If you want your company to be noticed out there in the big wide world, then mastering the art of social media marketing isn’t just handy – it’s essential! Simply having a presence on social media and posting regularly isn’t going to magically help your cause though! The key? Shareable content. These days our lives are so full and our spare time so limited, yet we still have a propensity to let our personal networks know about anything we love, meaning we’re attracted to eye-catching, bite-sized and clever pieces of marketing.
Modern marketers know the skill lies in both engaging your existing customers and forging relationships with new ones by creating content that is compelling enough to induce in people the thrill of sharing. Finding this social media sweet spot can drastically enhance your marketing strategy and positively affect the success of your business.
The Importance of Shareable Content
Nowadays customers want to be told a story. We want to be educated and moved by the things we see and read. This is an age where content is king, and social media is a powerful marketing tool to communicate your message, drive customers to your business and build brand loyalty.
Moreover, if you want to put your business under the nose of the search engine algorithms, shareable content is your number one weapon in the never-ending Search Engine Optimisation war. Your SEO will be improved and your reach increased each time someone engages with your content. It might be a simple like, a handy share, a big retweet or merely favourited. It all has a positive impact, but it won’t happen if your social media lacks substance and thought.
A Win/Win Situation
Enjoying a great ROI is the goal of any business involved in social media marketing, and shareable content not only provides value to consumers, but increases conversions for you along the way too. Providing you have the right content strategy, SMM is not only affordable, efficient and sustainable compared to more traditional marketing methods, but it’s also about relationships. Superior content builds bridges, forges bonds and enhances the consumer experience. It’s the experience that drives people to want to share and come back for more.
Of course you’ll need dedication, detailed industry knowledge, excellent copywriting skills, critical thinking and creativity to maintain a regime of highly shareable content, but if you nail it, you’ll consistently enhance the user experience of your customers and they in turn will amplify your content marketing strategy via a process of advocating through their networks on your behalf.
What To Share?
Platforms like YouTube, Instagram and Facebook Stories, SnapChat, Periscope and the very missed Vine (R.I.P.) have increased the popularity of video content.
There’s a common myth that modern media consumers have a short attention span when in fact these technological generations are simply the busiest in history and time is precious. Since it’s quicker to watch a one-minute video than it is to read a 700-word article, more users are switching to video content.
The written word still has its place in any serious content marketing strategy, but not all content needs to be in long format text, and an infographic is proof of this. It’s a brilliant way of presenting complex data and topics in a digestible, concise and engaging format. They also make great additions to blogs, or as teasers on social media to drive clicks to your site.
Blogging still remains the foundation for any successful social media marketing strategy and research by HubSpot shows businesses who blog attract 55% more visitors, get 97% more inbound links and have 434% more indexed pages than business who don’t. Disciplined, regular posting on your blog will drive more traffic to your site and increase your lead generation so keep on top of it to reap maximum benefits.
The Wrap
If you’re consistently creating shareable content, you’ll not only keep your audience entertained and stop them from seeking out your competitors, but your website and social channels will stay fresh, which is also advantageous for SEO and to encourage repeat business.
Ensure you’re creating content with views, shares and customer engagement in mind. Pushing the ‘publish’ button on enticing, shareable content will magnify your reach and impact, and help reinforce your business as a recognised thought leader – all of which will ultimately lead to more conversions and a boost to your business.
