Content Marketers: 3 Ways to Maximize Your Content Shareability

As a content marketer, whether you want to create your Facebook page, Twitter handle, or a website that features interesting articles to attract attention and increase the visibility of your brand, you need to start by learning how to create engaging content that is incredibly sharable. In a world where everyone’s time is fragmented, you only have a split of a second of catch someone’s attention. As an IMC graduate student whose focus is in content marketing and building brand-consumer relationships, I have found two articles that will give you important insights into ways to maximize your content shareability.

In Facebook Media’s article “12 Best Practices For Media Companies Using Facebook Pages”, Scott Hershkowitz and Vadim Lavrusik provide a number of useful tips to media companies and other content producers alike to promote their Facebook pages. Posts include pictures, graphics, and analyses can drive conversations. A personal tone sparks interest because audiences like to know there’s a real person behind posts. The page-targeting tool enables more specific targeting and content crowdsourcing, making it easier to reach the target audience. If you have Facebook Page, do not forget to use Facebook Insights to get page metrics and improve your page.

The second article, titled “How BuzzFeed Mastered Social Sharing to become a Media Giant for a New Era” by David Rowan of Wired.co.uk, discusses the success of BezzFeed and its guild to shareability. Rowan points out that to increase click through rate and the number of shares, Buzzfeed relies on data measurement results, as well as content articles that serve emotional needs. Because the way people consume content has changed, Buzzfeed’s CEO&founder Jonah Peretti tries to stay away from anything that requires adopting a legacy business model. His team aims to create news and entertainment content that can tell people’s stories in this social, mobile age. John Steinberg, former president of Buzzfeed, shares his tips to get ideas spread: the headline must be persuasive and direct; it must feel authentic; people mustn’t feel awkward sharing it; ensure the story has a human aspect; images and lists work; give people the change to react and let them engage; be positive.

  

Based on the insights in these two articles and what I have learned from the Northwestern Medill IMC program, here are the three action items you can do to drive audience engagement and increase the number of content shares.

1.  Include photos, graphics and videos – humans are visual learners and our brains process images much faster than text. Including visuals in your posts to tell compelling stories will attract more eyeballs!

2.  Use a conversational tone to send positive messages – people love to receive uplifting messages with a personality. Let your audience know that there’s a real person behind the posts by using a conversational tone and your audience will be more likely to engage with your posts.

3.  Use web analytical tools – pick one or more web analytical tools to best serve your needs. You can better tailor your marketing strategy based on insights from existing data; such as the piece of content your audience likes the most and where the most web traffic comes from. 

Every brand and every person that wants to be famous is eager to create visual content nowadays. We need to keep in mind that viral marketing needs both analytical thinking as well as a creative mind. Remember to make emotional connections with your audiences and talk like a real person!

Naomi Cao | Twitter @n_cao6  | LinkedIn
I received my B.A in Communication Arts-radio, TV and film and Gender & Women’s Studies from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. I have lived and worked in Los Angeles for two years, with professional experience in entertainment marketing, script development and talent representation. I am now focusing on entertainment & content marketing and consumer insights in Medill’s Integrated Marketing Communications program.