When putting out content there is nothing more satisfying then when people connect with a topic, idea or story you have created and best of all share it with others. However, creating sharable content is harder now than ever with social media dramatically reducing reach of organic content and more competition adding to the noise every day. In today’s media and marketing climate, only the best content will get shared.
If you want your content to have the best chance of achieving a large reach and maximum exposure, go through this easy 7-step process to make sure all of your posts are primed for prompting readers to push that share button.
1. Is the topic shareable?
Topic is key when trying to lead audiences to share your content. Subjects that make readers feel connected or evoke thought and emotion as well as provide value often prompt a response that makes them want to inform and include others. If a topic resonates with us, we think others will appreciate them too.
A study conducted by a team of UCLA psychologists found that people have an inherent desire to dispense information and are regularly attuned to how the things they are seeing will be useful to not only themselves but to others. It is noted by the study’s senior author Matthew Lieberman “We always seem to be on the lookout for who else will find this helpful, amusing or interesting…”
2. Do competitive research
By keeping up to date with what topics and keywords are trending in your industry, as well as tracking what your competitors are doing, it is one of the easiest ways to create content people want to share right now.
To be a successful competitor-tracking detective, make a list of your top five competitors and the social channels they utilise. Then take a look at the last six months of content they have published and the type of content they have been posting e.g. videos, blog posts, infographics. Making a note of content that is getting the best engagement or is not performing so well to help spark ideas for topics that will be most interesting to your target audience.
3. Is the headline attention-grabbing?
No matter how powerful your topic is, if you don’t have a strong, attention-grabbing title to make it easy for the reader to notice, they will just keep on scrolling. On the other hand, a captivating headline can trigger social sharing on their own. A study by computer scientists at Columbia University and the French National Institute found that 59% of links shared on social media aren’t even clicked on. People share them based on the headline alone.
A powerful headline is essential in creating shareable content, so as you write a title show the value and be clear about what the reader will gain or learn.
4. A feature image is a must
Today, people have an attention span of fewer than nine seconds, or less than a goldfish. As a result, imagery is more important now than ever, especially on crowded social media platforms. By using a dazzling, eye-catching graphic it makes your social media post ten times more likely to get noticed and be re-shared.
Images also resonate with audiences because our brains easily consume visual information. The human brain can recognise a familiar object in only 13 milliseconds, making graphics more likely to resonate with today’s short-attention world than text alone.
Useful tip: To create shareable social media content, always include featured images that are sized and designed for social sites.
5. Include social sharing buttons
The layout and options on your website need to encourage audiences to share. Include call to actions that tell audiences to share throughout your content. At the end of a post, ask audiences to spread the word.
It should be obvious, but a social sharing button must be included on all of your content. It must be easy for readers to spread your story around the web. People won’t want to copy and paste links into Facebook or Twitter, so without one-click sharing to social media, you are losing out.
6. Is your shareable content able to be found in search?
Another way to make sure your content is shared is by helping it get found in the first place. Content sharing and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) are intrinsically interlinked. Your content must be optimised for SEO so new readers can discover and then share it. Each page you create should be structured with SEO best practices.
To make sure audiences can find your content through search, review each page to ensure that it’s optimised for your targeted keyword.
7. Third-party endorsement
Creating opportunities to involve third parties in interviews or roundups, for example, can be a brilliant way to drum up shares. By getting other people involved they are more likely to pass the post to their own audience, which can be a huge social booster. If you can get an expert or influencer on board then even better, because people trust them, which in turn means they trust the content of the post. And some may even consider trust as the new marketing currency.
Conclusion
In a world filled with “Which Friends Character Are You?” quizzes and TikToks of people dancing to ‘Renegade’, creating quality shareable content is pleasantly refreshing. So, if you take the time to craft a truly valuable and insightful comment, you can establish a devout following of people that will take notice and ultimately share their findings.