What do they want to share?

Posted by Nick Usborne on 11 October 2011

Copywriting expert Nick Usborne recommends you find out what it is your followers want to see and share on social media.

If you really want your social media channels to start popping, you should focus less on what you want to share, and more on what your followers, friends and subscribers want to share.

You may be in total control of what gets read on your own website or blog, but you don’t control what happens on your social media channels.

From the moment you post something to Facebook it’s in the hands of the people who visit and like your page. They will decide whether to like, share or comment on your entry. Their actions, not yours, will determine how widely that update is shared.

The same principle applies to Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and every other social media site.

You can publish something, but after that you’re no longer in the driver’s seat.

So while it is tempting to use social media simply to promote your latest articles or blog posts, you should also feed it the kind of content your followers, friends and subscribers really like – and really like to share.

Use a tool like HootSuite to identify your Twitter entries that have been shared the most.

Then identify what it was that appealed so much to your readers and create more of the same. Maybe it was the content of a particular page. Or it could simply be the way you wrote the headline.

But one way or another, get smarter at understanding what it is that makes your social media audience want to share.

Deliberately tap into what makes them share and your numbers will increase dramatically. And that will result in an increase in the number of people who visit your website.

Think less about what YOU want to publish through social media.

Think more about what your AUDIENCE wants to read and share.

101 Web Content Ideas, Tips and Resources

No matter what industry you’re in, you can apply Nick’s techniques in his e-book "101 Web Content Ideas, Tips and Resources" to start generating useful and effective content that everyone wants to read right now. Find out more about "101 Web Content Ideas, Tips and Resources"

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