4 Secrets of Writing Shareable Content
Whether you own a business, run a blog or enjoy making a difference online, there is one skill that you need to really succeed: the ability to create shareable content. This superpower will not only expand your audience reach, but will also help you rise as a powerful expert and influencer in your industry.
What Is Shareable Content?
From a very early age, we are taught the importance of sharing. Sure, it’s hard for a toddler to share that last cookie—it’s hard for adults with a sweet tooth too. But sharing is a valuable skill that enables us to establish trust, make friends and live a more successful life.
Creating content online that is “shareable” simply means creating an article or post that is both useful and engaging to readers. This could be anything from a how-to post about a service that you offer to an interesting post about your favorite tv show (as long as it gives your readers something valuable like a good laugh or new information). In any niche or industry, you can learn how to create shareable content.
Creating content that gets the attention of readers is challenging at times, but the ability to do so is vital in content marketing and empowers companies to build relationships with customers and gain more exposure. From a marketing standpoint, learning this skill is a must.
How Do I Create Shareable Content?
Although there is no “secret ingredient” that makes every post shareable, there are a few tips and tricks that can really boost your content. Here are a few things that can determine whether or not an article is will get the likes, views and shares that you’re looking for:
Engagement
A key aspect of creating shareable content is how engaging it is to readers. If you want to persuade visitors to share your article with their friends, they need to have the desire to. The engagement of your post often depends on the readability of your article. Can readers easily follow along, and is it entertaining or useful to them? Above anything else, keep your readers in mind.
Connection
Your article may be well-written, but your readers probably won’t share it unless they have a pretty good reason to. This means you need to connect the content you create to your audience in some way, whether that’s through useful information, opinions they share or something too funny not to share. As you strive to write shareable content, find ways to validate or help your readers.
Relevance
If you master the engagement and connection parts of your content, seal the deal by adding relevance. Relevant content either informs readers in their times of need or is timely depending on the context and situation. Readers often pick articles that interest them because of current events or when they need help. Answer questions, provide the most updated information and try not to get behind the times. Relevancy is powerful.
4 Secrets To Writing Shareable Content
Whether you are writing a social media post or a blog, here are a few tips to make it more shareable.
1. Choose an Interesting Topic
One of our past sales gurus authored a great GrammarSpot post titled Coming Up With Blog Topics. When it comes to research, he reminds us to check newspapers and magazines for inspiration rather than just the Internet.
For instance, as I was flipping through the pages of a design magazine, making a mental list of all of the projects I want to do in my house (if only I had the time and money!), I came across a little blurb that said windows with black frames “are like eyeliner for windows—emphasizing and framing the view.” Bam! That gave me an idea for an interesting tweet or blog, rather than a basic “How to Choose a Window Contractor.”
– Think beyond beige. Give your home a makeover with one of these trending #windowframe colors—black, red or blue.
If this were a blog, the makeover aspect could be played up—if black is the eyeliner, red could be compared to the lipstick, making the exterior more inviting, etc. Interesting content that incorporates trends and useful information is more likely to receive comments or be shared. Reading comments on existing social media posts or industry blogs is another great place to get ideas for topics.
Ideas For Interesting Topics
If you get stuck brainstorming topics for your shareable content, take a step back. You might be trying to come up with ideas by using the wrong side of the funnel. Instead of trying to think of incredibly specific topics right off the bat, start general and work down from there. Here’s a quick brainstorming method you could use:
- Pick an industry (e.g., beauty products)
- Choose a topic (e.g., hair tools)
- Brainstorm common questions about that topic (e.g., how do I curl my hair with a straightener?)
- Use this question as the basis for your article (e.g., 3 Ways To Use a Straightener)
Sometimes it doesn’t even matter what the topic is, it’s how you look at it. Use some personality, look at things with a fresh perspective and cater to your readers.
2. Create a Title That Evokes Curiosity
As you find interesting topics, don’t forget to include a touch of spice in your titles, too. Although we’re told not to judge books by their covers, readers do it all the time when scrolling past content on their social media feeds and looking through google search results. You need the title of your shareable content to be something that catches the attention of potential readers.
