When it comes to gaining exposure for your business, harnessing the power of social media will help you reach your goals. -And, the content you share on your chosen social networks will get your message in front of as many people as possible if you follow the right steps.
You can take advantage of this process. However, you’ll need to understand the factors that make content shareable. Otherwise, you will be wasting your time and energy on content that won’t produce the results for which you had been hoping. As you share posts to Facebook or other social platforms, keep these four elements in mind:
1. Picture Quality
When it comes to crafting shareable content, business owners often put a lot of thought into the headlines that they use, but they don’t always look at the quality of the pictures. Many things are competing for your prospects’ attention, and you won’t get far with low-quality images.
You want your social campaign to succeed, so you need to use high-quality photos that will grab attention. To reach your goal, you can use stock images to compel your followers to share your content, but ensure that you edit each picture to include a compelling caption.
2. Emotional Appeal
What type of content gets shared the most on social media? If you open your personal profile, you’ll most like discover a lot of content with emotional appeal. Why else would there be so many videos of dogs, cats and babies out there?
Content with a strong emotional appeal gets the best results. When you first get started you might need to try a few different approaches before you find one that works well for your business. After all, emotional appeal is all relevant. For example, cats really aren’t that cute if you don’t like them in the first place.
Once you post something that connects with your market, keep the original concept in mind for future projects. Anytime one of your ideas doesn’t work, try to understand the reason it didn’t perform so you can avoid repeating the same mistake in the future.
A word of caution, though. Test, test, test. Social networks are finicky, and the reason for something failing could have nothing to do with the content itself and everything to do with, for instance, the time it was posted.
3. Positivity
After they hear that emotional content usually works well for those who want to increase their exposure, some people try to use content that creates sadness or anger. Doing so can help you get your message in front of people, but this approach is not always the best. In most cases, articles and videos that elicit feelings of happiness and hope get the most attention from social media users because people want to share content that makes them feel good.
True, there are some posts that bring tears that aren’t necessarily bad – I can think of several “couples” posts that are geared toward making people invest in Kleenex. However, the outcome is always what you need to look. Does the touchy-feely content end well, with a positive or uplifting message? Be wary of the “jump off the building” posts.
4. Professionalism
“But it’s my business!” you cry. Well, yes. -But consider that you are on a “social” network, with “social” being the key word. When you spend time with friends and family, do you speak and dress professionally or casually? Are you always at the water cooler, no matter where you are?
If you’re like most people, you like having the ability to relax and unwind. Remember that people use social media to find entertainment and to connect with others. So if you are too professional on social media, you will lose your ability to connect with your audience. As you craft your content, write in the same tone that you use when you speak, and your audience will have fun reading and sharing your posts.
Final Thoughts
Even though social media is a powerful tool for any business owner who wants to experience enhanced profitability, you have to use it properly if you want to get a favorable outcome. In addition to using high-quality pictures and creating an emotional impact, staying positive and relaxed are top tips you don’t want to overlook.
Because your results will vary, always view social media as a way to experiment and to test different ideas. As you move forward, you’ll get a clear picture of the type of content to which your audience responds, and you will gain free web visitors as a result.
