If you are searching for articles or facts about content that gets shared be prepared for a snooze fest. There are tons of blogs about blogging and most of them say the exact same things. You might be surprised by what actually makes a blog post more shareable.
If you really want to write content that gets shared, the trick is not in your catchy title, or intro paragraph (although an awesome title helps). The key to writing content that gets shared is providing your reader with exactly what they came for.
Your content needs to be outstanding.
So with that in mind, I’ll get right into it.
It’s sad to say, but most people have the attention span of a goldfish and don’t even read your blog post. In fact, I’ve probably already lost 40 percent of you, because most people don’t read past the first paragraph. If you’ve been reading this post for 15 seconds, you have already outlasted 55 percent of readers.
If you want to create a post that is shareable, stop focusing on writing the perfect blog post. It’s not all about the words you choose, it’s about your delivery.
I put together a few facts about blog posts that get shared that might surprise you.
# 1 What you write is not as important as how pretty your post is
You came here looking for tips on writing a shareable, maybe even viral blog posts, and I am telling you the content doesn’t matter? Well, yes, of course, the content matters. If your blog post sucks, nobody is going to read it, and they are definitely not going to share it. But, you know the old saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” It’s true!
People are visual creatures.
Focus on your images, headers, fonts, and how your post looks. An attractive page will do more to keep someone’s attention than the words in your paragraphs. This is why memes and infographics are so popular.
Most of the information we process is visual. According to research by the 3M Corporation, people process visuals 60,000 times faster than text. This means the images and the visual presentation of your post is one of the most important aspects of creating content that is shareable.
Blog posts that feature an image once every 75-100 words get twice as many shares of articles with fewer images, according to an analysis report by Buzzomo
#2 SEO is not that important
Content that gets shared on social media is very different than content that gets found in Google
So many bloggers are interested in SEO. SEO is great. I get most of my blog traffic from search engines, but shareable content is not the same type of content as SEO content.
A post that gets shared probably won’t get you backlinks and it might not even be findable in Google. That’s okay. If you want to have a successful content strategy, you need to combine social media strategies with your SEO strategies.
To write a highly engaging and sharable post, stop trying to make Yoast happy. Yoast is an excellent SEO plugin and I love when I see those green smilies, but sometimes optimizing my posts for Yoast totally ruins the quality of my posts.
I write some of my posts to perform well on social media. So, I don’t always include my keywords in my first paragraph like Yoast tells me to. Writing posts for social media involves creating interesting and unique content, and that doesn’t always mesh well with search-engine optimization.
Go ahead and have fun with some of your posts. Write them to be entertaining and shareable and don’t worry about the SEO.
#3 Posts with really long titles get shared more
Here’s a tip you might have heard. Your blog post needs a killer title to get attention. Your title does not have to be catchy, but it should be compelling enough to get someone interested in reading your post. Long descriptive titles work better than shorter ones.
Backlinko analyzed 912 million blog posts and they discovered that headlines that contain 14-17 words got shared 76.7% more than shorter headlines.
Longer titles are not so great for search engines, but if you want to write highly-shareable content, your best bet is to use a long title.
Make your headline interesting and unique. “How to get shares on Facebook” probably won’t entice anyone to click on your link or share it. “How to Write Irresistable Blog Posts that Your Vistors WIll Want to Share” is much more descriptive and will perform better.
Using powerful words in your title like amazing, surprising, stunning, or proven can improve engagement.
Some titles that work well are lists. For whatever reason people love lists. List posts are one of the most popular and shared types of blog posts. They outperform “how to” posts and are really easy to create.
#4 People love practical tips
When Buzzomo analyzed the most shared content on Facebook, they discovered a lot of insightful information about what type of content people engage with on Facebook. Not surprising, videos were the most shared type of content. However, there was another interesting trend. People love practical tips.
One of the most shared posts on Facebook in 2017 was a post about clutter — Get Clever With Your Clutter…7 Orginizational Hacks!
You wouldn’t expect this post to be a top post, but people love tips and hacks. Why do they like tips so much? We like blogs that inspire us or educate us. A great blog post either entertains, educates or inspires us.
Nobody wants to read about 7 tips they already know about clutter or 6 tips about shareable content that they could easily think of themself. If you write a post with practical tips, make sure you deliver exceptional tips.
You want your reader to walk away feeling like they got some value out of their visit — that their time was not wasted on your content. If you can provide that, they will read more of your content and share your content with others.
#5 Posts with Statistics receive more shares and backlinks
Some bloggers worry that adding extra details and links will weigh down their post or make it hard to read, but people really love research and statistics. Writing a well-researched post takes more time, so don’t try to write all of your blog posts fast.
Go ahead and be a perfectionist with your research. That extra hour you spend tracking down studies, facts, and statistics will make your post better and more shareable. According to Quick Sprout, blog posts that contain statistics and data get shared 149% more than blog posts that don’t and they get 283% more backlinks.
Don’t just add the stats, make them visual. Adding charts, graphs, or visuals to your posts will make it easier to read and your presentation better. Use your research and statistics to make awesome infographics for your post.
#6 You don’t have to be funny or entertaining
Some people are naturally entertaining and can write posts that will have you laughing out loud. I am not one of those people. You can’t fake funny. So, if ‘that’s not your thing, don’t bother. Be yourself. You don’t want your posts to be dry and boring, but not every post is intended to entertain.
If your content is exceptional, with practical tips or useful information that people can’t find on a hundred other sites, people will love your posts. You will establish yourself as an expert on your topic and more people will read your posts to the end. You will get more backlinks to your posts and more shares!
I am Patty Malowney, the creator of Badass Web Goddess. I am an Albuquerque SEO and digital marketing consultant. I started my first internet business in 2004 with a $40 garage sale computer and a whole lot of determination. I sold my first website, JustMommies.com to the dating company eHarmony.com in 2008. My website was acquired by another company where I worked as a consultant and editor until July, 2019.
After encouragement from friends and family, I decided to branch out on my own and start my own consulting business. I offer advice and services to local businesses on how they can rank better in Google.
In addition to running Badass Web Goddess, I am an avid blogger. I run several blogs including my internet marketing blog here at Badass Web Goddess. If you love my blog, Follow Me on Facebook or Twitter!
5 thoughts on “6 Surprising Facts About Content that Gets Shared: How to Create Highly-Shareable Blog Posts”
This is a really insightful post that takes a different standpoint than most when it comes to blog traffic. I’m just now learning not to be so concerned on how to please Yoast… my main problem? How do I niche down while profiting? Any recommendations?
Thanks! ☺️
I read a lot about niching down. I didn’t “niche down” on my first website. Check out JustMommies.com. I started it in 2004 and sold it in 2008. We had a really broad topic and covered all kinds of things about moms. My focus was on creating a lot of really great content and tools. However, we made most of our money from advertising which takes a lot of traffic. With Badass Web Goddess, I offer a service so my blog is sort of an extra to drive traffic. Plus, I love internet marketing and would like to eventually have my blog be an authority blog on SEO and digital marketing. It’s a huge work in progress.
This is amazing, so relatable and true. Thanks for sharing
Great tips. As a fellow blogger, I’ve had a few choice words for Yoast. Sometimes we get so caught up in SEO, that we lose sight of the fact that we simply want to engage with our readers in a thoughtful and engaging manner. Solid advice.
I found this article so refreshing. It certainly gave me a lot to think about!