The types of content you create for your blog and website should not only be made with search engines in mind, but also with their potential for linkability. That is, you want people to be interested enough in your content that they will actually link to it themselves on their own websites, blogs or social media profiles.
Of course, accomplishing this is easier said than done. But here are a few types of content and strategies that will make people actually want to link to your site:
- Use infographics: Infographics are shared and viewed more than the vast majority of other content types. They have the ability to display a lot of interesting and important information in one easy, visual package. If you decide to create an original infographic, make sure that a) the information is actually useful and interesting and b) you have designed the graphic in a professional, appealing way.
- Embrace video: Video has become one of the most powerful forms of content marketing, exploding in popularity over the last couple years as social networks have found new ways of embedding video in news feeds and having it automatically play without sound. Make sure that in addition to sharing the video directly to your social networks, you upload it to sites like YouTube and Vimeo to embed on your website. Other people and companies can easily take these links and share them themselves. All video content should be brief, interesting and, again, professionally made.
- Guides: Do you have a lot of knowledge about a particular subject area? You might consider creating a “Guide to _____” series or white paper. The value of this content is its depth. While blog posts only skim the surface about their chosen topics, a guide allows you to take all the time and space you need to explore it in great detail. This sort of content acts as an excellent reference material that people will want to share.
- Instructional content: Whether it’s a blog post, video or series of images, how-to content performs extremely well both in terms of search engine rankings and amount of people who are likely to share it. This content is evergreen as well, meaning it will never become obsolete.
- Case studies, research and data: As evidenced by the popularity of infographics, people love data and numbers. However, if you want a little more space to discuss research and case studies, than you might bypass the infographic and write up something a little more in-depth. Or, you could take a two-pronged approach and create a research article or case study then an infographic that sums up your findings.
For more information about creating highly shareable content, contact us today at Viral Solutions.
Queen of the Machine for Viral Solutions LLC
“If a brand genuinely wants to make a social contribution, it should start with who they are, not what they do. For only when a brand has defined itself and its core values can it identify causes or social responsibility initiatives that are in alignment with its authentic brand story.” ~ Simon Mainwaring