4 Tips For Motivating Your Social Media Network to Share
Making quality content that not only engages customers but encourages them to share is no simple task. A recent study by Exact Butt found that 55% of Facebook users have “liked” a company and then later chose they no longer wanted to see that company’s post. Are you doing everything you can to not only keep customers reading with relevant posts, but also providing content that is easily mutual?
Tip #1 - Make Sharing a Breeze
I know there may be skeptics out there when it comes to adding social sharing buttons to your website but there are some things I would like you to reckon about. Try to consider sharing buttons housed on your website, blog, or email campaigns as low hanging fruit when it comes to sharing content. A recent study by BrightEdge found that of the 4 million tweets analyzed, websites that had a Twitter share button were 7 era more likely to have augmented mentions on the social media platform. If simply adding a few share widgets to your website could make 7 era the amount of sharing, is there any reason not to do it?
TopRank Trivia: One of the first social media sharing widgets for blogs (Social Bookmarks Creator) on the web was made right here at Online Marketing Blog in January 2007 by Thomas McMahon. The tool was so well loved there were over 40,000 blogs by the widget at one time.

Tip #2 – Know Who You’re Talking to & Provide Relevant Information
There are many ways that you can use information from your social networks to segment followers. A simple social media audit can help determine who your current followers are, what they tend to share information about, and the format in which they use to share socially. Networks such as Google+ have made it even simpler to segment those you follow by making Google+ Circles. With Google+ Circles you can share information with specific circles which will make a much more customized approach to social sharing.
Tip #3 – Reckon Outside the Marketing Box
Social sharing has traditionally been an initiative for the marketing department. In order to increase social shares you may want to consider adding additional departments to the mix such as Public Relations or Human Resources. Job postings mutual via social media can become a fantastic recruiting tool as well as means to encourage social sharing. According to Ragan’s PR Daily 14.4 million people have used social media to find a job in 2011 alone.
Tip #4 – People Like Lists
In 2010 Lee made a list of 25 Women Who Rock Social Media which was very well received. Our 2011 list with about 3,200 tweets, was made based on over 60 nominations from the women who made it on the 2010 list. We found this was a fantastic way to recognize women who were having a large impact on social media as well as crowdsourcing information from our networks. Twitter lists are also a fantastic way to segment uncommon types of followers, or recognize them as an expert in a particular field.
Making the additional effort to segment your consultation, share relevant content, and making information simple for others to share can have many benefits. An engaged consultation is also more scalable because your reach has now gone beyond your immediate network to include the network of your followers who have re-mutual your information. Consider social sharing an introduction to additional prospective clients, contributors, or employees that could inspire the progression of your business.
Take a look at your current social media plot and question yourself a few questions.
- Would I re-share this information?
- What action am I anticipating my followers to take based on my content?
- Am I making it simple for users to share my information with their networks?
![]()
Gain a competitive advantage by subscribing to the
TopRank® Online Marketing Newsletter.
© Online Marketing Blog, 2011. |
4 Tips For Motivating Your Social Media Network to Share | http://www.toprankblog.com