6 Ways to Increase Shareability

Why is shareabilty so important? It's one of the most effective ways to go from being unheard of to being successful. For people to discover you, they have to find out about you from somebody. Even more important, they have to trust you. When people share information, it carries the ethos of personal connection, which makes the it and more personally relevant. So, how do you make content that people want to share?

1. Whether seeking out blog post reviews or viral video views, the most important thing is to create content that you would share yourself. Whatever the content might be, ask yourself if you would share it if you weren't just trying to market yourself. If you wouldn't, something is wrong. No amount of web design will fix the problem. Ask yourself what kind of content you would like to share with your friends, and make it a reality.
   
2. Write a killer headline. If the title doesn't grab attention, the content won't get shared. People simply won't share content that they aren't willing to view themselves. A good title will demand attention from your audience. Numbered lists attract a lot of attention, especially when they don't use the traditional "Top Ten" format. Bizarre titles are often irresistible. Making the title time-sensitive also proves useful.
   
3. Include images in your text. A large block of text can be very intimidating for readers, but breaking it up with images gives it immediate visual appeal. It can als style="line-height:18px;"o make the post more memorable, since humans are very visually driven creatures.
   
4. Break up the text. In addition to using images, you will want to include numbered lists, bullet points, and subheadings as often as possible. This makes it easier to scan the text for the most useful information. Many internet users prefer to scan than read.
   
5. Include share icons. Don't count on users to share the content without prompting, ask them to do so. Make it easy for users to share the content on Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks and bookmarking sites. All it should require is a single push of the button. Asking for more is asking for fewer shares.
   
6. Start a conversation, or pick a fight. Encouraging users to provide their own opinion will dramatically increase their likelihood of sharing the information with others, since they are now sharing their own contribution as well as the original post.