Eighty-nine percent of internet users share content via email, according to Sharpe Partners' new study on viral marketing, and they do it often, reports MediaBuyerPlanner. Some 63 percent of respondents say they share content at least once a week, and 25 percent do so almost daily. As many as 75 percent of the respondents say they in turn forward the received content to up to six other recipients. Humorous messages are shared the most, with 88 percent passing along jokes and cartoons.

The study found that other popular content includes news (forwarded by 56 percent of respondents), healthcare and medical information (32 percent), religious and spiritual material (30 percent), games (25 percent), business and personal finance information (24 percent), and sports/hobbies (24 percent).

According to respondents, the inclusion of overt brand messages would only slightly reduce the likelihood that the content would be shared: while 56 percent said they are less or slightly less likely to forward the content, 43 percent said they are more or slightly more likely to forward those messages.