Top 3 reasons why your content isn't being shared

If you haven’t started content marketing, then can you really call yourself a startup? In all seriousness, creating quality content in order to direct traffic towards your website is a tried and tested way to promote a new business. Getting your content shared on social media is one of the most effective ways to reach a larger pool of people and is almost fool-proof in increasing organic referral traffic to your site. It will also improve your SEO, albeit indirectly, and therefore be integral to the promotion of everything you are working towards.
 
If your content is at a standstill - no likes, no shares, no engagement - you lose out on all these great benefits. Here are 3 things to consider to get your blogs, reports, whitepapers, and more back on its feet:

1. Your content needs some tweaking

One of the words most commonly used in conjunction with ‘content’ is ‘quality’. It’s so easy to get caught up thinking that the sheer volume of blog posts published will cause increased traffic to your site, but this is simply not the case. If one user reads a subpar article, then where is the incentive to share it on their social media? Would you share it? Don’t write tons of lacklustre content in hopes that something sticks.

Take time to craft unique and meaningful information that satisfies a query or need - always think to yourself, 'What value am I bringing to my reader?'. If your content isn't providing any value and is just a replica of popular content, it's time to shake things up, figure out what exactly your target audience wants from you and your industry, and adjusting your content accordingly.

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2. Your content needs to be more shareable

Is there an icon at the bottom of the post that will allow you to share it directly to LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter? Why not? Consumers’ attention spans are shortening with each passing year, so don’t let them get distracted! If it takes any level of effort to share a post, then chances are your readers just won’t bother. Make it easier for them by adding ‘click to tweet’ links at key points in your text and, above all, ensure there are enough images embedded in the post to make it eye-catching.

If you want to go the extra mile, condense long-form content into bite-sized slide decks and infographics for social media. BrighterBox does this well (if we do say so ourselves) by using the slide deck method to shorten our content. This has increased our engagement and click-through rate massively as our content can be read quickly and easily by our audience. 

3. You need to rethink your headlines

80% of internet users will never read past the headline of an article and a surprising 60% of people will share an article (without even reading it) if the headline is that catchy. The takeaway? Headlines are not to be underestimated. Just as you should spend time on the main body of your post, you should also ensure you put some serious thought into your title. Learn how to write the kind of headlines that get clicked on – the ones that you just can’t scroll past. 

Do this by:

- Taking a look at what headlines successful competitors are using
- Googling the topic you want to write about and looking at the headlines on the first page of results
- Seeing what headlines popular online courses on your subject area are using - if people are paying for it, chances are the headline may have a part to play in that
 

 
Need someone to write your content for you? BrighterBox finds the best graduates for London startups. Get in touch today!

*Editor's note: This blog was originally published in 2016 and has since been updated.