The Latest Marketing Insights

The Social Sharing Secrets You Should Know

Businesses and brands looking to reach more people have been perfecting their online marketing efforts in numerous ways. One such avenue is through social media promotion, but it comes with the caveat of being difficult to track for purely measuring sales growth. Because social media ROI is hard to truly calculate, we tend to stick with what we know best: likes, shares, comments, retweets, Google +1's, Pinterest pins, and so forth. What better way to increase your exposure than by connecting with your fans and generating more social media traffic? Here are some tips and tricks to increase social sharing for your small business or brand!

Try these social sharing techniques to increase engagement:

1. Write a headline that sparks curiosity
The catchier your headline, the higher the likelihood that it will be seen (and shared) by your audience. Many popular headline techniques today employ lists or numbers to entice readers to click. Often times, they'll use mystery or a cliff hanger (such as the headline for this blog post!) along with emotional language to get you interested. Some examples of headlines from actual articles include:

  • 19 Wedding Planning Hacks That Will Save You So Much Time And Money
  • Here’s What You Should Eat For Dinner
  • Hard Proof That Wiping Your Phone Doesn't Actually Delete Everything
  • This Device Can Water Your Plants For a Mere $300

These headlines work because they get us curious and leave an informational gap in our minds. Thus, we have to find out what the headline is about!
2. Ask your audience to spread the word
It sounds too simple to be true. But is it? Much like in the sales world, one of the best techniques you can employ is to ask for the sale! In this case, social sharing will increase when you add it into your content. Studies have shown that tweets with the word "Retweet" in them get twelve times higher retweet rates than those that do not.
3. Time matters
Who are you marketing to, and when are they most likely to be checking their Facebook? If your core audience is stay-at home parents for example, you likely want to post your content in the mid morning or early afternoon. This would be after the kids have gone to school, or taken a nap, giving you the highest likelihood of reaching them. Traditionally, it has been recommended to use that particular time frame during the week for businesses, but you should adjust according to your audience's habits.
Infographic showing best times to tweet
 
4. Share content from others
Businesses that share content from other users (whether it's someone they follow on Twitter, or something a fan sent to them on Facebook) get much higher engagement in their posts. If fans see that you occasionally share content, they'll be more trustworthy of you, and more likely to share your content.
5. Incorporate humor
One of the best social sharing secrets you can employ is to use humor. Many businesses try too hard to maintain a professional or conservative image, when in actuality it's hurting their ability to connect with their fans. We all love that little something that lightens our mood and gets us to smile once in awhile. Ever notice how animals in cute outfits or photos with funny captions get shared so often? Every business can benefit from showing off humor once in awhile. It not only adds to your personality and brand voice, but also your authenticity.
Although the Facebook algorithm that determines how many people see your post is constantly changing, a common theme still rings true: if your page gets more engagement and social sharing, your content will be more visible!

Share this:

Contact Us 

We love doing good things here. All it takes to set your business on the path to growth is a conversation with Seafoam.
Let's Go
linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram