Social media is one of the best marketing platforms out there and shareable content can drive your success. When users regularly share the content that you post, you’re likely to gain followers, earn important referral traffic and gather links that can help you strengthen your website’s domain authority. The question is – what is it exactly that makes content shareable?
Below we have outlined our 7 top tips around creating the best content for social media that will be shared around the web.
Tip 1: Create content that is entertaining
It probably comes as no surprise that positive, entertaining posts are more likely to go viral for the simple reason that people would rather be seen as this type of person rather than someone who is negative. Content that incites emotions such as delight, excitement and awe are shared more than posts that evoke low-arousal. Create content that is reactive, including headlines that make people curious and text that will trigger positive emotions.
Tip 2: Create content that focuses on a belief or cause
A post centred on a belief or a cause is a post that helps a person define themselves to others. Many people like to share things that mirror the image they wish to present to the world, while also showing support for the issues that they care about too. By understanding your target audience, you’ll be able to create content that will resonate with who they are.
Tip 3: Create content that is useful
According to a study by The New York Times, a staggering 90 percent of people will assess a piece of content for its usefulness before sharing it. If that’s the case, you should aim to provide a step-by-step answer to a problem. Whether this includes the product or service you’re offering is completely up to you, but make sure that you include a call to action (CTA) that encourages users to share your post to someone else who might find the information as useful as they have done.
Tip 4: Create content that looks cool
Aesthetics play a huge role in content creation. Users are more likely to share content that is easy to read and pleasing to the eye, which means large blocks of text are a bad idea. To create a visual hierarchy, use subheadings and bullet points. An easy to read font and suitable colours.
Tip 5: Create content that emphasises social validation
Every person has a strong desire for approval and this means that we often let others dictate our actions and opinions. For example, people are more likely to ‘like’ a comment that has already been liked. Popularity is infectious, so you should make sure your posts have a share button and a clearly visible share count so that users are encouraged to follow suit.
Tip 6: Create content that tells a story
Storytelling is one of the most important parts of content creation. It encourages your audience to see the relevance of your post to their everyday lives and will therefore, trigger that all-important emotional reaction. Introduce a common problem, introduce a solution and then explain to your customers how they can take action to solve this by investing in your product or service.
Tip 7: Create content that is controversial
You can encourage other people to become more certain in their opinions so that they’ll want to prove that they’re right. Play devil’s advocate by outlining an assumption that’s commonly held and flipping it on its head. Users will be encouraged to click to read more and then, argue to reinforce the ideas they believe to be true.
If you’re looking to redefine your marketing and content strategy, the team here at Milk & Tweed are experienced in all types of content marketing and will work with you to create a strategy that’s tailored to your business needs.
