Let’s face it. A great deal of content published on the web remains without attention when it comes to comments, likes, links, and especially shares. Why is it so? Statistics show that the average person is exposed to around 5,000 ads and brands daily. As a result, getting someone to notice and share your post is a tricky task.
What does it mean?
You have to create indeed valuable content to stand out from the rest.
Improving the social share statistics is a complicated process that requires not only skills but also patience. Although there is no precise formula for success, a proper combination of high-quality content and appropriate content marketing strategy might help.
Here are some tips for you to consider:
1. Add social media share buttons
(Taken from https://warfareplugins.com/)
Make it easier for your audience to share what they like. As an example, make some passages tweetable and standing out from the rest of the text.
It’s very important to put share buttons where your readers expect to see them. In fact, you need to optimize both the amount, order, and placement of share buttons so that your readers feel comfortable to use them. The choice should depend on the layout and content of your site or blog. If you are not sure, consider adding a social share bar that remains on-screen while readers scroll down the page.
Finally, provide general statistics of sharing. Practice shows that it might attract more readers.
2. Ask for shares
Don’t be surprised, it’s a common practice, especially if we’re talking about a new website, page, or channel. In fact, you could get some of your first shares by asking your colleagues, friends, and family for this favor.
Don’t hesitate to ask your readers and viewers directly by including a phrase like “Don’t forget to like and share” into your content. In this case, be sure to avoid cliches.
Still, remember the golden rule: don’t to be too intrusive!
3. Share other people’s content
This is a good way to increase your audience and keep it interested. Here is why:
- You will show your readers that you’re doing your best to give them what they need, no matter whether this information is from you or not
- Sharing relevant content will let you keep your own content diverse, which will make your page more informative and attractive
- You might get some shares from brands and pages whose content you share
There are lots of ways and tools to help you search for relevant content, both via search engines and social media websites. To begin with, try searching by #hashtags, especially if you need to monitor traffic generated across multiple channels.
4. More images!
Posts without images get less engagement and … look boring.
Practice shows that content with images receives 2 or even 2,5 times more attention than just text. Twitter is a good example. According to their estimations, posts with images receive about 35% more retweets than those not having them. Quite a telling statistics, isn’t it?
There is the so-called image SEO or a set of techniques to improve Google image search results. As an example, the text behind an image is a powerful SEO tool, so use images that are relevant to your topic. Also, avoid stock photos and consider creating featured images for posts if you have an opportunity.
5. Write great content!
Over the past year, Google ranking much more depends on the quality of content rather than SEO optimization.
Think about hiring a professional content writer if you need to update much of your content on a daily basis. If you need one or two large articles per month and don’t want to hire a full-time writer, find a writers’ hub or at Edubirdie’s assignment help online. Whatever option you choose, never leave content quality without due attention!
If you prefer to write by yourself, ask yourself a question: “Did I write something worthy of attention? Would I email it to my friend?”. If you answered “Yes,” you’re probably doing a great job!
6. Write longer posts
Recent studies by Moz, Linkedin, and other experts on SEO and content marketing show that long-form content is more effective than short texts.
Here is just a bit of social share statistics over the past year:
(Taken from https://aceconcierge.net/)
As you can see, “long” means around 3,000 words. According to Moz, 85% of content on the web is less than 1,000 words long. One of the reasons is that writing an interesting and well-researched article takes much time and effort. As a result, many site owners and marketers choose quantity over quality.
As such, writing long-form content is your chance to stand out from the rest and get more shares.
7. Pick up the right meta tags
Appropriate HTML attributes and metadata, such as meta title, meta description, and keywords, increase the value of your page, as well as send signals to both search engines and your audience.
It’s very important to customize meta title and meta description, as well as find the right keywords.
Unless you provide metadata yourself, search engines pull it out automatically. On a picture below you can see what happens in this case.
(Taken from https://neilpatel.com/)
In the first case, Google simply takes the title and the first sentence of your article. Naturally, they are not quite informative and catchy. Besides, the sentence in meta description is unfinished, which is not good as well.
In the second example, meta tags are optimized: readers can easily understand what to expect from your page and are therefore more likely to share it if they find its content useful.
8. Make mobile-friendly content
(Taken from https://www.flobidesign.it/)
This is no longer a new tendency that much web traffic is generated through mobile phones.
A right approach to mobile SEO and no delays in page load time encourage media share. Make sure you’re using responsive design and avoid pop-ups and other distractions (even though you can carefully use them on the desktop version).
9. Choose appropriate resources and topics
Know who you are and know your audience.
Make sure that your potential customers visit the websites, pages, and channels you’re writing for. Find out what your readers like, what they are interested in, and what problems they face. Check search volumes and learn what kind of posts are most often shared in your sphere of activity.
Make sure you’ve picked up a hot topic that has the potential to generate a discussion. At the same time, it should be relevant as far as your audience, niche, and objectives are concerned.
10. Make your content share-worthy
The key to success in a media share campaign is to give your audience a reason to share your content with others.
Try to put yourself into your readers’ shoes. Would you share your post with others?
Here are several ideas for you to consider:
- Create a quiz. Readers might share it to challenge their friends
- Evoke emotions. People like amusing, surprising, and heart-warming content
- Be funny. Funny pictures and memes will for sure increase your chance of earning shares. Still, don’t overdo it, especially in the realm of business
- Reward sharing. Offer your audience a chance to earn points, discounts, etc. for sharing your content
Of course, there is no recipe for success. Try various options and see which one works best in your case!
