A research study by Outbrain compares the number and quality of referrals generated by social media sites, search engines, content sites and portals. Here are some key findings as well as our thoughts about what they mean to your internet marketing plan:

• Facebook, Twitter and other social media websites drove 11% of referrals vs 41% from search engines, 31% from content sites and 17% from portal sites
• Google generated more than 8.75 times the referrals of any other referral source
• The vast majority of content shared on social media sites is news reacted at 42% vs business and finance at just over 5%
• Engagement with content also varied across referral sources – the majority of engaged readers were referred by search engines and content sites while bouncers (those who would click in and out of links) were driven mostly by social media sites

What we are seeing here is the basic push vs pull marketing theory. People are more likely to be interested in information they are actively pursuing, as opposed to unsolicited information – even when delivered by a trusted source. As well, someone that actively follows your blog or searches for content on your website is likely to be your bull’s eye target market, whereas your social media contacts may be not be quite as focused.

The best way to apply this data is to determine the mix that’s right for you, in order to decide how much time and money to invest in each of these potential referrers. A marketing plan will enable you to maximize returns and synergies while also minimizing the risk of burnout and frustration.

The original Outbrain report is embedded below.

Content Discovery and Engagement Report, Q1 2011

h/t Server Side Design