As a serious blogger, you know that creating great content is only half the battle. With over 7 million blog posts published every day, you need your content to not only be discovered, but also actively shared by readers across their social networks. Because more social shares = more traffic, credibility, leads, and ultimately, revenue for your blogging business.
Consider these eye-popping statistics:
- 3.2 billion images are shared each day (Vox)
- 95 million photos and videos are shared on Instagram per day (SproutSocial)
- Tweets with images get 150% more retweets than text-only posts (Buffer)
- LinkedIn posts with images get 2x higher engagement (LinkedIn)
The verdict is clear – social media is a ravenous beast that constantly craves new content to feed on. As a blogger, it‘s your job to satisfy that craving with a steady supply of tantalizing content that people can‘t resist sharing.
But how? As someone who has been in the blogging game for over a decade and built multiple 7-figure blogs driven by social traffic, I‘m going to share my battle-tested strategies for engineering content that gets shared like crazy. No fluff, no hacks, just proven techniques you can start applying today to send your social share counts soaring.
1. Create insanely useful content
Let‘s start with the most important factor – the content itself. If you want people to share your blog posts, they need to be genuinely worth sharing. That means packing your posts with so much value that readers can‘t help but hit those share buttons to spread the wealth.
What does highly valuable, shareable content look like? It‘s:
- Comprehensive yet concise
- Actionable and results-oriented
- Full of practical examples and case studies
- Bolstered by data, research and expert insights
- Entertaining and fun to read
In short, your content needs to solve real problems, answer burning questions, and make people‘s lives easier or more enjoyable in some way. If you can consistently publish content that does that, your readers will turn into your own army of brand advocates blasting your posts all over social media.
2. Make your posts visually irresistible
We humans are highly visual creatures, and social media has only heightened our appetite for eye candy. If you want your blog posts to stop thumbs in their tracks and compel shares, you need to make them visually magnetic.
What does that entail? Incorporating drool-worthy images, graphics, GIFs, videos, and other visual elements that make your posts pop in a crowded social feed. Posts with captivating visuals get exponentially more shares than a boring wall of text.
For example, infographics are like share magnets – they get 3x more shares and likes on social media than any other type of content. And Facebook posts with images get 2.3x more engagement than those without.
To maximize shares, make sure every post has at least one high-quality, scroll-stopping visual that encapsulates your main points. You can even add social sharing buttons directly on your images to make sharing a no-brainer.
3. Optimize every element for sharing
If you want to squeeze the most shares out of every post, you need to optimize every element of the page for maximum shareability. That means:
- Creating a magnetic headline that arouses curiosity and demands to be clicked
- Selecting a powerful featured image that will serve as the thumbnail when shared
- Adding prominent social share buttons at the top and bottom of the post
- Highlighting tweetable quotes or statistics throughout the post
- Crafting a compelling meta description that will appear when your link is shared
Think of your blog post like a delicious meal – every element needs to be perfectly presented to whet people‘s appetite to share. By optimizing each component, you can turn every post into a share-generating machine.
4. Collaborate with influencers
Want to quickly put your content in front of a massive new audience? Partner with influencers who already have a captive following in your niche. There are a few ways to approach this:
- Mention and link to influencers in your posts where relevant
- Invite influencers to contribute quotes or tips to your posts
- Interview influencers and publish the conversation on your blog
- Co-create content like an ebook or webinar with an influencer
- Hire influencers to promote your post to their audience
When an influencer shares your content, it conveys instant credibility and social proof to their followers. And chances are high those followers will share it with their own networks, creating a ripple effect.
For example, when I published a roundup post featuring 25 top marketing influencers on my blog, it got over 5,000 shares and crashed my site with all the traffic. All because each influencer shared it with their massive followings.
The key is finding the right influencers who align with your brand and have a track record of driving engagement. Build genuine relationships with them first before asking for any collaboration or favor.
5. Share your own content strategically
It‘s not enough to just publish your post and wait for the shares to roll in. You need to prime the pump by sharing your own content on social media. But there‘s a right and wrong way to go about this.
First, customize your message for each platform. What works on Facebook will flop on Twitter. Tailor your copy and visuals to fit the nuances of the network.
Second, don‘t just share your post once and call it a day. Schedule multiple shares over time, experimenting with different angles, images and calls-to-action. The lifespan of a social media post is shockingly short, so re-sharing evergreen content is not only acceptable but advisable.
