Topix Shares the Four Key Emotions That Engage Consumers Most for Visual Stories

PALO ALTO, Calif., May 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Topix, an entertainment company that connects audiences to premium high engagement content, today revealed which two emotions engage readers the most, as well as its top five grossing visual stories of all time. These insights are based on data from the past five years, looking specifically at the top fifty highest grossing stories Topix published, as measured by highest revenue grossed. Stories that grossed the most revenue were the ones which engaged the most readers, over the longest amount of time.

In analyzing the top fifty highest grossing stories, Topix determined that four key emotions engaged readers the most: history/nostalgia, schadenfreude, humor and pride of knowledge. However, not all these emotions engaged equally well. Stories classified with the emotions of history/nostalgia and schadenfreude consisted of 60% of the top fifty stories. Interestingly, 50% of the top fifty stories were classified as possessing a secondary emotion, in addition to a primary emotion.

Top Four Emotions in Top 50 Topix Stories

• History/Nostalgia: 30%
• Schadenfreude: 30%
• Humor: 24%
• Pride of Knowledge: 16%

The Top 5 Highest-Grossing Topix Stories:

1. 23 Hilarious Hipster Wedding Trends That Need to Stop Right Now 
Emotion: Schadenfreude; Revenue: $782,000, 5.4 million visitors
2. 23 Risque Historical Facts That Will Make You Blush (Or Possibly Gag)
Emotion: Pride of Knowledge; Revenue: $776,000, 9.9 million visitors
3. 27 Memes Only Terrible People Will Laugh At 
Emotion: Schadenfreude; Revenue: $564,000, 6.9 million visitors
4. 27 Photos You Won't Believe--Or At Least You Shouldn't  
Emotion: Pride of Knowledge; Revenue: $520,000, 5.1 million visitors
5. These 33 Photos Are Completely Unedited... And It's Crazy 
Emotion: Pride of Knowledge; Revenue: $515,000, 6.4 million visitors

The "rise of the story" is one of the biggest consumer trends in the past five years. Snapchat was the first company to successfully launch on mobile with the visual story format, followed by Instagram with their "Instagram stories." Consumers continue to crave and engage with this kind of storytelling, with worldwide users of Instagram Stories, WhatsApp Status and Snapchat reaching 300 million users in October 2017, according to data from Statista. The story format has also changed the digital advertising game -- most notably by creating a visual format where brands can engage with consumers directly. But which stories hit the sweet spot with consumers, what drives engagement, and when it comes to performance, where's the best place to place your bet?

"What Topix's insights show is that to truly capture consumer attention with the visual story format, you need to start with a core emotion," said Anna Marquardt, managing editor of Topix. "Our data suggests that nostalgia and schadenfreude are powerful emotions we can work with to create engagement. At Topix, we're focused on the 'science of fun' because our data and experience have enabled us to harness the power of engagement that inspires people to share, and have something fun to do during their day."

Science + data + creativity = record growth
Working within a digitally native story framework, Topix combines proprietary machine learning with a creative, talented editorial staff to generate highly-profitable stories. Based on years of experience, Topix has determined that the best "story" combines deep insights into the psychology of emotions, with data that highlights which stories engage most effectively. Topix generates over a terabyte of user data per day. Machine learning technology looks at every click, leading to an analytical approach that informs the creation of every piece of content, resulting in the best experience both for users and the bottom line. Topix has generated record revenue so far in 2018, three times year over year.

"Topix was an early pioneer of the 'story,' which is also one of the key formats behind our soaring revenue growth," said Chris Tolles, CEO of Topix. "Topix takes a granular approach to the editorial process, combining data and incredible talent to create original, engaging content in a format that's easy to share."

About Topix
Topix is an entertainment company connecting people to premium, high engagement content.  Built for finding, optimizing and monetizing people's discretionary time with content that acts as cultural capital, Topix drives more than 2.8 billion page views each month. Launched in 2004, Topix is based in Palo Alto, Calif.  To learn more, please visit www.topix.com.

Media Contact
Michael Celiceo
SparkPR for Topix
[email protected] 
Office: 415.704.8266

SOURCE Topix

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