UK newsbrands hit record highs on @Independent Analysis of data fromOctober 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 ‘15 UK 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)

Source: Newswhip Oct ‘14 – Oct ‘15 UK 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

Source: Newswhip Oct ‘14 – Oct ‘15 UK 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

Source: Newswhip Oct ‘14 – Oct ‘15 UK 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

Source: Newswhip Oct ‘14 – Oct ‘15 UK 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 Source: Newswhip Oct ‘14 – Oct ‘15 UK 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 Source: Newswhip Oct ‘14 – Oct ‘15 UK 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 Mail 188m Daily Mirror 178m New York Times 155m W/ton Post 104m USA Today 83m 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 Source: Newswhip Oct ‘14 – Oct ‘15 UK 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.uk 790k 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.uk 92k 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 Source: Newswhip Oct ‘14 – Oct ‘15 UK 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.uk 16k shares October 2015, mirror.co.uk 7.5k shares October 2015, dailymail.co.uk 5.7k shares October 2015, theguardian.co.uk 3.5k shares October 2015, bbc.co.uk 3.9k shares

How many follow UK newsbrands 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.publication 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 Pig was created within minutes and gained over 15,000 followers within 24 hours Pig

Gossip/Banter I want to relax and enjoy myself Twitter has a unique humorous side to news stories. It’s a backstage pass into the lives of celebrities and allows me to be part of the gossip. Knowledge I want to be the first to know Twitter gives me instant access to the news and is where news stories tend to break first. It’s the best place to follow news stories as they develop during the day. Community I want to find out about things I care about Twitter gives me the chance to engage with stories relevant to me with a community of like-minded people. Discovering people with shared interests I wouldn’t otherwise meet through shared news interests. 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

Gossip/Banter Witty and celebrity columnists Newsbrands are responsible for some of the most popular individual tweeters. Individual journalists are key contributors to the humour content on Twitter. Knowledge Trusted instant updates Newsbrand handles provide legitimacy and authority when news is breaking on Twitter. They also provide journalists that offer quicker, more accurate instant updates on stories as they happen. Community An opportunity to connect with like-minded content and people Through 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

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? 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 Source: Newswhip Oct ‘14 – Oct ‘15 UK 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 488,626 likes 270,000 4,993,469 likes 4,590,000 1,862,938 likes 548,000 3,433,949 likes 1,560,000 3,117,179 likes 1,290,000 2,702,448 likes 1,370,000 1,935,844 likes 920,000 1,113,679 likes 216,000

Summary and implications UK newsbrands have driven 770 million social media interactions so far in 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.