When it comes to social media, users are always on the lookout for something special, funny or impactful to share with their own friends and followers. If a company’s content can meet one of those marks, it may even go viral. While every brand wants their latest social post to be shared far and wide, increasing their share of voice, it’s a tricky thing to achieve.
Here, 15 members of Forbes Agency Council share their top tips for crafting highly shareable content that their social media followers will be excited to help distribute to fellow members of key target audiences.
Forbes Agency Council members share their top tips for crafting highly shareable social media content.
Photos courtesy of the individual members.
1. Remember That Your Content Is Not For You
Remember that your content is for your audience—not for you. So often, companies and individuals alike create content without thinking of the problems they solve for their target audience. When content is purposeful, authentic and helpful, that content is shareable. – Nadya Rousseau, Alter New Media LLC
2. Run ‘Always On’ Content As You Would A Streaming Show
To enhance shareability, in-house and contracted studios need to shift away from having writer/art director brainstorms for impact and into the idea of running “always on” content as they would a streaming TV show. Build your content calendar to include cultural, organic product news, as well as influencer and seasonal streams. Then staff it like a show. Running around resizing jpegs is not social marketing. – Matt Wilson, Eastport Holdings
3. Use Headlines Promising Something New To Love Or Hate
I have been the lead digital strategist for one of the largest global media companies in the world for eight years now, and I built a competitive intelligence engine that tracks their 30 largest competitors’ social media in every facet. Biggest takeaway: Draft headlines that imply that the audience will discover something new that they will either love or hate. – Patrick Haddad, Oopgo, Inc.
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4. Utilize Influencers And Storytelling
People trust people over brands, especially those with similar interests. Beyond that, the most shareable content tells a story. State a problem, talk about the problem and end with a resolution. People are more likely to relate to storytelling posts, and when they relate to content, they are more likely to share it. – Stephanie Chavez, Zen Media
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5. Provide Education On A Trending Topic
Provide educational content on a trending topic that your followers care about. For example, give them insights on how to run a company or how to raise strong daughters on International Women’s Day. The topics are trending, and you are speaking directly to the issue, but you’re giving advice from your personal perspective. It works. – Sarah Tourville, Media Frenzy Global
6. Utilize Bright Visuals And Short Posts
My top tip for crafting highly shareable content is to utilize bright visuals and short posts. These are key to driving engagement and encouraging shareable content. If your content is too long or not visually appealing, it’s less likely to be elevated by algorithms or shared. – Valerie Chan, Plat4orm PR
7. Make It Relatable
Relatable content is what will make people click the share button or send it to their friends. Whether funny, dramatic or provocative, people will always enjoy a brand that understands their everyday lives and struggles. – Aurelie Sauthier, Made in
8. Leverage The Power Of Trends
Sometimes, it’s not as much about the form as it is about the topic. It should be high-quality, no doubt about that. But if you are able to catch that wave, you should be able to ride it. With some variations, it works for pretty much every social media platform out there. – Solomon Thimothy, OneIMS
9. Have A Strong Hook, Graphic And Call To Action
Highly shareable content has three elements: a relevant hook, an eye-catching graphic and a strong call to action. What’s great about content creation is that you can take one piece of meaty content—an article or a white paper, for example—and make it into a handful of other shareable bits, including a social media listicle, an Instagram explainer reel or a catchy TikTok. Always be creating for every channel. – Ashlee Piga, Lotus Digital
10. Be Funny
Studies have shown the No. 1 reason people share social media content is to entertain their friends. The right meme will go viral much more easily than an infographic you spent hours perfecting. If you don’t believe me, open your Facebook feed and look at the posts with the most shares. Start off by entertaining people, and once you have their attention, get down to business. – Marc Hardgrove, The HOTH
11. Incorporate Three Factors
First, align your social media posts with influencers who already have the audience you want in hope that they will share your content with their network. Next, take a strong stance, which gets you noticed. Finally, use data. Data is shared more than anything, and it helps to share your own research. These three factors are similar to the methodology for getting backlinks: Use data and strong arguments. – Christopher Carr, Farotech
12. Think Of Each Piece Of Content As A Story
Highly shareable content has to be very funny, very sad or very impactful in some other way. That’s easy to say and hard to achieve. My top tip on how to get there is to think of it as a story. If you’re talking about a piece of advice, work it into a personal story. This allows you to introduce characters and increases your chances of making a connection, which could turn into a share. – Rafael Romis, Weberous Web Design
13. Be In The Moment
Too many brands “craft” what they think will work, whereas social media literally shows you what is working! Leverage what people are talking about and sharing in the moment; this makes you relatable. Your “always on” strategy should be geared toward the here and now. – Neal Patel, Bruce Clay MENA
14. Lean Into Motivations Associated With Each Platform
Creating highly shareable content may seem like throwing darts at a board. But you can make your content more shareable socially by leaning into the motivations associated with each platform: humor, a sense of community, voyeurism, inspiration and so on. When you create content, there needs to be an emotional component that pushes people to want to share it. – Roger Hurni, Off Madison Ave
15. Start A Conversation
As a former journalist, I built my company’s content marketing framework on the principle of “educate and agitate”—not to create a problem or discord, but to create discussion. We focus on content that the communities of our clients will respond to because it is content that makes them think. – Vix Reitano, Agency 6B
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Author: Expert Panel®, Forbes Councils Member
