Travel brands take note - interesting set of data here illustrating how much content and media sites dominate the social media arena when it comes to getting clicks.
Hitwise downstream data (where users went next after visiting a site) for October 2010 indicates that users of Facebook, YouTube and Twitter are far more likely to head to one their favourite content sites or other social networks from a link, rather than click on a brand or product.
Of course, such content sites probably have a more universal and widespread appeal than an one individual travel brand, but the data illustrates that content rather than product appears to be the bigger draw.
Here are the top 20 downstream clicks from all US social media sites and forums in October 2010:
[table id=1117 /]
And for the UK:
[table id=1118 /]
So what about individual networks?
Here are tables for downstream clicks in the US from YouTube, Twitter and Facebook:
[table id=1119 /]
[table id=1120 /]
[table id=1121 /]
And for the UK:
[table id=1122 /]
[table id=1123 /]
[table id=1124 /]
One interesting point to note is the relatively popularity on Twitter downstreams of Twitter-related services such as photo sharing sites and networks Twitpic and Yfrog.
If there is one thing to take from such data sets it is that content, advice, existing networks and search dominates.
There appears to be little enthusiasm for brand or product-led incentives. Users follow profiles for information; users appear to move around a lot between their own social networks; and users still appear to be using traditional search engines for, err, search.