How to Create Shareworthy Content

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How do you create shareworthy content? In the world of business, competition is fierce and getting an edge in a particular industry or niche can be tough. Not only is it necessary to stand out from the crowd, you also have to find new and relevant ways to set yourself above and beat the competition. What are some ways that this can be done? One idea is content creation. Content is king, but it must also be valuable to the reader. Sharing is great, but it isn’t enough. Your content should be valuable enough to scream two words to every reader,
“SHARE ME”!

Why is Sharing Important?

We want the world to see our businesses and products, hear them, and share them, with the ultimate goal of gaining traffic.

One of the best ways to promote your content is through social media, however, it cannot be successful if the content you’re sharing isn’t valuable or engaging your readers. Share-worthy content is noteworthy because it compels your followers to share it. The more likes, re-tweets and +1s you get, the broader the exposure, the more chances for it to go viral.

The noteworthiness of sharable content doesn’t stop at exposure. Crafting content with the potential to go viral involves the creation and establishment of credibility and followers. The more readers trust you and your content, the more shares you’ll rack up.

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What are some good ways to get shares?

Sharable content requires a secret ingredient: quality. Anyone can write, but it takes a special pen to use the special ingredient properly. Whether you’re a seasoned content creator or not, here are 9 ways to help you get some shares:

Write about what Engages your Reader: Be authentic, relevant, and transparent. Get readers to interact and participate; write things like “Like, Comment, Share”. Give readers incentives like winning prizes, or produce content that is emotional to readers.
Write about the Passion Behind the Business: The Content Marketing Institute says, “In person, it’s far easier to have a memorable personal characteristic that people will take away… Online is harder.” Are you going to go current and relevant, or super visual? Will you write from an actual persona or a specific point of view? What’s your niche? Hint: your mojo is likely fired by the passion behind your business.
Pick Catchy Headings: They’re the first thing readers see. They need to catch the eye, make a point, or perk curiosity. Your main headline has to be enticing enough to click. Your subheadings need to be engaging enough to keep the reader on the page.
Best Bait Comes on a Great Hook: Any good fisherman will tell you that bait matters. With every piece of content, you are fishing for shares. The best bait is a great hook. Craft such a hook by immediately piquing your reader’s curiosity or stirring something deep inside of them.
Deliver a Bang: Share-worthy content is like dynamite; it delivers a BANG! Content that goes viral usually has a shock value. It’s often edgy, even controversial. Throwing a stick of dynamite into your content will make it appealing to folks outside of the industry while keeping it fresh for those already interested in the subject material.
May it Easy to Understand: Digestible content is well formatted and easy to read. Break it down by using headings, crafting precise (and short) paragraphs, staying on topic, using proper grammar and spelling, and ensuring the content isn’t overly lengthy. Digestible content is often shared before the sharer finishes reading it. Many bloggers perpetuate the myth that “shorter is better”, that blog posts should never be more than 600 words long. They explain that online readers have short attention spans and don’t want to read long articles. Use a word counter, like countwordsfree.com to ensure that you have a good amount of content that is not too long and not too short.
Back Up Claims: Backing up your claims is important. Think about the experts in your industry. It’s likely you constantly see their claims backed up by hard evidence; it’s a contributing factor to why you consider them experts. Therefore, you should cite your sources and show relevant data. According to Moz, “citing a source is as simple as linking to the webpage from which you got the information.” Building citations and using hard evidence – such as data and statistics – to back up your claims increases your credibility. The higher your credibility, the more likely people are to share your content. It’s no secret that guest blogging has come under fire. When creating content with a view toward what we’ll dub “sharability,” leverage your troops. Recruit if you have to! Build in links and point toward highly credible sources.
Offer Value: Don’t mistake entertainment for value. While catchy headings, a great hook, and a few sticks of dynamite provide entertainment, your readers also want hardcore value. In other words, they want solutions or answers regarding your subject matter.
Make Some Noise: Share-worthy content is loud. It’s like jumping up and down, waving your arms, clapping your hands and stomping your feet. It DEMANDS attention. You can make noise by constantly creating differently. Apply steps 1 through 8 to presentations, infographics, webinars, podcasts, case studies, white papers, eBooks, and any other content type you select.
Hire a Pro: If you find yourself in a tough niche, investing in a professional writer is an obvious idea. Nevertheless, do you know how to pick a high quality pro? Search for a credentialed individual. Not only should they have experience tackling your niche, but they should also be ready and able to supply samples and/or references.

Don’t Be Afraid To Experiment

What is the one thing that almost all successful brands have in common? They are constantly evaluating what works and what doesn’t. They aren’t frightened of experimentation. They try everything, from different platforms to types of content. You need to do the same. Use the 10 tips we’ve discussed as guidelines for crafting shareable content. Don’t be afraid of stepping outside of your comfort zone. You will never know what will send your content viral until you give it a go.

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