Third, post at strategic times to maximize visibility. According to research by SproutSocial, the best times to post are 9-10am on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. But experiment to see what works best for your unique audience.
Finally, put some paid advertising muscle behind your best content. Boost high-performing Facebook posts, run Twitter Ads, or sponsor your post on a niche Reddit community to drive a surge of targeted traffic and shares.
6. Run contests and giveaways
People love free stuff, and social media contests remain one of the most reliable ways to quickly rack up shares, traffic and followers. In fact, contests drive 3.5 times more likes and 8 times more comments than regular posts.
The prize doesn‘t have to be extravagant – a free sample of your product, a 30-minute consultation, or a chance to be featured on your blog can be enough to get people excited.
The key is to make sharing the giveaway post a requirement for entry. That way entrants are incentivized to blast your post to their networks. You can also partner with brands or influencers on the giveaway to exponentially expand your reach.
For example, Josh Earl used giveaways to add over 200,000 email subscribers in 11 months, largely driven by people‘s eagerness to share the contest with friends.
7. Embrace new platforms and content formats
Social media is a constantly evolving landscape, with new networks and content types emerging all the time. Successful bloggers stay on the pulse of these changes and adapt their strategies accordingly.
For example, TikTok has exploded in the last year, with short-form video content dominating. Can you repurpose your blog content into snappy TikTok clips to take advantage of the platform‘s virality?
Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts are also newcomers worth experimenting with to reach a wider audience and drive shares to your blog content. And don‘t sleep on rising networks like Clubhouse for sharing audio snippets of your posts.
The more places your content can be discovered and shared, the better. But you need to optimize the content for each channel. Simply slapping your blog link won‘t cut it – you need to create native content that feels organic to the user experience.
8. Foster a ravenous community
Consistently driving social shares is not about tricking people into sharing your content. It‘s about building a genuine community of rabid fans who love what you do and eagerly want to evangelize your message.
How do you breed such a community? By showing up consistently, engaging with your audience, and making them feel like insiders. Reply to every comment, answer every DM, and regularly ask for feedback. Make your readers feel seen and heard.
You should also create a sense of community on your own platform. Encourage readers to subscribe to your email list, join your Facebook Group or Slack channel, and attend your live events. Give them a place to connect with each other and build relationships around your brand.
When your audience feels emotionally invested in your community, they‘ll naturally want to share your content to support your mission. That kind of organic word-of-mouth is priceless.
9. Be a shameless self-promoter
I know it might feel icky or desperate to constantly promote your own content. But here‘s the truth – if you‘re not your own biggest advocate, you can‘t expect anyone else to be.
There‘s nothing wrong with letting your audience know when you‘ve published a great new post. In fact, they‘ll appreciate you putting it on their radar, as long as it‘s relevant and valuable to them.
So send out that email blast, post that Instagram story, and pin that tweet showcasing your latest masterpiece. People are busy and distracted – sometimes they need multiple reminders to take action.
Just make sure you‘re balancing promotion with education and entertainment. Aim for a ratio of 5 helpful, fun or interesting posts for every 1 promotional post. That way you won‘t come off as spammy or self-absorbed.
10. Measure, learn and adapt
Finally, driving social shares is an ongoing experiment. There‘s no magic formula that will work for every blogger in every niche. You need to constantly test different tactics, measure your results, and iterate based on your learnings.
Use tools like Google Analytics, Buzzsumo, and your social media insights to track which posts are getting the most shares, and from which platforms. Look for patterns and double down on what‘s working.
But also keep an eye on competitor blogs and rising stars in your space. What types of content are they creating that seem to be striking a chord? Don‘t be afraid to put your own spin on a winning format.
Over time, you‘ll develop a keen sense for the types of content your audience loves to share, and how to package it for maximum impact. But always stay flexible and open to new ideas.
Social sharing may seem like a vanity metric, but its impact on your blog‘s growth and profitability is very real. By implementing these 10 strategies consistently, you can turn your content into share-worthy gold that spreads across the web like wildfire.
Keep showing up, keep adding value, and keep optimizing for shareability. Your audience will reward you with their loyalty and advocacy, and your blog will thrive as a result. Now get out there and start creating content the world can‘t help but share!
