6 Tried and True Examples of Engaging and Shareable Social Media Content

It’s almost 2017 which means traditional marketing is long gone. It’s time to throw out the ol’ promotional boring content that you’ve been scheduling out and replace it with content that is irresistible, engaging, and most importantly, shareable.

 After all, isn’t viral what we’re going for?

Tailor your content to your specific audience

First things first, let’s talk about your audience. It’s a known fact that people like to read and see things that are relative to them, right? So before you even schedule out a post you need to make sure that your content aligns closely with your target audience. 

How can you do this? Simple, some quick research. Just click over to your competitors and scope out what content is working for them. Also take note of what’s not working and be sure to cross that type of content off of your list. Furthermore, really research who your customer persona is, or as Hubspot calls it, your buyer persona.


What is a Buyer Persona?

What exactly is a buyer persona? According to Hubspot, a buyer persona is “a semi-fictional representation of your ideal customer based on market research and real data about your existing customers.”

When creating your buyer persona(s), consider including the following:

• Customer Demographics
• Behavior Patterns
• Motivations 
• Goals

The more detailed you are, the better. A detailed buyer persona will attract the most valuable visitors, leads, and customers to your business. No one is going to share your content if they don’t care about the topics you share or the solutions you provide. ​

6 examples of Engaging and Shareable Content 


1. Graphics with one-word captions
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Social Media users are digesting information so fast now, they don’t really take the time to read long spats. If you have something interesting to post, share it in the form of an infographic, picture, or video. Keep your headline short and sweet, just enough words to spark their interest. 
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Post Engagement: 76 reactions, 13 comments and 537 shares!​

2. Bright-colored images
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Social Media newsfeeds, especially your Facebook feed, can be so saturated with other things. To stand out among your customer’s friends and family try sharing content that is bright-colored. This bright-colored meme reached over 600 people organically and received 4 shares. 
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3. Statuses that ask questions
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According to KISSMETRICS, Questions are a great way to spark dialogue with fans. It is probably the easiest way and one of the best methods to get people to respond to your posts. 
If you want something, you have to ask for it.

​Simply ASK your user to share or comment on your photo. People are more inclined to do something when told to do it.
 Look what happened when we asked fans if they were interested in a sneak peak of our newest product.

This post reached over 1262 people and received 25 comments. All organically. 

   
5. Posts that are shared at the perfect time

 Timing is super important when it comes to social media marketing. You don’t want to update your status when people are at work or when they’re asleep do you? It would make way more sense to post when people are getting off work or when they’re in transit to work. These are the times that your fans are more likely to check for updates.

Additionally, Facebook and now Instagram both offer FREE analytical tools that tell you exactly what time of day your fans are most active on that social network. Simply click on “Insights” and check out which time of day is best for your target audience. 
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​Here is a screenshot of what the Facebook  “insights” looks like.

6. Share photos of real people 

An effortless way to boost your organic reach and engagement is to share content that your fans can resonate with. One way to do this is to post photos of employees and the town where your business is based. Your fans will connect with your business on a personal level when they see real people and familiar places. Even better, share your fans content. They will love seeing their content shared and will probably give your business a shout out. 
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Now it’s time to implement. I challenge you to test each and every one of these engaging content examples for the new year and compare and contrast your analytics. Follow up with me and let me know what worked for your audience. 

Get your 2017 content marketing strategy conceptualized using this proven editorial content calendar. Download here.