How To Come Up With Catchy Titles
Many writers find that it is easier to come up with a clever title AFTER they write the content rather than before. Focus on writing the meat of the article first before worrying about the perfect title. Even if the focus of your blog shifts during the writing process, the title will stay relevant to the content.
When brainstorming titles, think about trigger words or phrases that have a positive effect on readers, such as “How To” or “Top 10.” These are often highly effective as shareable content because they tell the reader two things: first, that your article has relevant, useful information that they can use, and second, that your article is most likely succinct and easy to skim.
Another way to evoke curiosity in readers is to include something unique to a geographic location if one is included with the keyword phrase. For example, if you are writing for a siding contractor in the Midwest, “Roofing and Siding Strategies to Protect Your Home in Tornado Alley” reaches them in a personal way and is more likely to be reposted than “3 Reasons to Replace Your Roofing and Siding.” It also means that you probably have information in the article that is specific to their area, making it more useful to them.
Check out the entertaining and informative GrammarSpot post The Art of Creating Attention-Grabbing Titles for more in-depth ideas on crafting titles.
Avoid Clickbait Titles
Although you may find really catchy titles in the form of clickbait, there isn’t really a payoff for these types of articles. You get the initial click, yes, but shareable content happens when you meet the reader’s expectations. With that in mind, the titles you create should closely match the content you’re writing about. The more satisfied a reader is, the likelier they will share your post.
3. Use Content Marketing Tactics
You’ve got a solid piece of content full of useful information and with a catchy title… but what happens when no one can find it? Because so much content is being published daily on the internet (especially on social media platforms), it’s easier than ever to let great articles slip under the radar. You can avoid this by using a few content marketing tips and tricks.
One way to help potential readers find your posts is by using strategic keywords. Search engines use these to find the best articles for those searching for specific information. A user will input a search phrase or word, and the search engine uses keywords as a map to find the ones with the most relevant information.
Of course, SEO includes a lot of things such as inbound links, website authority and metadata, but keywords have a lot of weight. Once you’ve got a topic for your article in mind, make sure to use keywords that relate to that topic throughout the article (especially in the title, headings and meta description). This alone will help google searchers find you.
Use Hashtags
Although search engines are extremely useful, one reason you’re creating shareable content is so that your readers can do a lot of the marketing for you on their social media accounts. Social media platforms are all the rage, and they can be a huge source of traffic.
But how do you start generating that traffic, especially if you don’t have a large following on your social media accounts? Hashtags are a powerful tool. The right ones gather more likes and shares across multiple platforms and allow more people to discover the content.
The best hashtags are specific to a company’s specialties (often specified as keywords) or trending topics. If you are promoting a blog post, simply adding “blog” to the end of the topic makes it more successful. For example, #homeimprovementblog. Whatever hashtag you use, it should be easy to read.
4. Encourage Interaction
Shareable posts are great discussion starters. When something resonates (or when it really doesn’t) with readers, they often share their opinions and get others buzzing, which is great for your business or profile. The reason why you are creating content is to connect with readers or buyers, so writing shareable content that naturally does this is exactly what you’re looking for.
How do you encourage people to react to your content? Sometimes all you have to do is ask. If you are specifically seeking interaction, ask readers to leave a comment after a blog, reply to a tweet or share a Facebook post. Along with encouraging readers to respond, make your blog post or article available to share. Include social media share buttons and link to the URLs when you share on your social media accounts.
Look At Shareable Content Examples
Have you found that nothing you’ve done yet has helped increase interaction? The best shareable content examples to look at are the ones that already work on you. Look at your social media feed or think about articles that have pulled your attention. What qualities do they have, and what makes you inclined to share or comment? Take note of these experts and incorporate some of their techniques into your content.
Write Shareable Content Today
Now that you know the secrets to writing content that attracts readers, get started! Brainstorm topics, find catchy headlines, promote with keywords and hashtags and encourage readers to interact. And don’t forget, to get the most out of your shareable content, post fresh articles consistently. As you build authority and increase content circulation, you’ll see an increase of traffic and potentially a surge of new followers or customers.
Let us help you write shareable content. Whether you need specialized blogs, informative how-to posts or updated web pages, our content writing team can help you create content that catches the attention of readers,
We’d love to hear your tips for writing interesting, shareable content, so comment below!
