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Shared: How a Digital Content Company Built a Social Media Powerhouse
Shared is a media and technology company based in Ottawa, Canada. It creates and curates social media content at a massive scale—hundreds of videos per month—and optimizes each piece based on what actually performs with audiences. The company isn’t trying to be glamorous; it’s built around producing, testing, and improving digital media that works. Here’s a closer look at what Shared does, why it matters, and how it operates inside one of the fastest-changing industries online.
What Shared Actually Does
Shared produces and publishes social media content, mainly short-form video. It started in 2015, though its founders had been working in online advertising long before that. By 2017, Shared’s production rate had hit more than 300 videos a month. Some months, their videos pulled in over 700 million Facebook views. That’s not a typo. Seven hundred million.
The company operates as both a content creator and curator. That means it doesn’t just make original videos—it also finds, edits, and distributes existing stories and footage that fit what its audiences care about. Everything is tested. Everything is tracked. If a post works, they scale it. If it flops, they move on fast.
Shared’s business model sits somewhere between a digital publisher and a social media lab. They don’t run a streaming service or rely on subscriptions. Their value comes from their reach and their ability to create viral, shareable media for platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and others.
The Core Idea Behind Shared’s Growth
The reason Shared took off is simple: it optimized for social media behavior. Instead of trying to build an audience on its own website, it met people where they already were—scrolling through feeds.
The company’s strategy revolves around short, attention-grabbing content that works well inside algorithms. Shared uses data from performance metrics—views, watch time, engagement—to figure out what people respond to. Then it builds content that matches those signals.
This approach allowed Shared to grow quickly during Facebook’s peak video boom around 2016–2018. While many publishers relied on guesswork, Shared treated social platforms like a testing ground. Their focus on rapid production and iteration gave them an edge in a crowded field.
Inside the Company
Shared has about 51 to 200 employees, according to its LinkedIn profile. Headquarters are in Ottawa, with additional offices in Toronto. The environment is described as flexible and creative. Employees have mentioned flexible hours, pet-friendly workspaces, and a mix of studio and office setups.
Their Ottawa facility includes filming studios, editing bays, and even a kitchen area used for recipe videos and product shoots. The setup reflects their need for speed: the ability to shoot, edit, and publish multiple pieces of content in a day without heavy logistics.
The company’s culture is tied to output and experimentation. Teams are encouraged to test ideas, not protect them. That mindset keeps the workflow fast and prevents bottlenecks.
Why Shared Matters in the Media Industry
Most traditional media companies still move slowly. Shared doesn’t. Its workflow is digital-native, designed for the rhythm of social media instead of print or television. That matters because algorithms change constantly, and speed is often the only way to stay relevant.
For Ottawa’s tech scene, Shared is also unusual. The city is known for telecom and government-adjacent technology firms. Shared operates on the creative side of tech—media, data, social analytics. That adds diversity to the region’s business ecosystem.
For advertisers and brands, Shared is valuable because of its scale and efficiency. Few companies can produce hundreds of pieces of social content per month and maintain consistent engagement numbers.
Common Challenges for Shared and Similar Companies
There’s a catch with this model: dependence on platforms. Shared’s success has been tied to the way Facebook and Instagram distribute content. When algorithms shift, reach can drop overnight. That’s the downside of building on rented land.
Another challenge is balancing quantity with quality. When producing hundreds of videos monthly, not everything will hit. Some will fail. Maintaining creative energy and audience trust under that pace requires a strong internal system and data discipline.
There’s also competition from other digital-native publishers and creators who can replicate similar models. Shared’s advantage lies in its infrastructure and experience, but in social media, attention is always temporary.
What Happens If Shared Stops Adapting
If Shared doesn’t keep evolving, it risks fading into the background. Social media platforms push constant change—new formats, new algorithms, new audience habits. Companies that built their entire business model on Facebook video five years ago struggled when TikTok took over.
To stay relevant, Shared needs to keep expanding how it delivers content. That might mean experimenting with longer-form storytelling, streaming collaborations, or even AI-assisted media production. The company’s past shows it can pivot quickly. The question is whether it continues to do so as the digital landscape shifts again.
Opportunities Ahead
Shared’s biggest growth opportunity is international reach. Its digital infrastructure already supports global audiences. Creating multilingual or region-specific content could expand its footprint.
Another option is branded content—partnering with companies to produce shareable campaigns that don’t feel like traditional ads. Shared’s analytics and creative teams already have the skills to execute that model.
Licensing its best-performing videos or developing original IP are also possible paths. Some of Shared’s viral stories could easily transition into longer content formats or partnerships with streaming platforms.
Finally, technology integration—especially using AI for editing, captioning, and predictive analytics—can boost efficiency without losing the human touch in storytelling.
Practical Lessons from Shared’s Model
- Test Everything. Shared doesn’t rely on intuition. Every post is an experiment, measured and refined.
- Build for Platforms. Instead of fighting algorithms, they study them. They make content that fits the format of where it lives.
- Work Fast. A slow production cycle kills momentum. Shared’s internal studio structure allows them to create fast without waiting for outside agencies.
- Keep People Involved. Even in a data-driven business, human editors and creators define tone, pacing, and emotional impact.
- Don’t Get Comfortable. The internet moves too quickly for that. Shared’s own growth proves adaptation is mandatory.
The Bigger Picture
Shared shows what a modern media company looks like when it’s built for the internet instead of adapted to it. It merges content creation, analytics, and technology into a single operation. There’s no legacy broadcast model to protect, no heavy editorial bureaucracy, and no nostalgia for how media used to work.
Its success comes from repetition and measurement, not luck. In a way, Shared acts as a real-time experiment in how stories spread online. Every piece of content adds another data point. Every failure teaches something new about what audiences respond to.
The company’s next stage will depend on how it handles the broader shifts in social media: privacy regulations, platform fragmentation, and the rise of user-generated creator economies. But so far, Shared has proven it can adapt quickly, and that’s what matters most.
FAQ
What is Shared?
Shared is a digital content company based in Ottawa, Canada. It creates and curates social media videos optimized for engagement across platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
When was Shared founded?
The company was founded in 2015, evolving from an earlier advertising network that started in 2005.
How big is Shared?
It employs between 51 and 200 people, according to LinkedIn data.
What type of content does Shared make?
Mostly short-form social videos—entertainment, lifestyle, and shareable stories. The company also tests and optimizes these posts based on audience response.
Why is Shared successful?
Because it builds content around what data shows people actually want, not what producers think they want.
What risks does Shared face?
Reliance on social media platforms and algorithm changes, along with competition from other digital creators.
Where is Shared headquartered?
Ottawa, Canada, with additional presence in Toronto.
Shared’s story isn’t about luck or virality. It’s about speed, testing, and understanding how people consume information online. That’s what makes it worth paying attention to.
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