What Makes Content Shareable?
Viral content is pretty much the most coveted commodity in the online marketing world. It has everything that a good piece of advertising content needs. It has the trusted stamp of approval of all who shared it and best of all, the distribution is free!
You gain access to new followers, referral traffic, and gain permanent links that boost your domain authority and your website’s potential to rank higher in search engines. Since shareable content is the gift that keeps on giving, this echo effect makes the momentary viral impact last indefinitely.
We know what your thinking – That’s great and all but it’s useless if you don’t know how to create it. Well, don’t you worry. In this article, we address one of the most important questions in content marketing: What makes content truly share-worthy?
Quick Fix: Our April Promo Calendar is filled with great content that has the potential to resonate with your customers and get them sharing!
The internet has become an extremely competitive place. Long gone are the days of Chocolate Rain and cats playing the piano that spread like wildfire. Today, almost 10 years later, everyone is a content creator, which means that we really need to listen to our viewers in order to give them what they want.
Let’s start with the bad news: Not all good content is shareable. There is some very interesting content out there, created by some very smart people, that will remain virtually invisible because it doesn’t draw people to click the share button. I mean, if James Joyce posted Ulysses on his social media pages, it’s doubtful that anyone would share it.
The good news is that although there is never 100% certainty when it comes to shareable content, almost anyone has the potential to create it if they follow a few basic guidelines.
Here are a few types of content that come with shareable potential:
Digestibles
BuzzSumo examined a whopping one million pieces of content and one of the conclusions they came up with was that content that both provides value and is relatively quick and easy to digest like videos, quizzes, and listicles tend to get more social shares than other types of content. They also mention that list posts achieve a higher number of referring domain links.
Here are a few examples we created:
Thomas Jefferson
Superhero Day
Pro-tip: Both listicles and videos are highly shareable content formats so try integrating them both in your content strategy. This month’s calendar is full of video listicles for you to share on your socials!
Relatables
If your goal is to create shareable content, the worst thing that you can do is talk about yourself. No offense, but nobody really cares. If people are going to share a piece of content, it has to say something about them, your target audience; it has to have something personal. For instance, we all remember the epic viral success of “This is me IRL” memes. Content that your audience can relate to, or that they believe that others will relate to, is much more likely to be shared.
Here are a few examples we created:
National Siblings Day
Fill in the blank
Pro-tip: Adding an interactive element to your content can make it even more relatable and personal. Ask viewers to fill in the blank or tag a loved one in your post to take it to the next level.
The Feel-goods
According to research from the journal Psychological Science, emotions are at the core of viral content. If you feel a strong emotion you automatically feel a need to share it with people who feel the same. However, not all emotions are considered equal when it comes to sharing. People are more likely to share content that evokes high-arousal emotions, like energy or positivity.
Here are a few examples we created:
Thursday Thoughts
Day of Hope
Pro-tip: According to the Fractl, combining strong emotions with an element of surprise can create massive sharing potential, so try adding something a little unexpected to your content as well.
Social Boosters
People share content that expresses who they are or more accurately, how they want people to see them. We all want to look thoughtful, erudite, cute and funny and it’s believed that the content we share has the ability to make that happen. The content is a social currency that builds online personas, which ultimately has become our real-life personas. When creating a piece of content, try to imagine how it can contribute to your users social standing
Here are a few examples we created:
Earth Day
Unicorn Day
Pro-tip: Like it or not, we all have a strong desire for social validation. Your followers are more likely to share or like your content if they see that others have done so beforehand. Get some people around the office to like your content to get the ball rolling.
Braggables
When can you really talk about how great you are without coming off as totally conceited? The tactful amongst us usually try to refrain from it, but sometimes it’s nice to get a chance to humblebrag about your achievements. What better way to do that than to share content created by someone else? Giving your audience high-quality boasting content is a great way to get them reaching for those share buttons.
Here are a few examples we created:
Honesty Day
Tax Day
Pro-tip: It’s definitely more socially acceptable to share a video about finishing your taxes or running a marathon then straight up writing it on your facebook wall, so think about some of your followers’ big achievements and help them toot their own horn.
Bonus pro-tip!
While keeping all of the above in mind, remember timing is everything. A very important component of virality is trending topics. Keep your finger on the pulse to keep track of all the trends and hashtags so you can ride on an already existing viral wave. The easiest solution is to follow a social calendar (like this one!), but you can also keep tabs on the trending sections of Twitter and Facebook.
So, what are you waiting for?
While not an exact science, there are a few clear guidelines that have been tried and tested by marketers before us and it would behoove (yes, we use that word now) us to take advantage. You can start by checking out this month’s Promo Plan and posting shareable video templates that our video makers created just for you. All you have to do is add your company logo. Seriously. It’s doesn’t get easier than that.
