Question: How can I get more people to share (and save) my content?
This question builds from the last episode – How to decide what content to post – because you want your content shared and saved as much as possible. But why? These two metrics are currently the strongest passive indicators of engagement, way over likes and even over most comments.
It’s pretty simple. When a user on Facebook or Instagram or even LinkedIn – when they share your content, this means you are being exposed to their whole audience. This is massive for discoverability and it also tells the algorithm that this content is valuable, and therefore deserves to be seen by more people.This means 2 things: that people who already follow you will have a greater likelihood of seeing your post when they log in, and also that the platform is more likely to present your content as a “suggested post” to strangers who have similar interests and online behavior as the person who shared it.
That’s for shares -for saves, it works the same way, with one stark difference. While a share gets you immediately in front of a new audience, a save is private. It tells the algorithm that your content is super valuable to the person who saved it, which will still benefit your organic reach and present you to similar users.
All in all, shares and saves are definitely important to your social media strategy. The question remains, how can you get more?
First, think about the kind of content you would share or save. Usually, I personally share things that are entertaining or that present an interesting perspective. I save things that are inspirational and that I can use as a reference or resource.
So, what would your ideal client want to share with others, or save for their own reference?
How likely is someone to share a static graphic showing market update data? Or a photo of a house that says “under contract” or “just sold”? Pretty unlikely. Instead, think about how you can educate or empower in some way. Tips for Shopping Interest Rates in 2022 would make a great post that is both educational and hyper-relevant, encouraging sharing and potentially saving if they’re thinking of buying soon. As always, video is going to be your best friend for maximizing your reach. For entertaining content consider creating a quick video compilation of things you did locally over the weekend, and putting it to some fun music! This will beat a static single photo 10 times out of 10!
I’d like you to consider something else, that might seem absurdly obvious but will definitely help you get more shares and saves. This magic system is: ASK FOR IT. Seriously! You can do this in 2 ways:
1: Ask in a Call to Action, as text in your video, something you say in your video and also in your caption. I’ve talked about Calls to Action many times on this podcast already, so by now you know – it’s a must in EVERY SINGLE POST. Don’t overthink it. If you think it’s great reference content, you can write, “Save this for later!” If it’s entertaining or time-dependent, say, “Share this post so others can learn too!” These are just basic ideas – you should definitely customize according to your content.
2: The second way to ask is directly. Ask your previous clients, biggest partner allies, people you know would do anything to help you succeed – reach out on a schedule and ask them to share. Don’t ask the same people all the time, for every piece, but if you have invested a lot of time and potentially money on a piece of content, definitely ask people personally. Explain why it’s helpful to you and your business, and share a direct link to the content so they don’t have to search for it.
And that’s my best advice for getting your content shared! We have 2 more episodes remaining for Season 1 and I’m still taking requests for topics to address. If you have something you need help with, leave a comment or email to office@skyblue.media and I’ll work it in!
