6 Elements of Online Content That Makes It Shareable and Grows Your Audience
Content marketing is a powerful tool made even more effective through shareable online content. The effects of your content marketing efforts will be multiplied many times if your current customers share your content with friends, family and colleagues who may not know about you. Here are six elements for creating appealing, shareable online content.
- Useful information: The basic function of content marketing is to spread your message while also providing useful information for your customers. If someone receives content from you that is practical, useful and interesting, he will be more likely to click the “share” button so that his/her friends and associates can also benefit.
- Entertainment: The prevalence of funny, quirky, interesting videos and written content online shows that people want to be entertained. Provide a laugh or something that makes your customer go “Cool!” and the content will quickly spread to his/her friends.
- Social validation: Social media relies heavily on the “social” part of its equation. Online content that has inspired many of a person’s Facebook friends or other contacts to click the “like” button creates a powerful incentive for others to also “like” it. A group with common interests and likes feels closer and accepted.
- Reinforcement of beliefs: Your customers probably share some common social, political or cultural beliefs. If you produce online content that reinforces those beliefs and gives customers a context in which to identify themselves or promote causes they support, they will be highly likely to share that content with like-minded associates.
- Clean and easy-to-read layout: Online content that is visually appealing, attractively laid out, and easy to read will be shared frequently, while messy, ugly or confusing content will be ignored. Use good graphic design and text formatting techniques.
- Promotion of interests and hobbies: People like interacting with others who share their interest in hobbies and leisure activities. Solid, long-term friendships can be forged in this context. Provide content that showcases customers’ interests and they will share it among people of similar interests.
Are you creating enough high-quality shareable online content to encourage your customers to share and pass on this material?
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