Travelers Share on Facebook and Twitter, Engage on Pinterest

Most social sharing related to travel takes place on Facebook and Twitter, revealed a new study from ShareThis. However, users are most engaged with content on Pinterest, Blogger and email when planning a vacation. While users still prefer desktop to research travel-related content, smartphones are the preferred device for sharing.

Here’s a look at what people like to share:

Unsurprisingly, millennials are much more likely to talk about their travels on social media, with 35 percent of such content coming from 18- to 35-year-olds:

Some other insights from the study include:

• 10 percent of users share travel-related information on social media.
• Travel-related content generates 40 percent more click-backs than other types of content.
• 71 percent of travel sharers are women, despite the fact that men and women plan trips at almost equal rates.
• Travelers like to share content during the day, using evenings to plan and research.
• The top U.S. cities for travel-related sharing are New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, Texas and San Jose, Calif.

ShareThis has some recommendations for online marketers in this space. From the study:

Travelers are a valuable audience: Travelers are active, engaged and influential sharers, especially when in the process of planning a trip. Regardless of your objective, identify and activate this audience to amplify your messaging.

Diversify your channels: Facebook is the main forum for travel, but users engage with Pinterest and Blogger more actively when in the planning phase. Spread out your media strategies accordingly to reach users at the height of engagement.

Know your audience: Millennials, women, Hispanics and Asians are the most social travel sharers. Align with such demographics when looking to activate the valuable travel audience.

Content alignment is key: Certain topics, like budget and international travel, drive more social buzz than others. Align your media delivery with such content to unlock additional value from travel sharers

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