Everyone is itching to find out what makes social media content viral. Blog posts pop up every day about the subject, but no one has quite been able to capture the idea in a bottle just yet. A blog post titled The Way To Create Consistently Viral Content Has Been Discovered carries about as much credibility as a Bigfoot sighting. The closest word to viral that many people are comfortable with is sharable. Sharable content is something people want to share, are easily able to share, and do share with some consistency.
The difference between sharable and viral is that viral content turns people into celebrities in a weekend while sharable content builds a strong fan base over time. One of them is semi-predictable and the other is like capturing lighting in a bottle.I want to talk about three social media objectives that make social media content sharable, and consistently able to get some traction.
Here is how to formulate your best social media strategy for sharable content:
Has Some Face Value
Sharable content does not need to be a highly designed graphic piece. However it does almost always need to have some visual component and some visual appeal. For an item to stand out in your feed there almost always needs to be an image. If the graphic will get people to pause enough to think about your content then you have a good shot at engaging them further.
Sharable Content Is Deeper Than Face Value
Once you have a head-turning content piece, you need to be sure there is something there worth looking at. The item needs to have some real substance. I did not say it needed a lot of real substance, but it does need some. It could be humor, it could be controversy, it could be informative, it could be insightful or witty. But at the end of the day it needs to tug at someone’s heart strings at least hard enough to pull a click out of them.
Keep It Simple
If it takes more than a few seconds to figure it out then many people will not even try. The image, the text, the beginning of the video, whatever you use needs to be inviting, engaging, and easy to grasp. Not to say it has to be short, but it has to be straightforward. If you have something complex and layered then you are better off putting your simplest point forward and linking to the deep information.
If you are looking for social media help, remember, the beauty of Facebook is that it is an endless stream of sharing. Everything you see was shared by someone. So look at what is being shared right in front of you for ideas on what you can share successfully. This is your most effective social media course of action.
The ineffective or inappropriate use of social media is something we refer to as being socially awkward. If you would like more information to help your organization stay out of this category, then download our Free Guide To Social Media 101 today!
