Are you wondering how to make your content more shareable? Did you know that there are still some simple ways to do just that? Let’s get started, shall we?
1. Write Headlines That Are Scream “Human”
No .. not typos, poor grammar type of of human. People respond to content that they can relate to on a human level. Food, relationships, family, lifestyles and home articles are some of the most shared articles out there. Business and tech articles or standard news articles only make up about 14% of what’s shared. Crazy right? Well it makes sense, people want to share with others something that touched them on a personal level.
One way to do this is to use second person pronouns such as ‘your’ and ‘you’ in the headlines.
2. Keep Track of The Emotional Values of Your Headlines
Did you know there’s a way to physically measure the emotional values of your headlines? The Advanced Marketing Institute makes a free tool that analyzes your headlines and can tell you how emotional your headline is by counting how many words that appeal to the emotions of readers were used.
Some analysis of shared posts showed that posts with a higher EMV score were shared more than posts that had lower scores. Having this free tool gives you an advantage. You can write better headlines with more emotional appeal and work towards making them more shareable.
3. Learn Why List Posts Work
There’s no denying it; list posts work. Some of the most popular shared posts are lists.
But why do they work? What about a list makes it an effective post to earn shares?
It somewhat goes back to the emotional connection readers feel. It promises fast answers, and has a sense of mystery to it, peaking their curiosity.
An interesting thing to look at is that many bloggers aren’t writing these kinds of posts. There aren’t as many out there. But they should be. Lists are highly shareable because they interest people and they want to show it to their family and friends. (You’re reading this list post aren’t you?)
4. Don’t Rely on the Same Headline for different social media networks.
OK. I admit, this is a shortcoming of mine. Every social media site is different and it’s users are different than those of other networks. They have their own personality and quirks. This is often in relation to age and gender, but if you look at it as a whole, you’d be surprised that it really is more of a site situation.
Facebook tends to be more home oriented, like Pinterest. Users of these sites will often share things related to home and family. Videos are very popular on Facebook. Google+ is also quite home oriented, which might come as a surprise to many. Food is among the most popular topics on Pinterest. Twitter is great for giveaways, since it doesn’t the shares in the newsfeed. Technology posts tend to do well on Twitter and LinkedIn, more so than other sites. LinkedIn is as you probably already know, very professional and business oriented.
Looking at this information, you see that it is very important to choose the networking medium carefully. Not all content will be successful in its mass sharing venture on every site. Choose wisely. Match up your posts to the sites and gear them towards the audiences accordingly.
Something else to consider is rewriting headlines to fit the site you will be sharing it on. The way it appears and appeals to the audience will vary from place to place.
5. Pick the Right Headlines to Have Steady Traffic
You won’t always have a viral headline, accept that fact now. In fact, less than 1% of shared posts have more than 1000 shares. However, 100 shares is a more attainable goal. That’s right about where you should aim to have steady traffic over a period of time.
Did you know that ‘How To’ posts are actually popular? Yeah! They make up a pretty large portion of the posts that get 100+ shares. It makes sense, they appeal emotionally when people need that quick fix. They’re a great way to get steady traffic to your site. Use plenty of these in your content shares and you should be pretty set with a steady flow of traffic to your page, with a good amount of shares with each post you share.
To really summarize what I’ve been saying this whole time, headlines make a difference. Having the right headline is going to set you up to have a good amount of shares. Start looking in to and measuring the EMV scores of your headlines prior to posting them, and pay attention to where you are sharing what topic to ensure the best results.
It should put you at ease to know that simply spending more time working on your headlines can help make your content more shareable and get more traffic to your page.
About Out of the Office Virtual Assistance:
Since 2006, Out of the Office has offered ideas and ways to increase your productivity, decrease your workload, and work more efficiently. We nurture a successful business relationship, while continuing to grow as your business partner. We are focused on streamlining your administration, social media planning and execution, content writing and offering creative solutions for your business success.