How to encourage people to share your content on social media

Content marketing has many factors which play a role in the larger world of online marketing. As a business, half of your content marketing efforts should go towards topic and content creation while the other half should focus efforts towards amplifying the content you've created.

There are plenty of key ways to amplify your content, including creating e-mail marketing campaigns, joining online communities and posting in forums. However, aiming for social media shares is the most effective way to reach your target audience, increase traffic and gain serious visibility. But how exactly can you encourage users and influencers alike to share your stuff?

Luckily, we’ve got some tips and tricks for ways that you can encourage people to share your content. The benefits are multiple so read on if you're curious about specific strategies to take. 

Here's how to get the most content shares on social media!

Social media sharing is about give and take

When you’re in the early days of content creation, producing compelling and well-articulated content isn’t enough to drive others to want to share what you’re working with. This is the first step, yes, but you’ll need to invest time and energy into creating connections and sharing the content of others before you’ll be able to establish loyal sharers and followers. Your ability to have your content shared heavily depends on the relationships you build with those around you.

It’s important to share the content of experts and influencers in your field or marketplace. This is one of the best ways to increase your visibility and website traffic, as it will get significant people to notice you and thus, create a strong network that your own content can be part of. Of course, don’t expect instant fame and visibility overnight.

When it comes to sharing the content of your followers, consistency is key. Chances are that the more consistently you share, the easier it will be for others to reciprocate.

In most cases, those in your field will not have a reason to share your work unless they know that you exist and you’ve begun to establish a partnership. Make it easy for readers to share your content by adding social sharing buttons in visible spots. Also, consider the most popular social networks for your industry or market. If you know your readers spend a lot of time on Facebook, make these social sharing buttons the most accessible to others.

Get creative

There is so much online content and thus, it is paramount to be incredibly tactical as well as creative when sharing the content of influencers and in the hopes of them sharing yours. In order for your own work to stand out and be shared by important voices in your marketplace, you must consider an approach that helps you to connect with your audience. A great tactic to consider is using your own platforms to explain to your audience the ways in which your content can be useful.

Try taking an explanatory line from your blog post or advertisement and using it in the heading to express the benefits of your business. This tactic is a definite lead towards developing a relationship or even further, a mentorship, with someone you respect and admire in your field or industry.

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Ask around and communicate

A little bit of inquiry never hurt anyone, and it might be completely necessary when it comes to getting what you want in the realm of social media shares. Asking those in your field to share your content won't involve just blurting out exactly what you want. In fact, there is a right way to ask for content to be shared across platforms. Firstly, target specific people including creatives and influencers in your field.

Do you have content that would be a valuable extension to their audience? This is an important point to consider when choosing both the content you’d like shared as well as who you’d like to do the sharing. Just remember, if you only possess a small number of social shares it may come across as though you don't know what you're doing. In this case, put yourself out there!

In another regard, if you find influencers or community members sharing your content on their own fruition, this could easily be used to your benefit. Consider quoting their ideas, comments or thoughts about your content when posting it yourself. Of course, don’t take this idea overboard and pander or name-drop. Instead, understand how to take action in a tactful but playful way.

Consider reaching out to the people who posted about you before sharing their words, as this will offer your best chance at success and bring you closer to your goals of cultivating relationships with those who are important.

Strategize

As you may have guessed from many of our bullet points, creating specific and strategic partnerships is one of the key ways to get your content shared within your network. There is a good chance that there are others out there who are looking to build relationships with those working in their marketplace. Especially true for businesses and companies you’re not in direct competition with, strategizing to work together and create partnerships based on positivity, visibility and sharing is an excellent place to start and continue.