As social media grows more visual and people’s attention spans lessen, sharing a picture with an inspirational, funny, or informative quote is a great way to get your brand name out there. Some more old school entrepreneurs may think a few likes or retweet on an image doesn’t covert, but it’s actually very effective in getting your name out there and gaining followers who will see other, more industry-related posts you share.
BuzzFeed has made this kind of posting strategy famous, and many businesses are sponsoring this type of content now. These can be fun or serious. They can be positive, negative and sometimes just plain silly. Just make sure you stick to the headline rules to get all the clicks you’re looking for.
Make a bold claim by promising to deliver something fantastic to those who read the article, but leave a little piece of information out and give them a reason to click. What you want to do is dare your reader to open the article. Without over-promising, be bold. Be forward, and then deliver what you promised.
If you look hard enough in almost any industry you will find amazing facts and figures that people will love to know about. This gives people an easy tidbit of information to share. As an example, you could share something like “Did you know 70% of people under the age of 30 have student loan debt?” and then lead them to a post about getting out of debt with your financial company.
Infographics are a shareable piece of content by making it visually entertaining to read instead of just words. Using multiple infographics in one post can also work really well, or you can mix up your postings between full content and infographics.
People want to purchase from a company that they can identify with, and showing your employees as real people is an authentic way to do so. Social media has moved the dial between what used to be treated as private and what is now considered safe for public viewing, so use that to your advantage. What is appropriate is different for everyone and every industry, but your workers, friends, fans and followers will more than likely do the trick.
This type of content wasn’t available just a few years ago, but now it is basically mandatory. When Twitter changing its platform to be more visual at the end of 2013, the rules of engaging with your followers changed. Beyond Twitter, your followers on all social media platforms want to scroll without stopping to read 2,000+ words, so give them that option.
That isn’t to say you should never share long content. In fact, you certainly should. Blog articles that are wordy can go viral as well and, if done correctly, will become a resource for your niche. A How-To Guide is one successful way to do this. This type of content goes a long way in securing yourself as a thought leader in your industry. It shows people a value in your brand and gives them something to share with colleagues, bosses and peers.
This tactic is very effective because you are giving your article the best chance to resonate with your audience so it “has” to be shared. People don’t want to see thousands of words staring back at them, so break it up without strategically placed and appropriate images.
Social media for business is more than just sharing cat photos and liking someone’s dinner plans. There needs to be a strategy involved to maximize it’s benefits to you and your brand. If you’re looking for more help, download our free eBook Social Media for Business and get even more expert tips.