Content marketing mixes the creation of vital content with search engine optimisation and social media marketing. It helps companies in driving new leads, establishing industry credibility and staying top of mind with both existing and potential clients.

Social media plays important role in content marketing. It’s one of the major distribution vehicles for content. Apart from email marketing and advertising, social media shares of the content through sites like Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Google + and LinkedIn among others lets good content spread the current version of marketing through word-of-mouth.

Therefore, content spread through social media does not have to be left to odd chance. There are particular things which organisations and companies may do either to encourage, or accidentally discourage, social media sharing content. The following are 5 tips to increase social media shares.

Select the topics that people care about

Note that not all topics are made equal. You require designing your topics around what your audience really cares about. A number of ways of doing this include looking for search keyword volume, asking sales what clients normally ask about or seeing what gets commented and shared consistently on your blog, your competitors blogs, and generally in social media.

Make posts more “skimmable”

Different industry influencers stay on top of mind with the followers of their social media through curating important, interesting and unique content. Basically, they normally will not read entire posts before sharing. When your post is not created in a way which makes it easy to quickly grasp their key points, they will not bother to skim and share it. Majority of readers do not have time for big blocks. You should think bold headers and key points (2-3) for each against dense paragraphs.

Do not skimp on graphics or pictures

Apart from skimmable posts, graphics and pictures are quite crucial elements when you need to increase social media shares. Social media sites normally feature the key picture from your post. Visual elements are important to getting attention for your post. They communicate the major message and normally, they can either make or break the social media sharing of a post. Do not spend time on some great post, taking 2 seconds picking generic and boring graphic or picture. Worse still is to skip pictures. You should take the extra time in finding a unique style of pictures and graphics for your company and your social media shares is certainly going to grow.

Improve ease of sharing

When you need to people to share your post, go the supermarket way. They make it quite easy to buy those impulse purchases like magazines and candy by strategically positioning them at the check-out line. You equally need positioning your social share buttons where any reader, or skimmer, is going to easily find them.

Do not be selfish

Do not expect that people are going to be jumping over themselves just to share your content when you have never lifted a finger to comment on, share or like other people’s content. Through building up some online goodwill, you are going to increase interaction with your content, which includes shares. Do not forget helping others spread their excellent content before asking them to share yours!

Social media today is a great tool for marketing and majority of companies and organisations ensures that they maximise on the opportunities presented in it.

Author Bio: Zara Andrew is from Scotland, UK. She is a reader and guest blogger. She has been writing contents on the web professionally. As an avid reader and blogger, she shares her experience through her articles on Travel, Education, Technology, parenting and many more Health and Fitness. Currently she is working for dsa practical test.