Make Your Blog Posts Go Viral On Social Media

Elizabeth Thistle

5 years ago

When in Rome...Add A Different Caption
Social Media Marketing Tips
Want To Go Viral?

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This article is about how you can master content marketing and see YOUR OWN media posts adored and shared on Twitter and Facebook (or Instagram, Pinterest, you decide). If you have a business page that needs a new audience, make sure you read this too. Dealing with cross-promotion, let’s first get clear what it is not.

When in Rome...Add A Different Caption

There is always that temptation to share one piece of content multiple times across different social media platforms without altering it. That is cross-posting, and it won’t get you very far.

In turn, cross-promotion doesn’t mean that you can share an article on one social network only. It means that you will tailor the same message differently when addressing Twitter followers and, say, Facebook users.

The Facebook audience is all about smart headlines and entertaining, emotional stories. The links to blog posts are quite popular in this social media but you have to write a short introduction for it. The Facebook users decide if to open the link to post after reading the description, so make sure it will be interesting and intriguing.
From a Twitter account user gets news and jokes. It is a social media for very short posts, in fact, you are allowed to type only 280 words there. You still need to add a description of the text that the user could be able to read on your blog but make it laconic. One or two sentences showing the essence of the article will be quite enough.
On Instagram, you will see loads of incredible images. Actually, Instagram was created for photo sharing only. If you want to promote your blog in this social media – start doing awesome pictures for your articles and then share them on Instagram.
LinkedIn is for professionals; people will expect content that serves their career aspirations. That’s why you have to think carefully before starting to develop an audience there. Your blog posts have to be useful for educational purposes.
Pinterest and Slideshare are for craft lovers, infographic gurus, and visual learners. Convert your blog posts into infographics and then put them into those social media. Is the users will love the infographic – they may want to go for the article.

Remember to add a clear call to action! It is very important - lots of blog owners miss that point. If you won't clearly ask a user to do something - he won't! Encourage people to check out the other posts on your blog, like your page and stay in touch. And don't think that declaring it is compulsive. Just don't put the calls to action after every paragraph (overdoing is also bad) and it will be OK.

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Social Media Marketing Tips

The trends are rapidly changing and the way you interact with users should also change every few months. However, there are a few tips that will work as long as social media exist. Carefully go through them and do your best to apply them into your social media marketing strategy.

Make the Buttons Visible

Users share your posts to their social media when they feel of satisfaction and approval but those feelings are fleeting. Make sure that your readers won’t spend more than one second looking for social media buttons under your blog post. Every social media has a recognizable logo, so use them for the buttons, make them big and bright. These should catch the eye (for ideas, dive in here). If you don't make the sharing options perfectly visible - the users most likely go away without seeking for it. I'm most than sure that you don't want that.

Use Third-Party Connections

I guess you know the brightest stars in your niche. Ask them to give you a comment about some topi and then use it for a post. It won't be too hard if you offer them a fascinating topic that matters to THEIR readers and adds value to THEIR brand. By featuring their comment together with a link to their Facebook profile or website in your post, you can successfully expand readership in no time. The influencer will share that post to his social media, his followers will read your article and some of them will be interested enough to subscribe for your posts or your page in social media. The most simple way to get a few comments on some topic is to sign in for HARO and create a query there. That service is completely free and help bloggers and authors to get authoritative opinions and expand each other's audience.

Besides that, joint promotion efforts with other new bloggers are a great solution too. You could team up with other small business owners in your industry and create a free resource that will educate readers about your sphere of interests. Your future followers will appreciate the free professional advice, and you will establish yourselves as field experts and attract new people.

Cultivate Community Spirit

For a long time, email marketing and subscriptions were used for cultivating a loyal audience. While you definitely can continue to utilize this tool, Facebook offers better opportunities to create a community and promote your content.

Your Facebook page is the place where you will be careful to interact with your audience, gather their feedback, and answer questions. It is essential that your readers communicate with one another in comments, you should encourage that. When people experience interest and fun on your page - they will be more likely to come back for more. Try to write posts that make people discuss them. For example, use freshest and the most relevant news - people like to talk about popular topics.

N.B. If you are going to act as a social media manager yourself, pay particular attention to how quickly you respond to messages and whether the tone of your responses is consistent with your brand values. Authenticity rules!

Ask Questions

The easiest way to engage your facebook followers is by asking them something. That sounds obvious, and that really is! End your facebook posts with a question and enjoy the discussion in the comments! You can also make the quizzes or survey posts - engagement with them will affect the rating of the post and the page. Besides that, you should always know what does your audience wants and what problems it has. Questions will help you to understand your readers and thus stay with them on the same tune.

Want To Go Viral?

Are there any hacks to make your posts go viral? Look at your Facebook news feed. Do you know why some articles get reposted thousands of times while other pieces of content are scrolled over into oblivion?

According to researchers, people prefer to share posts that:

Amuse. Curiosity and humor will catch readers with you. So make sure to add interesting flavor (or a funny image) to even most serious texts.
Offer discounts and samples. No surprises. If you are determined to reach a new audience fast, consider offering discounts or start a contest for a good prize.
Warn and teach. Warnings attract more attention, but you don’t want to become too negative. Balance them with expert educational content and smart infographics.
Visualize. Texts with images get shared at least twice more, and infographics increase reader response exponentially. By posting a video, you can target the people who would have never read your message (if you want to attract young followers, especially teenagers, consider making stream videos and posting them on Youtube). You can indulge your eyes and learn more about infographics here.
Inspire. Even if your general message is about nothing but business, you can still become a role model for your readers. Share with them your story of successes (and some failures too) and talk about how they can strive for more in their careers and personal lives. If you are a blogger, your brand is your primary weapon. The best way to promote it is to be authentic and respectful of your reader community.
Use numbers. Lists and numbers can just do wonders with the response you get from people. “10” item lists get shared four times more often (no idea why this is the case, try for yourself!).
Capture Attention. I mentioned headlines earlier, and they need special attention. Look here for expert advice on catchy titles.

Remember also that headlines and captions should:

reflect the tastes of your target audience;
be consistent with the nature of your content;
look organic to the platform on which you are sharing them.

Wrapping up

Social media could be amazing tools. If used right they can sufficiently expand your audience and constantly grow the traffic to your blog. I hope that after reading this article you won't ignore countless possibilities that are granted to you by social media and start a strong marketing campaign. Good luck with becoming a social media star!