For many businesses aiming to grow their brand and maximize online marketing, social media sharing is a primary goal. Achieving a plethora of likes, tweets, pins, and +1s is the dream. Here are 15 surefire social sharing strategies to help you achieve online success and gain devoted followers.

Image courtesy of kanate of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

1. Don’t hesitate to ask for shares.

While it may seem obvious, directly requesting social shares can significantly impact your results. By explicitly asking, you increase the likelihood of your audience sharing your content. For instance, some websites use pop-up messages like “If you enjoyed this post, share it on Facebook!” as a gentle nudge to spread the word.

2. Create content that people can’t resist sharing.

This might seem like a given, but it’s crucial to remember that people share content they genuinely enjoy—content that teaches them something new, amazes them, or evokes strong emotions. High-quality content gets shared, while subpar content falls flat. Invest the effort to create something exceptional.

3. Craft captivating headlines.

A well-crafted, enticing headline can significantly increase your content’s visibility and social shares. Trending headlines often incorporate lists/numbers, cliffhangers, or an element of surprise. Upworthy and Buzzfeed are masters of attention-grabbing clickbait headlines that hook readers instantly. Consider these examples:

• Being Poor Has Never Been A Crime In Our Country. Until Now.

• If I’d Learned One Thing In College, I Wish It Had Been This

• 1/3 Of The Fish We Buy And Eat Is Not What It Says It Is

• The Top 33 Bars To Watch The World Cup In New York City

• 12 Incredibly Honest Confessions From Waiters

• 33 Jokes Only “Game Of Thrones” Fans Will Understand

• 17 Bookstores That Will Literally Change Your Life These real-life Upworthy and Buzzfeed headlines all share common elements:

• They target a specific audience.

• They create intrigue.

• They connect with current events. One article from Fast Company points out that Upworthy headlines, though lacking originality, effectively leverage our innate curiosity, a concept psychologist George Loewenstein calls the information gap theory. This theory explains our urge to fill in missing information, prompting us to click. To illustrate the formulaic nature of these headlines, Mike Lacher created the Upworthy Generator. It’s surprisingly difficult to distinguish between the generator’s random output and actual Upworthy headlines.

While Upworthy’s headlines may seem unoriginal or even desperate, their effectiveness is undeniable. Experiment with similar headline styles and track their impact on your social share counts.

4. Integrate social sharing buttons.

Simplify social sharing for your audience by adding prominent buttons. The easier it is to share, the more likely they are to do so. Similar to well-designed download buttons on landing pages, bright, visually appealing social sharing buttons attract more clicks. Experiment with size, placement, call to action wording, and contrast to optimize their effectiveness. Social sharing buttons come in countless styles and formats.

The possibilities are endless! Websites like AddThis and ShareThis offer user-friendly tools to incorporate stylish social share buttons into any website, regardless of the platform. WordPress users have an abundance of excellent social share plugins at their disposal. Here are a few noteworthy options:

• Simple Share Buttons Adder: User-friendly, sleek, and sufficiently customizable for most needs.

• Floating Social Media Icon: This plugin excels at creating floating social media icons that remain visible as users scroll.

• WP Socializer: While initially complex, this WordPress button plugin offers extensive and impressive customization options.

5. Strategically position your social sharing buttons.

While placing social sharing buttons at the top of an article can serve as social proof (high share counts might encourage reading), positioning them at the bottom aligns with the natural reading flow, enabling readers to share after finishing the content. Floating buttons offer constant visibility, but some visitors may find them intrusive. Determine the optimal placement for your audience through testing.

6. Offer irresistible incentives.

A well-crafted offer that genuinely delights your audience is crucial, even more so than button placement. Offering valuable freebies like templates, ebooks, or tools generates excitement and drives sharing. Don’t forget to include social share buttons on offer pages and thank you pages.

7. Inject some humor.

Adding humor increases the likelihood of your content being shared. Think about those amusing emails from older relatives filled with scrolling images of costumed pets and mischievous children (not so cute in reality). These forwarded emails are the modern-day equivalent of a social share. Why do they share? Because it made them laugh. Sometimes, a little lightheartedness goes a long way.

Who could resist sharing this?

8. Interview a panel of experts.

Interviewing industry leaders is a fantastic content strategy that naturally drives social sharing. The interviewees are likely to share the article with their own followers, expanding your reach exponentially without heavy lifting.

Never question the experts! (by Mia Mala McDonald)

9. Give credit where credit is due.

Praising someone publicly often leads to them sharing your kind words. Tagging or mentioning other users takes minimal effort and can significantly boost your social reach. Consider featuring larger brands with substantial followings.

10. Optimize your posting schedule.

To maximize social shares, timing is key. While conventional wisdom suggests posting mid-morning and mid-afternoon on weekdays, your specific audience ultimately dictates the best time. For instance, if stay-at-home moms are your target demographic, publishing content while children are in school might be ideal. Conversely, businesses in the sleep aid industry may find late-night posts during peak insomnia hours more effective.

Photo by Flickr user jdbaskin Optimal posting times can also vary based on the social network. For instance, LinkedIn engagement peaks in the early morning.

11. Simplify sharing with embeddable tweet quotes.

Embeddable tweet quotes streamline content sharing, making it effortless for your audience. By curating tweetable snippets, you eliminate extra steps, requiring only a simple click to share. Tools like Click to Tweet make this process incredibly easy. For example: Tip #32 to increase social media sharing: Add a click to tweet button! – Click to Tweet!

12. Engage in reciprocal sharing.

Sharing content from others encourages them to reciprocate. This mutually beneficial approach fosters a sense of community and expands the reach of everyone involved.

NBC’s Hannibal is a must-watch

13. Make your content visually appealing.

Incorporate eye-catching images, infographics, and quote-image overlays that are both shareable and pinnable. Blogs with visually engaging images have a much higher likelihood of being shared on Facebook. Remember, you can now include images in tweets too!

14. Structure your content for scannability.

Many social sharing optimization techniques align with general web copywriting best practices. In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, users often share content without reading it in its entirety. Therefore, it’s crucial to make your content easily digestible. Break up lengthy paragraphs, utilize subheadings, incorporate bullet points, use bold text strategically, and integrate images to enhance readability.

15. Maintain a positive tone.

A Mashable study revealed that content with a positive sentiment (think cheerful imagery and uplifting messages) is more likely to be shared than content with a negative tone (e.g., expressions of negativity or despair).

Oh, Charlie Brown, you’re a real downer Do you have any social sharing wisdom to share? Let us know!