How to Increase Social Shares

Increasing your social shares can do wonders for your presence in the digital-sphere. It’s essential for getting your content out there in order for people to see it. [inlinetweet prefix=”null” tweeter=”null” suffix=”null”]28% of website traffic is now generated by mobile users[/inlinetweet], which is a vital for social media opportunity because most users have apps on their phones to view their social media accounts. By generating more social shares, you could then generate more mobile traffic on your website or views of your content. But how do you go about getting more shares?

Images Matter

Using images within your posts can make a difference of whether or not users actually open it. When image URLs are used in tweets, there is a 35% boost in the amount of retweets that it received. Make sure they’re images worth looking at though. You can make your own images with websites such as Canva, or you can use pre-generated ones. Always be sure that they are the right size for the social media site that you’re posting on. Canva gives you a set of dimensions templates in order to make sure the image you’re creating is the right size for the certain type of post.

If you’re making images any other way, SproutSocial has a great guide for the ideal size dimensions used for each social media outlet. When it comes to Instagram, which is all about the image, if the picture you’re using is too big you can use the app NoCrop so nothing gets cut out of the photo that you’re using. Take a moment to look at what images are popular on different sites, as well. For example, Pinterest photos used are typically better if they’re vertical instead of horizontal for when users are scrolling through the site and various pins.

Make Mega Meta-Descriptions

Your title and meta-descriptions are key to drawing viewers in to look at your content. Use a title and a description that compliment each other and make people want to open your post and view your content. Descriptions that use questions or a verb to draw people in work well, as well as call-to-actions (CTAs). These make the reader intrigued by what the post could potentially say or inform them about.

Be sure to keep descriptions to about 250 characters (with spaces) and titles to about 100 characters (with spaces), this way they’re quick and to the point. Within the descriptions and title, use keywords that could be potentially searched by users looking for that sort of content. For example, on Pinterest when people want to find a “how to” of something, they type in the keyword of what they’re looking for. If you use the keywords they’re searching they could find your content.

Share Nice

Share buttons are extremely important to place within your content in order for viewers to easily share what they have found with their friends and followers. Be sure to include a button for all of the different social avenues that your stuff could potentially be shared on. It’s beneficially to cover all of your bases in order to get the most out of sharing options.

Social Media Examiner has a great how-to piece on making your own customized share buttons in order to make them look like your own within your content. Another valuable move would be to put following buttons on all of your content pages. If the viewer likes what they’re reading, they’re more than likely going to like your other stuff as well.

Keep ‘Em Coming Back for More

Your actual content is what will ultimately be what keeps people coming back. Be sure to keep everything current and stay up-to-date on what’s going on within your industry or even in pop-culture that you could relate back to your industry. No one wants to read out-dated stuff all the time or share that with their friends. Pay attention to what’s trending around you and use hashtags that make your content more searchable when it’s shared. Tweets that contain hashtags received a 16% more retweet rate than those that did not.

How do you increase social shares of your content? Give us your best tips in the comments!

Maren Hogan

Maren Hogan is CEO of Red Branch and general Bad@$$

Maren Hogan is a seasoned marketer and community builder in the HR and Recruiting industry. Maren started Red Branch Media and, before she hired all the smiling faces you see below, she ran it on her own. In marketing for over 15 years, she has deep experience in strategic campaigns and a long-term, results-based operational approach.