WRITING | CONTENT MARKETING
How to Make Content That Everyone Wants to Share
On average, people spend about 44% of our day looking at screens, seeing and sharing content. Take advantage of that.
What do you reach for when you first wake up in the morning?
Is it your phone? If you are like the majority, the answer is yes.
On average, people spend around 44% of their waking hours looking at a screen, consuming shareable content.
Your friend sends you a text with the latest air fryer recipe you can’t live without.
Your boss shoots you an email with an article on remote team dynamics.
Even people you don’t know are continually feeding you a daily digest of shared content via social media feeds and email campaigns.
That’s why, when it comes to your business, shareable content is one of the fastest and most effective ways to reach a growing audience.
Whether you’re selling clothing online or convincing new clients to sign up for your consulting services, shareable content is a key to expanding your business’ reach.
But how do you unlock the power of shareable content?
In this article, we’ll discuss the importance of shareable content, give you tips for creating content worth sharing — including practical examples — and help you leverage your shareable content to do more.
Sharing is Caring: The Benefits of Shareable Content
The young, the old, and every person in between are connected to digital devices from sun up to sun down.
As a business, you must reach your target audience in these spaces.
That’s why, if you are not creating shareable content, you are missing out on a key opportunity for growth.
Specifically, shareable content can help you with the following:
Improved brand recognition
Every time your business’ content is shared, whether via a shareable social post or a forwarded newsletter, you have the opportunity to imprint your brand in more people’s minds.
An uptick in site traffic
If your shareable content exists within your website, such as a blog post or informative webpage, a single piece of content can drive an immense amount of traffic to your site.
This gives you further opportunities for marketing your business.
Increased number of backlinks
Backlinks to your website help improve your website authority.
This, in turn, can assist in your organic rankings, allowing more search results to feature your content.
When you create share-worthy content, you improve the odds of your content being linked to reputable sites.
Expanded exposure
Ultimately, shareable content results in expanded exposure. For example, you might be popular with a small, localized audience.
However, when a piece of content from your business is shared nationally, your reach can potentially expand dramatically from your current user or buyer base.
The Types of Content That Are Shared the Most
What inspires us to share some social posts but pass over others?
Why do we immediately share a blog post we just read with our best friend but forget we even started reading another?
While shareable content can vary greatly in form, a few key characteristics make your business’ content more likely to be shared.
The following are examples of the types of content that are shared the most.
Remember, one piece of content doesn’t need to encompass all of these traits. Shareable content might embody one or a few of these traits.
Entertaining
A cat dancing to the latest TikTok dance trend, a mashup of the best sports clips, or a hilarious example of a recipe fail — these are all examples of content that entertains us.
When you provide your audience with a laugh or offer a quick snippet of amusement, you make your content worth sharing.
Relevant and Relatable
A lot of shareable content is content that resonates with a specific group of people.
And when content feels relevant and relatable to a niche group, they are more likely to share it with others who feel like this.
Think about busy moms sharing fast spring cleaning hacks or college students swapping must-have dorm room essentials.
This is the type of content that immediately feels like it was designed for a certain group.
Useful
From DIY projects around the house to tips on improving company processes, businesses can help spread their content by offering useful information.
Common examples of this type of content include listicles, how-tos, long-form content, and guides.
Visually Appealing
Humans love visuals.
The human brain processes images 60,000 times faster than text, which is why infographics, memes, and stunning images are shareable.
Consider adding more visual elements to your blogs, social media posts, and emails.
To simplify this process, consider tools that can help automate content creation and publishing.
For instance, ExpertWriter.ai can be a great option to keep your workflow efficient and on track.
Value-aligned
Content that resonates with existing values inspires people to share it with others.
You can tap into this power by taking a stance and expressing these values.
We see this when organizations create videos that demonstrate their alignment with a specific cause or companies that collaborate with charities through social media campaigns.
Tips for Creating Shareable Content
We’ve all witnessed it before: a social media post goes viral and spreads like wildfire across the internet.
But how do you create content that inspires people to tap, share, repost, or send it?
While there is no secret formula, the following tips can help you design content your audience wants to share.
Create content for a specific audience
The majority of content is not going to resonate with every single person on planet Earth.
That is why it is important to customize your business’ content for a specific audience.
Take the time to understand who you are trying to reach. What are their interests, values, and platform preferences?
How you reach a Gen Z’er living in New York City might look extremely different from how you reach a Gen X mom living in the suburbs of Ohio.
The more in tune you are with your specific audience, the easier it will be to design content they want to share with the people they know.
Offer a unique perspective
With a constant influx of content, it is easy for people to become numb to content that feels repetitive.
One way to inspire people to share your content with others is to offer a unique perspective.
Be authentic when you speak.
Write a blog post that offers your unique perspective. And get others in your company involved to help expand your unique voice.
Make it visually appealing
Long blocks of text can lead to glazed-over eyes. To make your content more shareable, add visual elements.
Turn data into infographics. Spruce up your blog post with imagery.
Showcase your products or services with stunning photos. Use videos to break up the monotony.
Humanize it
People love a good story, so don’t be afraid to humanize your brand. Let your company’s personality shine and show your audience that you care.
For example, you can feature your employees on social media with quick video interviews.
Add a pet of the week segment to your company’s Facebook page. Tell your business’s founding story from an authentic, human perspective.
Your content has to resonate with others to inspire them to share. Avoid sticking to a bland script.
Follow a trend or take a stand
Online content is continually morphing to match the latest trends or address the most recent issues.
Be sure you are following trends carefully and plug in your brand whenever possible.
Don’t be afraid to express your values through your content.
In a survey spanning 25 countries, 70% of respondents indicated they buy from brands they believe reflect their values.
Create content that expresses those values and encourages your audience to take a stand with you.
Now, Maximize Your Shared Content!
Creating shareable content is just the start.
Once you have a piece of content that your followers are sharing, make sure you are maximizing each share.
The following are a few ideas to help you turn shareable content into company profits:
Add a call-to-action that promotes your services or goods
For example, at the end of a How-To blog, include a quick blurb about your company and how your services relate to the topic.
This is also where using a tool like ExpertWriter.ai can help.
It makes the content creation and publishing process smoother, helping you stay focused on connecting with your audience.
Encourage engagement with your content
Keep your comment section open and respond to your followers. Don’t be afraid to ask people to like, share, subscribe, and connect.
Link back to your site
If you are creating shareable social content, don’t forget to make it easy for people to find your website information.
Be sure all your business profiles include links to relevant information on your website.
Make it easy to share
If you write an outstanding blog or put together a useful how-to guide, make it simple for those who enjoy the content to share with others.
Add simple one-click options that allow your readers to share via social media, text, or email.
Note: This article contains an affiliate link to an external site. If you click on the link and make a purchase, I might get a commission at no additional cost to you.
