In days past, a campaign that earned links was considered a success. Whilst links are still important today, shares are an increasingly imperative part of any campaign – be it in PR or SEO. Not only do they help to show people interacting with your client, but they can spread the idea in a way links can’t. So how do you create a shareable campaign?
Know your client
The first thing you need to do is know your client. Knowing what they sell, what they’re likely to sign off and what’s been done in their industry before can all help you to hone in on an idea that everyone will be happy with.
Even if your client is in a challenging industry, that doesn’t mean you can’t come up with a shareable idea – it probably helps it. The more boring a client is, the more likely it is that something won’t have been done in their industry, giving you a greater chance of success.
Use your friends and co-workers
Have a look at the people sitting around you and think about what they’d share on Facebook, Twitter and email. Thinking about what you or your friends would share is a great way of making sure your campaign is shareable from the start, rather than trying to shoehorn something in halfway through. Shareable content will outreach itself, reducing the amount of work you have to do and achieving better results.
Do your research
When you have your idea, research it and see if it’s been done before. If it has, see how you could do it better. Look at why it worked, and what held it back from doing better. Find out what the audience thought of it, what the audience likes and what they’d possibly want more of. Discuss what makes your version different and, importantly, know why it will do better than anything else that’s come before.
Make it mobile-friendly
Smartphone usage is constantly climbing, with users currently spending more time using social media on their phones than on their PCs. As social media shares are what you’re aiming for, it’d be a good idea to check out our guide on how to write mobile-friendly copy to make sure you’re bringing these users in rather than pushing them away.
Use social buttons
Social buttons make it easier for people to share your content, and making it easier for the user means they’re more likely to follow through with the share.
Another advantage of social buttons is that they allow you to customise what people tweet when they share – giving you a much easier way to track who has shared and to how many people. After all, that’s what we’re all after!
Conclusion
Making your content shareable shouldn’t be a separate part of the campaign – it should be the main part of the campaign. By making it easily shareable, you’re giving the reader the opportunity to tell other people about it and help do your work for you – which is both great for the reader and great for you. Now hit share!
Insights
