Create Shareable Content

How to Create Shareable Content That Will Skyrocket Your Engagement

In the world of social media, engagement is everything. But in an increasingly crowded digital landscape, how do you ensure your content stands out and gets shared? The answer lies in shareable content. When your audience shares your posts, it not only amplifies your message but also helps build trust and credibility. Shareable content is more likely to go viral, expanding your reach exponentially and helping you connect with new audiences.

Creating content that resonates and compels people to share isn’t always easy, but with the right approach, you can create posts that people can’t resist sharing. Whether you’re a brand, a business, or an influencer, here’s how you can create content that will skyrocket your social media engagement and get shared across platforms.

1. Know Your Audience and Create Content That Speaks to Them

The foundation of shareable content is understanding your audience deeply. If you don’t know what your followers care about, it’s impossible to create content that resonates enough to share. The more in-tune you are with your audience’s preferences, pain points, and desires, the more likely you’ll create content that they find valuable enough to pass along.

How to do this:

Conduct Audience Research: Use tools like Instagram Insights, Facebook Analytics, or Twitter Analytics to understand who your audience is and what they engage with most. Pay attention to their interests, demographics, and behaviors.

Look for Content Gaps: Identify what your audience is talking about or asking for and create content that addresses those topics. Your content should provide value, solve problems, or entertain.

Use Feedback: Pay attention to comments and messages from your followers. If people are asking for more tips, guides, or specific topics, give them what they want!

Real-life example:

BuzzFeed does an excellent job of creating content that speaks directly to its audience. By consistently analyzing user interests through quizzes, polls, and feedback, they craft shareable content that their audience feels personally connected to and compelled to share.

2. Use Emotion to Trigger Shares

Emotion is a powerful driver of behavior. Studies show that content that evokes a strong emotional response is far more likely to be shared. Whether it’s laughter, inspiration, surprise, or even anger, emotional content creates a visceral connection that encourages people to share their feelings with others.

How to do this:

Tell a Story: People love stories. Share personal experiences, success stories, or behind-the-scenes content that elicit emotional reactions. Whether it's a heartwarming story or a funny anecdote, stories humanize your brand and make people feel something.

Leverage Humor: Humor is one of the most shareable emotions. Use memes, funny videos, or witty commentary to connect with your audience in a light-hearted way. But be careful humor should always align with your brand’s voice and values.

Create Inspirational Content: Motivational quotes, personal growth stories, or content that helps people overcome challenges is often shared widely because it resonates with people’s desire for positivity and growth.

Real-life example:

Dove's “Real Beauty Sketches” campaign became a viral sensation because it was deeply emotional. The video featured women describing themselves to a forensic artist, only to reveal how much harsher they were on themselves than others were. The emotional impact prompted widespread sharing, with people talking about the campaign on a deeply personal level.

3. Make It Visually Compelling

Visual content is inherently more shareable than text-based content. People are naturally drawn to visuals—whether it’s striking images, infographics, videos, or eye-catching design. In fact, posts with visuals are 40% more likely to be shared on social media than those without.

How to do this:

Invest in High-Quality Images and Video: Use eye-catching graphics, high-resolution images, and professionally edited videos to make your posts stand out in the feed. Low-quality visuals can have the opposite effect and make your content less shareable.

Keep It Simple: Don’t overcomplicate your visuals. People want content that is easy to digest and share. Simple, clean designs tend to get more engagement.

Use Video and Animation: Video is one of the most engaging forms of content, especially when it’s quick and to the point. Animations, short-form videos (like Instagram Reels or TikTok), and even GIFs can dramatically increase your content’s shareability.

Real-life example:

National Geographic is renowned for its stunning, share-worthy visuals. The use of breathtaking nature photography often goes viral on social media, sparking shares across platforms. These high-quality visuals evoke wonder and curiosity, prompting people to share with their followers.

4. Tap Into Trending Topics and Current Events

Creating content that’s relevant to what’s happening in the world, in your industry, or on social media can give your posts an immediate boost in terms of shareability. People are often looking to share content that taps into the latest trends, news, or viral moments.

How to do this:

Stay Up to Date: Use social listening tools like Google Trends, Twitter’s Trending Topics, or even Buzz Sumo to stay informed about what’s currently capturing attention.

Join Conversations: If a major event or trending hashtag aligns with your brand’s voice or mission, create timely content around it. Participate in viral challenges or conversations, but make sure the content feels authentic and aligned with your brand’s values.

Use Relevant Hashtags: Hashtags can help your content get discovered, especially if you use ones that are currently trending. Just make sure the hashtag is relevant to your content!

Real-life example:

Oreo’s “Dunk in the Dark” tweet during the 2013 Super Bowl blackout is one of the best examples of timely, shareable content. By capitalizing on a moment in real-time, Oreo’s social media team created a viral tweet that resonated with fans and went viral almost instantly.

5. Create Interactive and Engaging Content

Interactive content is incredibly shareable because it involves the audience. When people feel like they can participate, they are more likely to share their results or experiences with their friends and followers. This could include polls, quizzes, challenges, or interactive infographics.

How to do this:

Run Polls and Surveys: Polls or surveys that ask for opinions or preferences can easily go viral, especially if the questions are lighthearted, thought-provoking, or topical.

Create Fun Quizzes: Quizzes that give users a fun, personalized result are incredibly shareable. People love sharing their quiz results with their friends or on social media, and this helps your content spread organically.

Host Challenges or Contests: Create social media challenges where people participate by posting their own content with a branded hashtag. This not only generates user content but also encourages them to share it with their networks.

Real-life example:

Spotify's “Spotify Wrapped” is a great example of interactive, shareable content. At the end of the year, Spotify users receive personalized insights into their listening habits. The results are fun, personal, and highly shareable, with millions of users posting their Wrapped results across social media platforms.

6. Offer Value Through Educational or How-To Content

Educational content is highly shareable because it provides immediate value to your audience. When people find useful information that can help them solve a problem, they’re more likely to share it with others who might benefit from it.

How to do this:

Share Tips and Hacks: Create content that teaches your audience something useful—whether it’s a life hack, productivity tip, or expert advice on a topic your audience cares about.

Create Step-by-Step Guides: How-to guides and tutorials that help your audience learn new skills or accomplish tasks are often shared across social platforms. Infographics, checklists, and instructional videos are particularly popular.

Break Down Complex Ideas: If your audience is overwhelmed by complicated topics, help break them down into digestible, easy-to-understand content. People love sharing educational resources that make them look knowledgeable.

Real-life example:

HubSpot regularly produces educational content in the form of blogs, guides, and downloadable resources. Their content, which often explains complex marketing and business topics in simple terms, is widely shared among professionals looking for actionable insights.

7. Create Shareable Quotes or Snappy Captions

Sometimes, all it takes is a powerful quote or a witty caption to get your audience to share. Memes, inspirational quotes, and even bold opinions can be incredibly shareable, as they tap into emotions and offer something that people want to share with others.

How to do this:

Use Visual Quotes: Pair motivational, funny, or insightful quotes with visually appealing designs to make them stand out in people’s feeds. Use Canva or Adobe Spark to easily design shareable quote graphics.

Keep It Short and Punchy: Keep your messaging clear, concise, and impactful. People love to share content that quickly conveys a message without a lot of fluff.

Tie It to Trending Topics: If possible, tie your quotes or captions to trending events or memes. This helps your content feel relevant and shareable.