• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, February 9, 2006

A study by Sharpe Partners revealed that 89% of adult Internet users in America share content with others via email. The recently released study on viral marketing also found that 63% of the respondents share content at least once a week and as many as 75% of the respondents forward this content to up to six other recipients.

Kathy Sharpe, CEO of Sharpe Partners, said("We knew a lot of people were sharing content, but even we didn't expect it to be so pervasive... the real challenge for interactive marketing firms...is developing content that these people will want to consistently share with a wide, yet focused circle of acquaintances."

In addition to highlighting the rampant frequency of content sharing, the study generated some interesting results regarding the type of content that is sent. The most popular content is humorous material, with 88 % forwarding jokes or cartoons.

For companies looking to employ a viral marketing program, the study found that adding overt brand messages only slightly reduces the likelihood that the content will be shared.

• 56% of the respondents are less or slightly less likely to forward such content
• 43% said they are more or slightly more likely to send marketing-related messages
• 5% refuse to share content that contains a clear brand message

The study identified several demographics of sharers useful to marketers:

Most likely sharer is a woman in her late 30's/early 40's who resides in the South or Midwest.

• 64% percent of the female respondents share content at least once a week versus 58% of the males
• Residents of the South (68%) and Midwest (66%) are likely to be more frequent forwarders than their counterparts in the West (58%) and East (55%).
• 63% of African-Americans and Caucasians share content at least once a week
• 56% of Hispanic/Latin-American and 46% of Asian-Americans share at least once a week
• 64% of those without a college degree share weekly versus 61% with a college degree.

Finally, 41% of the respondents share with 1-3 people, 34% with 4-6, 13% with 7-9, 9% with 10-20, and 3% share with more than 20 people.

You can read the complete release here.