Talkable brands want to be sharable…obviously. Recent research conducted by the New York Times and Latitude Research examined why online users share content. They found that there are generally five reasons people share and six different types of sharers.

We share because: (via Bazaarvoice)

1. We share to bring valuable and entertaining content to others

2. We share to define ourselves to others, and to receive social validation

3. We share to strengthen and nourish our relationships with one another

4. We share for self-fulfillment—“We enjoy getting credit for it”

5. We share to advocate for causes we believe in, and less commonly, brands we want to support

Sounds familiar, right? When creating content, we need to remember that people share for simple reasons. So making something “shareable” is more about creating relevant material as opposed to simply attaching the latest social buttons (though those help).

Read about the six types of sharers at Bazaarvoice