Your brand can have loads of compelling, engaging content on social media and on its website that your audience seems to love. But if it’s not being shared much, you’re missing out on a lot of benefits. It’s important for brands and marketers to have shareable content because it boosts your brand’s numbers across the board.
Shareable content is the digital version of word-of-mouth content, but on a much bigger and broader scale. It’s content that consumers feel compelled to share because they think others can benefit from it and/or they feel very strongly about it.
The Benefits of Shareable Content
Shareable content travels quickly on social media and the benefits can be far-reaching and powerful. Consider how shareable content helps brands and marketers:
- Increases Brand Awareness. Shareable content can create a buzz about a product on social media, bringing greater awareness to the brand. Say a popular influencer on Instagram shares a post about a brand’s new item. The post might be some followers’ first introduction to the brand. Effective content that’s relevant to their interests can prompt them to want to know more about it. When followers share the influencer’s post on social media, they introduce it to others who also might never have heard of the brand.
- It’s Budget-Friendly. When consumers share your content, they’re doing the legwork for the brand, saving you time and money. Your audience grows exponentially with each share. Because the members of the audience’s social media networks trust them, that trust transfers to your content and your brand.
- Boosts Site Traffic. When influencers and followers share posts about a new product on social media, it can drive consumers to the brand’s website to learn more. Once on the brand’s website, they can find the info they need on pages that feature answers to frequently asked questions.
- Drives Engagement. Consumers who learn about a product from a shared post and are interested in it engage with the brand on its social media channels. They ask questions about it and comment on what they like about it, giving valuable feedback in the process.
- Grows Leads. Shareable content like surveys, contests and quizzes can help identify potential customers. That’s because consumers answer questions that give brands valuable details about audience interests and needs.
- Boosts Sales. If content is engaging enough to be shareable, it can also be persuasive or valuable enough to convince consumers to buy a product. It’s likely to boost sales if those sharing it have already purchased the product and have become advocates for it. Sharing the content with others they know would like the product brings a personal touch that can seal the deal.
How to Produce Shareable Content
Just because you think the content you produce is shareable doesn’t mean your target market does. Follow these tips to produce content that’s truly shareable.
- Know Your Audience. To produce shareable content, first figure out the demographics and interests of your target market. Look at the types of content your audience responded to in the past. Engage with your followers and ask what kind of information they’re looking for. Also consider researching the type of content that works for your competition. If you have a global audience, determine the languages your content should be written in. Tailor it to be shareable, keeping any cultural differences in mind.
- Echo Your Market’s Values. Many of the same things that are important to members of your market are probably important to their friends and family. When your content reflects those values, your followers are more likely to share it.
- Know What’s Trending. To stay on top of the types of content consumers are sharing, it’s essential for brands and marketers to be active online. That involves following trending content, including content that uses keywords relevant to your product.
- Know the Best Formats. It’s important to know the best formats for shareable content on different social media channels. For instance, the content format that works on Twitter can be very different from what works on Instagram or Facebook. Tweak your content so it’s relevant and shareable for each channel.
- Don’t Forget the Basics of Sharing. It can be easy to overlook the basics of shareable content. Don’t forget to put buttons next to your content that make it quick and easy for viewers to share it. Include CTAs for readers to encourage sharing, like “Click to Tweet,” in your posts.
- Create Valuable Content. In order to produce shareable content, brands and marketers need to create content that’s valuable to their audiences. The target market should find the content entertaining, fun, educational or helpful. That’s why short quizzes, surveys, lists and videos typically get a lot of shares. If you’ve ever shared the results of a funny quiz you took on Facebook, you know how appealing it can be.
- Use Contests or Giveaways. Create contests or giveaways that reward those who share your brand’s content. Some things haven’t changed over the decades that businesses have been marketing to consumers. People love free things and the opportunity to win valuable prizes. Sharing content is an easy way for them to do that.
- Get Emotional and Inspirational. Content that inspires a follower can have a positive effect that compels them to share it with friends and family. Stories with powerful emotional impacts or appealing visuals are also typically highly shareable.
- Use Attention-Getting Headlines. People react quickly to powerful headlines and often share them without actually clicking on the links. Some ways to grab attention in your headlines include addressing readers directly — refer to them as “you.” Another is to let them know if the content contains lists and what they can get out of it. For example, use headlines like “10 Things You Need to Know About Urgent Care Centers.” Also research and include the keywords they’re likely to respond to.
- Mention an Influencer in Your Content. If you include quotes from influencers or mention them in your content in another way, they might share it with their followers. Let anyone mentioned in your content know about it so they have the opportunity to share it.
- Go Long and Linkable with Your Content. Linkable content is in the shareable content family. It’s when websites link back to another site that provides valuable information on a subject. It features well-researched information that projects an image of expertise. Linkable content is often evergreen and more than 1,000 words in length. One key benefit of linkable content is that it generates more links for higher Google search rankings. When your brand ranks first in searches, it stays ahead of the competition and drives the metrics that matter for ROI.