Brands today value social media shares as a form of currency.
Your content’s success is affected by the number of social media shares it gets. Even if your content is good, it won’t be successful if no one is sharing it.
Why social sharing is vital to success
The number of users who use social media is continuing to grow rapidly. In fact, recent statistics show that the number of social media users will increase from 2.77 billion to 3.01 billion by 2022.
If you want your small business to succeed, it’s critical that you get more social media shares for your content. This is especially true if you rely heavily on online sales.
You should keep in mind that social media algorithms are always changing, so there is no one guaranteed way to get social shares.
Instead of promoting your content on social media platforms in an irregular manner, it is best to stick to some best practices while also creating content that is shareable. This way, your business will have a stronger foundation. Some tactics that can help achieve this are listed below.
1. Prioritize the most shareable content formats (video, images and breaking news)
There is a lot of evidence that visual content is some of the most popular and successful content on social media.
Data from the Sprout Social Index suggests that short-form videos and images are the most valuable content formats for social goals.
The popularity of TikTok and Instagram shows that people like watching short videos.
The reason “viral video” is a thing is because videos are so easy to share. Whether it’s a short tutorial or an advertisement for your business, videos are a great way to keep your followers engaged.
2. Know and understand what your audience wants
This is where a little research comes in handy This is the best place to start if you want to increase social media shares. You need to first know and understand the content your audience wants. Most of us constantly have ideas popping into our heads, but while some of these ideas are good, many are not. This is where a little research comes in handy.
If you want your content to be shared, it needs to be interesting to your core audience. No matter how good it is, if they’re not interested, they won’t share it.
In order to produce content that your audience will want to share, you need to determine what topics they are interested in. You can do this by analyzing your audience’s posts and comments to see what topics they frequently engage with. Once you know what your audience is interested in, you can produce content that appeals to their interests and is more likely to be shared.
Tools like BuzzSumo, Google Trends, and Feedly can help you understand what your audience is interested in at any given time.
3. Originality is key
You should now start creating content that your audience will want to share on social media. Some things to consider when making this content include how original it is.
You need to produce original content if you want your social media sharing statistics to increase.
You are likely an expert at something and can, at the very least, offer a different perspective on a given subject. Your content does not need to be drastically different from what is already available, but offering a more original take than other similar content can be useful.
4. Add value to content
If you want your content to be shared on social media, make it as appealing as possible by adding value.
As long as your content is original and relevant to your audience, adding value will help increase the number of social media shares.
There are some great ways to add value to the content you have created. Some of the best ones include:
- Outside Resource Linking
- Linking to Relevant Content on Your Own Site
- Infographics
- Videos
- Photo Galleries
If you add this to your current content, it will help increase traffic and inspire more social media shares.
5. Craft captions that make your posts more visible
You can’t afford to ignore your captions if you want to get more social shares and stay in the good graces of any social algorithm.
If you want your content to be seen and shared, don’t just drop links – signal that your post is worth clicking by engaging with your audience.
Some quick tips to beef up your social captions to make them more share-worthy include:
- Implementing a hashtag strategy on networks like Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn (hint: research says that posts coupled with hashtags receive more reach than those without them)
- Using appropriate call-to-action phrases in your copy (think: “retweet” or “share this”)
- Take advantage of character limits in your post, giving you an opportunity to include relevant, searchable terms in your copy (particularly on LinkedIn, Pinterest or Twitter)
This means that if you use hashtags on your Instagram posts, you are more likely to be seen and have your content shared.
6. Make sure each and every post is mobile-friendly
Most social traffic comes from mobile devices.
Thankfully, social platforms do most of the heavy lifting when it comes to mobile optimization. There are some additional steps you can take to ensure that you don’t neglect your mobile audience, including:
- Double-check that graphics are legible, zoomable and not cut off by image previews (Twitter can be tricky about this sometimes)
- Include appropriate line breaks and punctuation in your social captions to avoid walls of text or hashtags
- Add captions to your social videos so they’re accessible to all viewers, including those who have their phones silenced
7. Time your posts to perfection
Be sure to post content when your target audience is most active.
We have a guide that goes into detail about the best times to post on social media, according to the network and industry.
There is no secret trick to getting extra shares on social media, but it makes sense to publish your content based on when your followers are most active.
8. Piggyback on trending topics and content formats
Social media moves quickly, as does its many trends.
If you want your content to be successful, you should post about things that are already popular and that people are already talking about. This is a proven method for getting your content shared.
If you’re looking for a low-effort way to boost brand awareness and showcase your brand’s personality, trendjacking is a good option. Just be mindful of the context and use humor or trend-based content when it’s appropriate.
9. Create catchy and interesting headlines
It’s important to spend time creating headlines that are interesting and eye-catching, as this is a great way to grab someone’s attention immediately. Having a headline that makes the reader want to click is crucial in driving conversions.
You don’t want to create a headline that is false or misleading, but it should be catchy and relate to your content.
You should try to make your content more personable by using terms like “you” and “your” throughout the title and the body of the text. This will make for a more user-friendly experience and is more likely to result in a click-through. Additionally, using these terms will make your content more likely to be shared on social media.
10. Use visual interest to your advantage
Including images with your post will always help increase reader interest. Too many images could dissuade readers, but not enough could make the post seem dull. Adding pictures can help make your post more visually appealing when it is shared on social media.
Finding the right image can be difficult, especially when finding images without copyright issues. However, there are many great resources that you can use to find high-quality, royalty free images.
If you use these resources and spend a bit more time adding visuals, people will be more likely to share your content on social media.
11. Post content during peak hours
You should post your content during peak hours on social media networks to increase the likelihood of it being shared.
To find out when the best time to post on each social media network is, you can use HubSpot. They have a lot of information on when is the most ideal time to post. However, here is a quick overview of the peak hours on major social media networks.
Facebook is used most between 1 pm and 3 pm.
Twitter: The most popular time to tweet is between 12pm and 3pm Monday to Friday, with another peak at 5pm – 6pm on Wednesdays.
Between 7:30am and 8:30am, 12pm, and 5pm – 6pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, you may find LinkedIn to be popular.
The most popular times to use Pinterest are between 2am and 4am and in the evening, every day of the week. Saturday evenings between 8pm and 11pm are also popular.
While there are generalities that can be applied to most industries, it is important to keep an eye on your own analytics to know exactly when your audience is ready for content.
12. Use a call to action
Don’t think that you are too good to create a call to action. If you want your content to be shared, ask for it. Ask your audience directly to share your content. Use a call to action style link or button, and be polite about it.
You can insert calls to action in different areas of your site, such as landing pages or other key places.
If you want people to do something, a call to action is a popular and effective method.
13. Content should be easy to read
This is something that should be taken into account as it is important for content to be easy to read.
You want to avoid long sentences, long paragraphs, and a lack of headings and subheadings as they make your content more difficult to read and interact with.
Keep the reader engaged. Lists, images, bullet points, and images are all ways to do this. An engaged reader is more likely to share your content on social media, resulting in more social media shares.
Keep Grinding.
Don’t be afraid to experiment with different strategies for promoting your content on social media. The tips in this article will help you get more social media engagement and shares. Increasing social media engagement is a common goal among marketers.
If brands want to be successful on social media, they should try different types of content and see what performs well.
If you are consistent with your content strategy, you will eventually get your target audience to share your content.