Recommendations have more impact on consumers' purchase decisions than brand or price. Positive online recommendations can increase purchase intent by 9.5%, while negative reviews decrease it by 11%. Online sharing was found to increase the perceived value of products - from $1.54 for grocery items to $9,623.74 for cars. The strength of the recommendation was more important than who provided it. Friends and family's opinions had the most influence on consumers. Marketers should invest in encouraging current customers to share their experiences online.

1. Quantifying the Economic Value of Online Sharing
THE RETURN ON A SHARE
1

2. With the growth of the social web, we turn more often to friends and strangers for
recommendations on where to go, what to eat, and what to buy.
2
SHARING IS THE CONNECTIVE THREAD OF THE SOCIAL WEB

3. 3
THE
IMPACT OF
SHARING
IS WELL-
DOCUMENTED
73% of survey respondents process
information more deeply, thoroughly, and
thoughtfully when they share it.
92% of people trust recommendations from
friends and family, and 70% trust consumer
reviews they found online.
38% During a four-week test, Starbucks’
Facebook fans and “friends of fans” were
38% more likely to make a purchase.

4. 4
BUT HOW DOES IT
ALL TRANSLATE TO
MONETARY IMPACT?

5. Conjoint methodology uses statistical modeling to determine the relative
importance of various factors affecting the consumer purchase decision.
5
SHARETHIS COMMISSIONED THE FIRST STUDY OF ITS KIND
Luxury
Premium
Standard
Economy
Type
Source
Family
Friends
Acquaintances
Strangers
Professionals
In-Person
Online Share
Consumer Review
Strength
Excellent
Good
Moderate
Bad
BRAND
PURCHASE
CONSIDERATION
PRICE
RECOMENDATION

6. 6
Methodology
2 STUDIES
Conjoint
Trade-off analysis
CPG AutosConsumer
Electronics
Likert
Traditional rating survey
CPG AutosConsumer
Electronics
6,000 CONSUMERS

7. 7
THE TAXONOMY OF SHARING
FIVE TYPES OF GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS
1
Online sharing. Personal recommendations and opinions shared via email or
social networking by friends, family members, acquaintances or strangers.
2
Consumer Reviews. Recommendations and opinions published in online media
or on social networks by strangers.
3
Consumer Ratings. Ratings, usually with up to five stars, by strangers in online
media.
4
In-person Recommendations. Personal recommendations and opinions shared
face-to-face by friends, family members, acquaintances or strangers.
5
Professional Reviews. Articles and product reviews published in traditional print
media and in online media written by professionals and experts.

8. 8
Key Findings
Recommendations have more impact on a consumer’s decision-making
process than brand or price
Highly positive online shares generate a 9.5% increase in purchase intent,
while negative reviews can decrease intent by 11.0%
Online sharing has a measurable effect on a product’s prices, driving
incremental value by as much as $1.54, $34.47, and $9,623.74 for
supermarket goods, mini tablets, and autos, respectively

9. FINDINGS
9

10. 10
IMPORTANCE OF PRODUCT CHARACTERISTICS
TO PURCHASE INTENT
58%
34%
8%
56%
24%
19%
56%
25%
19%
CPG Electronics Autos
Recommendations
Price
Brand
Recommendations have
more impact on a
consumer’s decision-
making process than
brand or price

11. IMPORTANCE OF RECOMMENDATION
COMPONENTS TO PURCHASE INTENT
The strength of a recommendation is far more important than its author or source
11
41%
11%
6%
43%
10%
3%
43%
11%
2%
CPG Electronics Autos
Strength (bad, moderate, good, excellent)
Source (family, friends, acquaintances, strangers, professionals)
Type (consumer reviews/ratings, online shares, in-person rec., professional reviews)

12. 12
RELATIVE VALUE OF RECOMMENDATION
SOURCE
Across all product categories, consumers value most the opinions of friends and family
8.0%
7.7% 7.5%
12.7%
8.5%
9.0%
14.0%
9.6%
10.7%10.5%
11.7%
CPG Electronics Autos
Strangers Acquaintances Close Friends / Family Professionals

13. RETURN ON ‘EXCELLENT’ RECOMMENDATIONS
Highly positive shares yield a return of 9.5%
13
6.3%
7.3%
9.5%
10.6% 10.2%
Consumer Ratings Consumer Reviews Online Shares In-Person
Recommendations
Professional
Reviews
6.0%
6.2%
11.2%
13.2%
7.1%
7.6%
8.1%
9.3%
10.5%
5.7%
8.1%
9.2%
9.3%
10.0%
CPG Electronics Autos

14. NEGATIVE RETURN ON ‘BAD’
RECOMMENDATIONS
Negative shares lower purchase intent by 11.0%
14
(11.3%) (11.2%)
(11.0%)
(11.2%)
(10.2%)
Consumer Ratings Consumer Reviews Online Shares
In-Person
Recommendations
Professional
Reviews
(13.1%)
(13.1%)
(12.5%)
(12.9%)
(10.6%)
(10.6%)
(10.5%)
(10.6%)
(10.5%)
(10.2%)
(10.0%)
(9.9%)
(10.0%)
(9.9%)
CPG Electronics Autos

