How Flipboard Users are Discovering the Art of Tidying Up
Spring has sprung, which means above-average engagement on content related to productivity, home and personal organizing. And then, when you factor in the KonMari effect, well, it sure is the season for cleaning up and zen-ing out.
Spring Cleaning Starts Early on Flipboard
While historically, readership about spring cleaning peaks in March and April, in 2019 people started to read about it as early as February — and that readership is 9x what we saw during the same time last year. (Marie Kondo effect, anyone?)
It Starts with You: Small Spaces, Pantries and Your Phone
Within personal organizing, the kitchen was the most popular room users want to organize based upon articles read. Within the kitchen topic, the pantry was trending up 127% this month. (This story is an example that resonated with our readers.) Engagement with small spaces content spiked 5x compared to the previous 90 days. This coincides with shrinking home sizes and millennials’ desire for smaller spaces. And it’s worth noting that women are 1.75x more likely to read stories about personal organization than men.
Finally, people are also seeking ways to declutter their virtual lives. Content related to phone storage like this Apartment Therapy article saw a 23% higher engagement rate than other organizing articles. People are especially interested in information on what to delete. Interestingly, iPhone storage content is read 3.5x more than similar content related to Android device storage. You are what you keep?
Marie Kondo Has Our Attention
While Marie Kondo, aka KonMari, has gotten lots of attention with her best-selling book and trained army of consultants, the readership of articles about Marie spiked in January 2019 because that’s when her new Netflix show debuted. In fact, readership of all things Kondo was 20x higher than this period last year.
So what particularly sparks joy with our audience?
- Transformations: Flipboard users enjoy seeing how ordinary people are transforming their homes using the KonMari method. This article from Food52 is the most read Marie Kondo article so far this year.
- Donations: What to do with all of the things you’ve decluttered? Go to Goodwill! In fact, this CityLab story had the highest engaged rate within the Marie Kondo topic, with 3x the average CTR of other related stories.
- Folding: As users look to take inspiration into action, stories about folding have a 30% higher engagement rate compared to other articles about the KonMari method. People are specifically curious about folding socks and scarves, how to fold clothes in a suitcase, and the dreaded fitted sheet.
- Marie herself: Beyond her decluttering savvy, our users love all things Marie. In fact, her Oscars debut was one of the most read articles related to the Academy Awards, following stories about Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper, and other winners that night. The engagement rate on the Kondo piece was 2x higher than our average Oscars story.
We hope that you find joy this spring and will share a few ways to get started:
— Amie G. is curating “An Organized Home”
Data Source: Flipboard Internal Feb 2018-Feb 2019, US
