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Understanding the Power of Creating Sharable Content

When I found out that one of my favorite bakeries was about to open a new location in my neighborhood, my first reaction was to jump on Facebook to share the news. Guess what? My post got 11 likes, and 7 comments.

Think about the power of this dynamic. Before social media, I’d have to wait until I gathered with a group of friends to share the news (if I remembered at the time). Today, thanks to my mobile device, I can easily share the news with my Facebook friends in real time.

Many of my Facebook friends either live or work in the same area, and have similar tastes—which makes them great prospects for that new bakery. Based on the level of engagement with the original post I shared, that information will spread beyond my immediate connections. Pretty cool, right?

This type of social sharing goes beyond our offline experiences. Consider how much information is now available to us online, and how easy it is to share the content that resonates with us most with a simple click. People are sharing content they find valuable. Content they believe their connections may have an interest in. And for all these reasons content is something you can’t ignore when it comes to your business getting found online.

But how do you create content that people want to share?

It starts with putting your audience first. You absolutely must understand what makes these people tick. What are their hopes and dreams? What are their fears? What are the burning questions you can answer for them? How can you help them get to where they want to go? When the content you create comes from this place of understanding, your content resonates in a whole new way with the people you’re trying to reach.

When your content resonates, people engage with it, and people share it.

This applies to all types of content — an offer or promotion, a blog post, images, videos, or other supporting materials for your marketing campaigns. It’s this content that people share that helps your business get found and bring in new business.

How can you get started on content people want to share?

Find a current customer who fits the mold of your ideal customer—he or she must be a real person—and take them out for coffee. Pick their brain. Listen carefully to why they choose to do business with you. Ask what’s frustrating them most at moment. Find out how you can best help them next. Then put a plan into place to create content that addresses these issues. This process allows you to create content that resonates and gets shared.

As your content gets shared, it allows you to reach and attract more people like your ideal customer to your business—a major win for the businesses that embrace the “magic” of creating shareable content.

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Gina Watkins is a leading expert on e-marketing for small business – and has a real passion for helping businesses to succeed. Her ongoing series of dynamic lectures are filled with real-world examples, humor and results-driven wisdom garnered from more than two decades of sales, business development and marketing experience. In addition to owning her own business, she is an award-winning direct marketer, has been featured on WUSA Channel 9’s Mind Over Money show, Dr. Gayle Carson’s Women In Business radio show, Morgan State’s Briefcase Radio program, and in numerous other media. In her role as Constant Contact Regional Development Director, she’s presented to more than ten thousand seminar attendees about the keys to success with easy, affordable, highly effective technology tools that grow trusted business relationships.

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