Wouldn’t it be ideal if every single piece of content that you created got shared?!
Ideal, yes. Realistic...well, life on the internet in 2018 is a little bit different.
Every sixty seconds, roughly 36.8 billion pieces of content are posted online. That’s a whole lotta content floating around! But only the best content has the upper advantage and gets shared.
Thankfully there are common traits of all shareable content. Pour these 8 ingredients into your content and your social media followers will find it likable and shareable, just like the perfect chocolate chip cookie!
Ingredient #1: An Alluring Headline
Don’t skip over this first trait. A headline is the most essential part of your content! It has the power to grab attention, draw readers in, and get people to click.
How to create an alluring headline: brainstorm at least 10 ideas for each piece of content you create. Use a headline analyzer like this one. A/B testing the headlines of posted content is also a helpful tactic.
Ingredient #2: A Captivating Hook
Your headline grabbed the reader’s attention. The next thing they will read is the opening of your article. At a glance, the introduction should tell them what the piece of content is about. But it should also ask relatable questions that pose some tension...and the solution will only be answered by reading through the content.
Ingredient #3: Readable, Conversational Text
Shakespeare and Aristotle have their place, but that’s probably in a library and not on your website. Keep your text simple, conversational and easy to read. Let it flow with varied sentence structure and diverse vocabulary. Be sure to clearly focus on your objectives and main points!
Ingredient #4: Content Organization
The more headlines, subheadings, bullet points and numbered lists, the better. After all, it’s the internet, which means that people don’t actually read all of your content. (In other words, they scan for the highlights!)
Help your readers skip to the most valuable information via short paragraphs (with buffers of white space), lists and bold fonts for added emphasis.
Ingredient #5: High Quality Visual Content
99% of the time, you need to have some sort of image with your content. Eye-catching photographs, infographics and embedded videos are the best options. Actually, infographics are shared three times more than all other types of content!
Often, it’s helpful to have a featured image that includes the title of your content on the photo. You can use a tool like Canva to make those images. Earn bonus points by making your images the appropriate size for Facebook or Pinterest.
Ingredient #6: A Call-To-Action
Walk your reader through the process step-by-step from the opening line all the way through the call-to-action. Honestly, most readers won’t take the next step if you don’t clearly tell them what to do. Maximize your popularity of shareable content by focusing your CTA on sharing.
Ingredient #7: Make It Easy To Share
This is such an essential ingredient: make it easier for your audience to share your content. The fewer the clicks, the better. Add share buttons to your website; I suggest including them on the side bar, on images, and of course at the bottom of each post.
Ingredient #8: Have A Social Media History
Having a complete campaign behind your content is awesome! But it’s not always necessary. However, you need to have a social media history. When someone shares your content, they are likely to view other content you have created. Which means there needs to be other content in your arsenal (via your website or social media profile).
Share your content on the day it’s published, and resharing it one week later can boost your shares too.
Mix together those 8 essential ingredients and watch your content become more shareable.
Whether social media sharing is an integral part of your inbound marketing campaign or a small aspect on the side, it’s still worth considering in your content planning sessions. A simple increase in social shares has the capacity to increase your views by thousands each quarter.
And just like money in a retirement account, traffic compounds over time. Start gaining momentum, boosting in SEO and overall success through shareable content that readers will literally eat up like a yummy chocolate chip cookie.
Need help making your social media content as delicious as a warm chocolate chip cookie? We're here to help. Our social media experts can be compared to top-notch bakers. Drop us a message so we can help your team bake up outstanding and alluring social media content.