How to Create a Shareworthy Blog

When it comes to blogging, of course you want your company’s posts to be read. But more importantly, you want readers to share your content, which will help expand your customer base and increase your brand recognition. But how do you get people to share your post when the world is full of blogs about every subject imaginable? There are strategies you can use to encourage more audience engagement and increase content sharing. Let’s take a look at how to create a shareworthy blog.

Write Relevant Content

This may seem like a no-brainer, but keep in mind that – initially – it’s your own followers and customers who will see your posts. The topics need to be of interest to your audience, and if the content doesn’t click with them, they won’t share it. Take advantage of trending topics, but make them applicable to your followers. If there’s a hot topic you can adjust to make applicable to your customer base, use it. Shareworthy blogs have some inherent value. If you can answer a question, give advice or solve problems for your readers, your posts are more likely to be shared with others. Think about issues your target audience may be experiencing; use your blog post to position your business as the solution.

Use an Amazing Photograph

Choose great art to go along with your posts – and this includes an appealing thumbnail. Not only do they break up text and make the post more pleasing to the eye, blogs with at least one image are shared twice as often as those with none.

Write more, not less

It may seem backward, but research has shown lengthier blogs get shared more often. Longer, more in-depth pieces show more expertise on the given subject and can help build authority for your business. But longer posts don’t mean a page of plain, hard-to-read gray text. You can make material easier to digest by using images, subheads, shorter paragraphs, info boxes and bullet points. Keep in mind that glaring spelling or grammar mistakes will immediately undermine the credibility of the content. On top of that, most users will not share posts that are poorly-written and full of errors.

Master the headline

The headline is the first thing most users will see, and it must be enticing enough to be clicked on. The best way to create a compelling headline is to draft several options, then tweak and choose the one that best represents the heart of your content – and your company. To create magnetic headlines, follow these basic rules:

• Incorporate keywords so your posts show up in relevant searches
• Use numbers (i.e.: 5 Simple Ways to Make Your eCommerce Site More Customer-Centric)
• Begin with “How To” (How to Optimize a Digital Press Release for Search)
• Include a year (i.e.: X Interior Designers to Watch in 2016)
• Say something that might be considered debatable or even controversial (i.e.: Top X Movies in the World)

Make it easy!

Add sharing icons on each page and at the end of each blog post to make it as easy as possible for your readers to share. Those who read through a post will not typically scroll back to the top to find share buttons, so at the bottom is the best option.

Be social on social media

Want your posts to be shared more often? Participate! Ask your readers to share, and if they do, thank them. If you receive comments, respond and engage your commenters. Let them know they’re important and that you’re listening. Another way to get a boost and create some extra buzz around your content is to mention other businesses or people in your posts. Email them and ask them to share – many companies or people are willing to share content that they are mentioned in, whether through Facebook sharing or re-Tweeting. Not only does being more involved encourage others’ participation, but this is also a great way to foster relationships with your readers and other businesses.

Post during the work week

Many people unplug on the weekend and aren’t interested in spending time reading online blog posts. In order to maximize the sharing potential of your blog content, post toward the end of the typical workday. This potentially allows for more views by readers as they get home and unwind for the evening. There’s more to a shareworthy blog than just a nicely designed or well-written web page. There are many factors to consider before posting your content, and the best way to ensure sharing among your customers is to create content that sparks interest, engages feedback – between you and readers – and displays your knowledge and authority of the given subject.   Now that you have some ideas on improving your content, learn how to optimize your content for Facebook sharing.