Content marketing has many advantages for businesses. Aside from being able to advertise and optimize search engine presence, it establishes your business as a thought leader which helps build trust in your brand. Many companies invest time and money into content marketing, but brands should keep shareability in mind when generating content. So the questions is: how do you make content that gets more shares?
Connect With Your Audience
Knowing your audience really, REALLY well is the key to creating great shareable content. Remember that people share content they can identify with. This may be because it showcases their personality and their values or it helps them connect with people online. Understanding what your market wants, how they feel, or what they do would help you come up with a brand and content they can trust and relate with.
Use Strong Headlines and Images
Headlines and feature images are the first things your audience see online, so make sure they are compelling. A catchy headline that generates curiosity or emotion have higher chances of being clicked and shared. The key is to intrigue the audience when they see your content on social media, but make sure your headline is still clear and does not over-promise. As for images, use ones that can really attract attention and feel more personal for your audience. Try to avoid using obvious stock photos, especially those that are too cliche (e.g. smiling business men in corporate attire, graphs with a rising line). You have a specific audience which is why you need to give them specific images that cater to them and your brand. Also, keep image sizes in mind to make sure they look well on the social media platform you’re posting them on.
Make Content Easy to Digest and Share
A 2,000 word article may do better than one with 500 words for SEO, but it wouldn’t do your audience well if you don’t make it easy for them to digest, and in return, share. Break content down into ‘skimmable’ parts. Highlight key points with bold texts or eye-catching fonts instead of constructing them into dense paragraphs. Make sure it’s easy for your audience to share by placing social media sharing buttons on your content. Just make sure the social buttons don’t block any part of the content or you run the risk of ruining user experience with your site.
Add Variety
While articles are a common choice for businesses, you can also make use of infographics and videos to add variety to your content. These can be helpful for your audience who don’t really like reading long forms of content. You should also include guest posts from other influential people or companies in your industry. This helps you leverage their following and helps both you and your guest reach a wider audience for your content. Lastly, take the time to showcase curated content valuable to your readers.
Distribute Content Across Social Media Platforms
Remember that there is more than Facebook and Twitter when talking about social media. You can make use of other social media platforms which are relevant for you and your audience to increase reach and shareability of your content. You have other options, such as Google+ and Pinterest. The key is to distribute your content well and get it to reach influencers to share your content.
Having people share your content is now the modern-day version of word-of-mouth marketing. This is why brands need to keep shareability in mind when creating content to get the best results. These tips can help you with the ignition, but it really boils down to having content that is consistent, relevant, and valuable.