The world has changed. (What? Again?) Instead of one-click banner ads or click-through seeded content, the race to give people what they want is over. The game now is give them what they want to share.
You remember the old rules, lure users to your site with click bait, and once they hit that home page, keep them there, clicking through and signing up, dazzled by slick interactive design and compelling calls to action. Click-throughs, page views, newsletter opt-ins and a low bounce rate were the holy grail of a successful digital strategy.
Share-appeal has blown that all to the wind.
It started with funny and the trivial, the sugar coated content snack, but today in Contentland, whether it's journalism, entertainment, company-generated branded content, or straight out marketing, — the menu has shifted from dessert-only to include a meaty main course of story telling, scoops, insight and research. (With the dessert dishes still a compelling feature, of course.)
What does it look like?
Simply, it's something you want others to see. To be more complex about it, you see it and think: 'my friends, my customers, the members of my soccer club…etc will like that.' or 'I'd like my contacts to know that I understand/care about/laughed at that'. And you share.
The sharer is the editor. You decide what makes news or is fun for your community of online contacts.
It comes from multiple sources, not just one news channel or over one editor's desk. It can come from anywhere online.
It is is targeted and direct. Share-based publishes know their data, they know and keep learning what interests you.
Who's got it?
A lot of publishers (and others) are doing it, but there are three easily recognisable names that have enticed many of us to 'share' whether or not we know where the content we are spreading comes from. BuzzFeed, Upworthy and Instagram all use sharing as the reason to publish. It's the end goal. They are doing it successfully and it's lucrative: see the stats on their businesses at the end of this post.
What's their share-appeal secret?
Data
There's no secret here. Publishers who are knocking the ball out of the park (or as we say in Australian, riding a top wave) are openly, pragmatically and successfully driven by data. Data analysts rank with content creators side by side in a data loop that ensures that feedback on the impact of any piece is immediate, constant and iterative. A story (list, quiz, vine etc) may be tested on a small, targeted audience and optimised according to the response.
Easy to use
The Content Management System on BuzzFeed, for example, is simple to use and allows anyone to post their own sharable content, for free. It breaks the story down into chunks or items so each individual piece can be shared and tracked.
Viral lift is the metric that is measured most attentively. It's about shares, likes and comments. So sharing, liking and commenting are made easy to do.
Why does the sharable content explosion matter?
– It's changing agency relationships because it is changing what a successful campaign looks like, how we measure success, where the message comes from and what brand awareness means. It may not change the stories we tell, but it is certainly changing how we tell them.
– It's changing journalism norms, by redefining editorial control and equally importantly because these publishing models are supported by a lucrative branded content and native advertising business. There is a newly invigorated debate about the lines between journalism and marketing.
– It's changing the media and marketing business model. Well, it's creating a new one, because the old models have largely been blown out of the water.
– It's changing brands. Producers of products and services are becoming media companies in their own right. It's often quoted, but take a look a Red Bull, the drinks company that produces awe-inspiring media content, and now sells magazines, licenses pictures and engages in a completely new way with the market.
How can you get some?
1. Understand the shift
Learn the dynamic, work out the opportunities for your business.
2. Master the analytics
What do you need to measure to truly understand whether your content and communications activities are delivering on your business goals? How can you measure what matters? And how do you close the gap between the insight that you gather and how you behave.
3. Give your content share-appeal
Mine your content: look at what you've already got and how you can give it share-appeal. Be creative, challenge the voice you usually use.
Make new content with share-appeal front of mind. Pics are powerful. Short pieces and original humour drive interest. But stats show that original, in-depth even investigative pieces get shared the most. Articles over 2000 words were found to get the most viral lift in a leading survey this year.
Test, re-test and monitor your impact. Use the huge number of free analytics tools available to learn what works and what bombs.
Repost pieces that have been successful in the past. Keep your content rolling.
Be clear about what matters enough to your business to measure and report on.
Think about a content culture. Everyone who works with/for you is a source of content: knowledge, humour, insight, images. Do they know that? Do you give them voice? Do you harness their voice to work for your business?
Distribute. If you have a great piece on your blog or BuzzFeed for example, get it out across other platforms – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram – and dark social – chat apps, and texting. Seed the shares, then watch for your viral lift. (#BuzzwordBingo)
Above all, have fun. Content doesn't have to be flippant (but it can be) for you to have fun creating it, sharing it and making sure you get the most out of it.
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Some stats
BuzzFeed: Publishes candy-content, branded content, and increasingly is know for journalism including hard hitting scoops, along side the entertainment and celebrity gossip. It kind of doesn't matter what it is, along as it's something that encourages a share (or 10,000). According to Crain'sthe company
Upworthy: aggregates and curates shareable stories about things that matter. It claims 50 million shares a month. And works with organisations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to generate social change messages and impact.
Instagram: Built to share photos and videos Instagram estimates 300 million monthly users. It is now building editorial capability to take advantage of the snack and share value of its content and its user base.
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