What Kinds of Content Do People Share?
Having your web content go viral can bring in a ton of attention for your brand, but you don’t need to have that type of success to have a major impact. Any content that people share is highly beneficial. It’s far more likely that their connections on social media will interact with that content than if they come across it in any other fashion. The personal endorsement from someone whom they know makes all the difference in the world.
But how do you get content that accomplishes this goal? What types of content are people more likely to share and thus spread within their own circles?
Helpful, Engaging Content That Provides Value
In short, you need content that is engaging and that provides value to the reader. It can do this in numerous ways, but it needs to check those boxes if you’re going to get people to share it.
Take lists, for instance, which people are psychologically more likely to read. There is a reason that ESPN runs a SportsCenter Top Ten every Friday or that people search out lists of the best products in a certain category — from the best laptops to the best camping equipment to the best books of the last decade. Any time you present your information in a ranked fashion, people are more likely to engage with it, either to learn what ranked highest (or lowest), or even to debate the rankings. Either way, that’s valuable to you because it’s engaging.
Similarly, how-to content tends to do very well because there is an inherent value in telling someone how to do something that they don’t already know how to do, or that they want to learn more about. People are going to actively search for this type of content and, if they read it and benefit from it, they’ll share it with others. This is content that improves their lives, and that value is not lost on them.
Finally, content that is interspersed with visuals tends to do well. An article that contains an infographic makes it faster and easier to learn about the topic, so it may get more traction than one without. Content that is shared with common pop culture references — such as memes — may have a greater chance of spreading to numerous users. Depending on your audience, humor can work very well, as people naturally want to share something they found funny with someone else whom they believe will also find it funny. There’s a reward the first time they read it and another when they get someone else to laugh. You can use that to your advantage.
We Can Create the Content You Need
Looking for expert content that can connect with your audience and help grow your brand? Do not hesitate to get in touch with us at Content Customs to learn how we can create exactly the type of content you need.