My line of work often involves having an article written by one of our experts to share with the media or influencers in the financial field. To get something to go viral online or even noticed amid all the online news and gossip, it has to be unique, and shareable. So, how do you create unique content?
Investing the time to come up with an interesting post is extremely important if you would like to create a group of engaged followers on your social media platforms. You need to give your online network a reason to talk about you and share news from you. What many entrepreneurs tend to overlook is the fact that having your content shared by your followers can translate into buying power, and can even encourage some to switch to your brand. Here are some tips on creating posts that grab the attention you desire:
1. Choose a topic not linked to a date or time
Avoid writing something that will date quickly. It may go viral, but in two days it would not be shareable. For example, users of a fashion website might be interested to know which clothes fit their body types best - a topic that would be relevant even a year from now. This beats talking about dressing in the latest styles - a subject that would be irrelevant by the next season.
2. Reach out to your audience
Push the content to your existing followers across your social media networks. I remember posting a comment about Ramadan once on Twitter that was picked by the UK's Independent newspaper and shared several hundred times. That happened by chance but most of the time, you need to put effort into your posts.
3. Take advantage of platforms that already have a huge social following
If you are sharing a video on Facebook, make sure to upload it on other platforms that have millions of followers such as YouTube.com and Vimeo.com. Remember to use a simple title for your video to increase its chance of turning up in someone’s search.
4. Network
Reach out to bloggers, reporters, and other influencers in your field with your content. Tag them in a tweet, or drop them an email sharing your blog post, tweet or video. In my line of work, we share financial insight with reporters and bloggers, who often republish it in their newspapers or post it on their blogs, resulting in more exposure for our content and our company.
5. Develop a press release
When we organise our Anjez talks, which feature successful Emirati entrepreneurs, we often reach out to the media a couple of weeks before with a press release containing details about our event, the speakers, and how could people sign up and attend our sessions. Not only does that provide more exposure about us and our initiative, but also results in more people attending the session and following our pages on social media.
6. The more you post on different social media platforms, the better
Publish your content across several platforms, and share it with as many users as you can. If you run a blog or a website, then have a “subscribe” option available for users, making sure it is set somewhere visible. This sends followers an alert every time you post something new.
7. Make use of hashtags(#) but do no over do it
Do not use a hashtag in front of every single word in your post. You could search for the most popular hashtags, an option available on Twitter, and other social media platforms, and include that at the end of your post. The most popular hashtags receive the most views, meaning your posts are more likely to be viewed alongside others. However, make sure that you are using a hashtag that is relevant to your post.
Keeping these tips in mind for creating unique, viral media can help expand the reach of your business content, and hopefully translate that into purchasing power.
Manar Al Hinai is an award-winning Emirati writer and communications consultant based in Abu Dhabi. Twitter: @manar_alhinai
