Social sharing is a great way to drive traffic towards your business – however, many find that their content is not reaching the engagement level that it should be.

Social media is a large part of business strategies in these digitally interconnected times. The sharing of content via social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Google+ could be considered a modern-day version of word-of-mouth marketing – therefore, it is critical to get it right.

Having an online presence is not always enough to ensure social sharing and raise those critical engagement rates that drive lead generation. There are ways that your content’s shareability can be improved.

Make Post Sharing Easier

Improve the ease of sharing by adding “call to action” buttons and phrases that remind the reader they can share your content on their personal social media channels. Be sure to position social share buttons where the reader can easily find them. Typical layouts often involve the social sharing buttons being placed at the top of the side of the page so that they can’t be missed. For more effectiveness, try varying sizes, colours and placements to see what brings the highest levels of engagement.

Sales Pitches Are Better Left In The Boardroom – And Clickbait Isn’t Great Either

If your content is perceived as too “salesy”, it’s more likely to generate less shares. Clients will notice content that sounds too sales-oriented or forced and are more likely to shy away from it. Firms should focus on writing informative content that adds value or addresses a problem as it is more likely to be positively received and therefore shared.

Connect With Your Target Audience

Not all topics are created equal nor will they always appeal to every reader. As such, content must be relevant to engage your target audience.

Some good ways to gauge what your target audience is searching for include asking clients for feedback, writing content based on frequently asked questions and researching competitor’s blogs and social media trending topics.

Develop your business’s content around the topics that are most consistently shared or commented on your social sites or run a survey on your social channels asking clients what they would like to hear more about. Actively engage with your audience, and it will generate results.