaos of the online world and reintroduce the social factor into this information creating, gathering and consuming experience. Sharing will take us back to the way things have always been done.

So what does the proliferation of this sharing behavior mean for publishers, advertisers and their bottom lines? And therefore, what does it mean for the online ecosystem as a whole?

With search, we relied on a complicated yet unknown algorithm to provide us with answers. And while search engines usually did a pretty great job of getting us the information we were looking for, there was one crucial element missing: the human factor. As an activity built entirely around relationships, there’s an intuitive emotional component hard-wired into every share that makes that shared content resonate with the recipient, more so than if the same information was turned up in the results of a search query. Sharing, this common human activity, provides worthwhile insights into the interests and desires of those who are exchanging information and creates a new layer of value in the worlds of online publishing and advertising.

Think of it this way – if I send an article to my brother, a restaurateur and wine connoisseur, about a boutique winery opening in Sonoma, that share says more about my brother than it does about me – other than the fact that I’m a thoughtful brother who listens to my siblings and sends them information pertinent to their lifestyle or hobbies. As my brother’s “search agent,” I’m better suited to target him than any brand.

This behavior has allowed publishers to understand the types of content their readers appreciate most and is poised to help those publishers negotiate more meaningful relationships with relevant advertisers. Publishers will be able to assign a dollar value to quality, highly “shareable” content and brands will get more bang for their buck when placing their ads next to that content.

Search gave publishers an opportunity to drive revenue based on content and sharing is poised to take that value to the next level, allowing publishers to better understand which content is valuable and then set a premium on that content. Sharing also extends this value in the arena of brand building because sharing helps advertisers flag the conversations they should be tuning in to.

When someone shares, that act of reaching out shows initiative around a certain topic – news from favorite wineries or restaurant openings, in the case of my brother – or a specific brand. When he clicks on the article I shared, that response shows high engagement with the content. What publisher or brand wouldn’t want to know who is initiating conversations about and engaging with their content or products?

Brands and publishers have only begun to skim the surface of the immense web of insight provided by the activity of sharing, the most valuable indicator out there of audience interest and engagement. A seemingly ordinary activity, sharing harnesses the power of a simple human act that search, while immensely helpful, simply couldn’t capture: the power of human relationships. The future is sharing, and it’s about to radically change the way brands and publishers do business.
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