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Content is King... CORRECT and If you create it, they will come?..... WRONG!
Content sharing is Holy Grail of many #contentmarketing, #socialmedia and #onlinemarketing strategies.
Although, content sharing is just a part of the whole content marketing and social media story.
" all brands should be aiming for their content to be shared as far, and as wide, with as many people as possible."
This topic is rooted in all forms of marketing, and the broader context of storytelling because one of the characteristics of stories is that they get shared. The reason people share content is that they want to and feel emotionally compelled to. We Pretty Viciously believe that sharing in general – and the sharing of content in particular – offers a personal benefit, even if most don’t realise it.
Depending on your brand's goals, content marketing will be closely related to social media marketing. It’s clear that the combination of social and content is a strong one and even content curation, can be seen as a form of content sharing. Sharing isn’t anything new; people have always shared “stories” OR content in one way or the other because we digest content and then want to share it and discuss it. It’s a fundamental part of communities’ offline and online. Just as we need anger and a wide scope of other emotions to express our true self. It goes for content sharing too, even if helping by sharing in the end also can be very gratifying for the self. For example, when we see something that’s funny or shocking etc., we want to share it to see if others agree.
So when reviewing your brands content you should ask the following questions:
IS YOUR CONTENT SHAREABLE?
I.e. is it easy for users to share your content and is it worth sharing. Content that is thoughtful and provides useful information to a specific audience is far more likely to be shared.
IS YOUR CONTENT SHARE-WORTHY?
Who is your audience are and what do they value, what do they deem relevant enough to share and what do they perceive as quality? Aim to understand with extreme clarity for whom you are creating content and what their REAL needs are.
WHAT IS THE CONTEXT?
Sharing is done differently, depending on device, environment, channel, language, and imagery. Some time and thought should be given to the how best your content will be shared in any given situation.
HAVE YOU DEVELOPED YOUR NETWORKS AND CHANNELS OF DISTRIBUTION?
A great network is exponentially more valuable than a killer blog post that nobody knows exists. Social Media provides opportunities to develop these types of networks, but it takes time as does the growth of an email list. Connect with individuals and communities that already have an audience and find a way to use your content to create value for them. If you can accomplish that, they will share like nothing else.
PAID SEARCH AND SOCAL ADVERTISING
Have you considered paying for search and social advertising as well as sponsorship and editorial based advertising? Focusing just on getting your content shared can be a tricky proposition. It’s important to focus on the real goals of your content (engaging a new audience, driving your brand affinity for a topic, etc.). Then social sharing should be an outcome of creating content that matches the goal, not the goal itself.
The bottom line is If you want your content shared, you need to invest considerable time in crafting terrific headlines AND content your audience wants and if they like it, #socialsharing from events is a great social campaign. Brands must leverage concerts, festivals and live events like awards to encourage fans to do their brand talking. Use a dedicated hashtag for the event. Ask social followers to share real-time content from live events and use this hashtag.
Writing content is the easy part, getting anyone to read it takes skill — today more than ever. If you want to learn how to make content that gets shared more often, get in touch and we’ll give you many tips on creating more shareable content, but it might be more beneficial for you to partner with a Pretty Vicious Marketing Expert.
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Until next time...