15. PRICE IMPACT OF ‘EXCELLENT’
RECOMMENDATIONS – JAGUAR XK
Positive recommendations add significant incremental value
15
INCREMENTAL VALUE: +$9,365 +$7,494 +$7,378 +$6,520
$85,865
Professional
Review
$83,994
In-Person
Recommendation
$83,878
Online
Shares
$83,020
Online
Reviews
+$4,601
$81,102
Online
Ratings
$76,500

16. 16
PRICE IMPACT OF ‘EXCELLENT’
RECOMMENDATIONS – MINI TABLETS
The price lift relatable to online sharing is noticeable across all three product verticals
Consumer Ratings
Consumer Reviews
In-Person Recommendations
Online Shares
Professional Reviews
$22.09
$23.56
$24.91
$28.76
$32.44

17. PRICE IMPACT OF ‘EXCELLENT’
RECOMMENDATIONS – AUTOS
For autos, positive online shares are as effective at driving value as in-person
recommendations
17
Consumer Ratings
Consumer Reviews
In-Person Recommendations
Online Shares
Professional Reviews
$2,312
$3,277
$3,708
$3,766
$4,702

18. 18
PRICE IMPACT OF ‘EXCELLENT’
RECOMMENDATIONS – SUPERMARKET GOODS
For CPG brands, positive online shares have nearly twice the impact on price as
general consumer reviews
Consumer Ratings
Consumer Reviews
In-Person Recommendations
Online Shares
$0.42
$0.44
$0.79
$0.93
1.8x

19. 19
PRICE IMPACT OF ‘BAD’
RECOMMENDATIONS – VISINE
Negative reviews drive value down
$6.97
$7.01 $7.03
After Negative Consumer ReviewAfter Negative Online ShareAfter Negative In-Person Recommendation
Incremental Loss: - $1.03 - $0.99 - $0.97
$8.00

20. 20
WHAT DOES IT ALL
MEAN?

21. 21
>
MARKETERS:
INVEST IN
SHARING!
View current customers as marketing
partners
Boost advocacy by targeting existing
customers, providing shareable content, and
encouraging them to share their experiences.
Enable Customer Evangelism
When building your marketing strategy, consider
your audience’s motivations, context, and
channels, and ensure that sharing tools are
seamlessly embedded into the experience.
Monitor your online presence through
sharing
Large changes in activity can provide early
indications of potential opportunities or issues to
be addressed. Look across social channels for a
broader context.

22. 22
>
AND TREAT
SHARERS AS
POTENTIAL
ASSETS
Address negative reviews openly and
honestly
Social media makes bad reviews go viral. Address
problems, encourage open
dialogues, acknowledge mistakes, and seek swift
resolution wherever possible.
Use paid media to target and convert
new customers
Social sharing increases the propensity to buy by
9.2%, making social marketing tactics a good
complement to traditional paid media strategies.
Use social insights to optimize media
Social signals can be used to determine where
and when to spend media dollars. Leverage
insights gleaned from social analytics to optimize
marketing spend.

23. 23
>
PUBLISHERS:
MAKE
SHARING EASY
AND
ACTIONABLE!
Get Started
Generate remarkable, attention-worthy content
to drive traffic and engagement.
Reach your entire audience
Broaden your social channel reach beyond
Facebook and Twitter. Collect insights to truly
understand how your content performs across the
web.
Command higher CPMs
Know and understand the social quality of your
content to help advocate for higher CPMs.
Embrace developers and turn data into
action
Learn to work closely with developers to create
new apps that engage consumers in novel and
exciting ways.

24. 24
THE VIRTUOUS CIRCLE OF SHARING
SHARING
INSIGHTS
OPTIMIZATION
EARNED MEDIA
LARGER AUDIENCE

25. ABOUT
SHARETHIS | BERESFORD | THE PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA
ShareThis uses large-scale social data to deliver breakthrough insights, audience building and advertising solutions across mobile and desktop
environments. Every day millions of consumers use ShareThis to share content across multiple devices and more than 120 social channels including
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest — giving the company unrivaled visibility into online social behavior. The company works with 50+ of
Advertising Age’s 100 leading national advertisers and is based in Palo Alto, Calif. To learn more visit http://www.sharethis.com.
25
Beresford Research helps companies seize market opportunities through thoughtful research based on innovative methodologies and rigorous
execution. We create initiatives that are tightly aligned to our clients’ strategic needs, and provide unique industry insights. Founded in 1991 as a
marketing and consulting firm, Beresford Research brings a strategic focus to every project. We partner with our clients to provide
creative, customized solutions that deliver unprecedented value without the overhead. Clients include Booz & Co., Novartis, Oxford
Economics, PhoCusWright, The Week and Towers Watson. For more information, please visit www.beresfordresearch.com.
The Paley Center for Media seeks to preserve the past, illuminate the present, and envision the future through the lens of media. With the nation’s
foremost public archive of television, radio, and Internet programming, the Paley Center produces programs and forums for the public, industry
professionals, thought leaders, and the creative community to explore the evolving ways in which we create, consume, and share news and
entertainment. In an era of unprecedented change, the Paley Center advances the understanding of media and its impact on our lives. The Paley
Center for Media was founded in 1975 by William S. Paley, a pioneering innovator in the industry. For more information, please visit
www.paleycenter.org.