Imagine this scenario: You spent sleepless nights crafting the best content you could probably produce. However, a day or two after hitting the \u201cPublish\u201d button, your content didn\u2019t take off. It was radio silence.<\/p>\n
What could have gone wrong? It is because you\u2019re lame when it comes to content production? Does your target audience even exist?<\/p>\n
The thing is, it\u2019s possible that your content is drowning in the sea of other content. It\u2019s called content saturation<\/a>. This can also lead to less social shares, that\u2019s why your content isn\u2019t getting the eyeballs it deserves.<\/p>\n But don\u2019t worry, here are 10 hacks you can apply on your blog post to boost its social shares.<\/p>\n According to Neil Patel<\/a>, \u201crelevant, pressing, breaking news\u201d is the type of content that gets the most social shares.<\/p>\n Breaking news is so fast-paced and usually takes a short 24-hour cycle. What\u2019s the hot topic today may not be the talk of the town tomorrow. Nonetheless, capitalizing on trending topics can give your blog posts that social buzz it needs.<\/p>\n This is where Google Trends<\/a> comes in handy. It gives you the trending topics, new stories, and insights in a particular country at the moment.<\/p>\n You can comb through the trending headlines, and see how you can incorporate it on your blog.<\/p>\n Take a look at this HootSuite post<\/a> back riding on the popularity of Game of Thrones for inspiration.<\/p>\n Alexa\u2019s Jennifer Yesbeck once pointed out that \u201cTo get as many eyes as possible on your content, it needs to be shareable.\u201d<\/p>\n However, a relatable topic is what makes content shareable. In fact, a study by a team of UCLA Psychologists<\/a> revealed that humans are compelled to share content when it resonates with them.<\/p>\n As humans, we think that whatever information matters to us will also matter to other people. Especially for our family and friends.<\/p>\n Good thing, you don\u2019t have to guess what topic would resonate well with your readers. You can use websites like BuzzSumo<\/a> to look for shareable content. That way, you can easily come up with a blog post ideas that your readers are likely to share.<\/p>\n There are people in your niche that your target readers deem as thought leaders. And having these influencers share your content can go a long way.<\/p>\n If you want to ask for their help in terms of content marketing<\/a>, you can start by asking them to answer one question.<\/p>\n For example, ask their number one tip in creating shareable content. Collect and list their answers, and turn it into a blog post. Let the influencers know as soon as you publish your content so they can share it with their followers. And then wait for the traffic to flood your site.<\/p>\n Just keep in mind a few things:<\/p>\n 1. Be familiar on the movers and shakers in your niche Doing everything on your own can be challenging. But just because you can do everything doesn\u2019t mean you have to.<\/p>\n Blogger networks on various social channels can help your blog post get as many social shares as they can.<\/p>\n You can start by joining blogger groups on Facebook. Or, you can start your own group!<\/p>\n Remember, though, that some groups have rules. You can only share your posts on a particular day or thread. There are also groups that only cater to blogs in a particular niche.<\/p>\n However, don\u2019t go crazy with joining blogger network groups on social media<\/a>. It\u2019s important that you are mindful with what you share on these social media groups. After all, people are only compelled to share information that matters to them.<\/p>\n Not to mention that not following the group rules could mean getting banned from it.<\/p>\n Sure, a relatable topic is what makes content shareable. However, timing also plays an important role in your blog post\u2019s social media success.<\/p>\n According to Melanie Tambl\u00e9<\/a>, it is import to post the right content at the right place and time.<\/p>\n \u201cIf only 10% of your followers are online, only 10% of your followers will get the chance [to] see your post. In reality, it will be even less. Most of your valuable content is likely to go down in a constant flow of social media streams. If, on the other hand, 50% of your followers are online, your chances are much bigger than people will actually see your post.\u201d<\/p>\n While there are a lot of posts suggesting when is the best day and time to share your content per channel, we suggest that you look into your social media analytics (i.e. Facebook Insights<\/a> and Twitter Analytics). These tools show when your followers are most active, even the type of content that they like best, giving you an idea on what to post and when to post it.<\/p>\n According to John Medina<\/a>, people can remember 10% of the information they heard even after three days. But when a sound is paired with an image, they can retrieve 65% of the information after three days.<\/p>\n In addition, visual content can generate 94% more views on social media. That\u2019s because people prefer to engage with content that\u2019s both informative and visually appealing.<\/p>\n When sharing your blog post on social media, make sure that it\u2019s something relatable and pleasing to your audience\u2019s eyes. That way, you can maximize your content\u2019s social shares.<\/p>\n The Highlight and Share plugin<\/a> is a popular WordPress plugin for highlighting and sharing content on social media.<\/p>\n How can this plugin help your social media marketing efforts?<\/p>\n For one, it allows your readers to personalize how they share your content on their social media accounts.<\/p>\n Sure, writing a regular status update on your Facebook account can attract readers to your blog. However, letting readers share a highlighted text from your post gives their network more context on what your blog<\/a> is all about.<\/p>\n As pointed out by Jason Daszkewicz, \u201cWhen users read a quote from a particular post, they share it with their friends and followers, thus, increase your chances of increased blog traffic.\u201d<\/p>\n While installing social media buttons is a known hack, a lot of bloggers are getting this wrong.<\/p>\n Some bloggers only attach the social media buttons on the top or bottom of their content. Meaning, the more readers scroll down on your content, the less likely are they reminded to share it on social media.<\/p>\n The solution for this is a scrolling social share<\/a> button. A minimalist block of social buttons will follow the reader down the page, making sure that it\u2019s there when he or she feels like sharing your post.<\/p>\n Remember: You need to constantly push your readers to share your content.<\/p>\n Social proof can impact your blog depending on how you handle it. After all, it is a double-edged sword.<\/p>\n Social proof shows how compelling of a content creator you are. However, when your post shows a low number of comments and social shares, your readers are less likely to engage.<\/p>\n1. Research on trending topics<\/strong><\/h3>\n
2. Create shareable content<\/strong><\/h3>\n
3. Ask influencers to contribute<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n2. Share some or interact on their posts
\n3. Reach out to them when the time is right<\/p>\n4. Network with fellow bloggers<\/strong><\/h3>\n
5. Publish at \u201cbest times\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n
6. Produce visual content<\/strong><\/h3>\n
7. Add \u201chighlight and share\u201d plugin<\/strong><\/h3>\n
8. Use scrolling social share buttons<\/strong><\/h3>\n
9. Leverage social proof<\/strong><\/h3>\n