Enticing Your Audience With Social Media Sharing

There are many different reasons that drive a person to share content (of all kinds) on social media. One of the main reasons is that the “sharer” has a feeling that the content that he or she is sharing is interesting and beneficial to the recipient of the content.

The many motivating reasons to share content on social media

In addition to sharing content on social media because it is interesting, there are several other reasons why a person wants to share his or her content. A person may wish to share content because the content is important and the person sharing the content deems it important. Another reason is that the person sharing the content believes that the information is amusing. Those reasons are followed by the sharer’s desire to show people what that person believes in and about what he or she is passionate. Of course, there is also the possibly obvious reason that he or she is recommending a product or service that is of value to everyone concerned. The list is rounded off with the content being unique and thus being worthy of being shared. A large percentage of people are inclined to share some type of information through social media. There are several other points that are worth mentioning:

• Differences on a regional level: When it comes to sharing interesting pieces of information, it is one of the more popular reasons that people share content. This is true on an international level. However, across countries, it is sometimes the case that the people prefer to allow other people to get a strong sense of who that person is and what they represent. Many people (internationally) have listed sharing interesting information as their top reason.

• Sharing has been around for a long time: If you think about it, people have been sharing information since the beginning of time. They share information, ideas, and thoughts. That is really the only way that culture can be passed down from one generation to the next generation. If you think about family history, it is the only way that later generations could possibly acquire the knowledge of the family. Of course, it is expected that some of the details of the stories are changed or exaggerated over time; however, the heart of the stories remain in tact in general. With the advent of social media, the limitations are even fewer than they were in the past. We are all a part of the age of information, in which we have (at our fingertips)

  • A greater volume of content
  • A greater frequency of content
  • A greater volume of online connections
  • A quicker way to get the information out there online

The Internet is so extensive and so full of amazing possibilities that there is no stopping anyone who has a desire to share amazing information through social media channels. Information now comes at you at a whirlwind pace and you can grab onto just about any type and amount of information that you wish. A great deal of the information gives people the ability to think for themselves and to make their own decisions.

Why you would want to share online

There are several good reasons that you should consider sharing online. They are:

• To expose other people to entertaining, valuable, and educational content.
• To make people understand who you are and where their passions lie.
• To cultivate and maintain relationships.
• To become satisfied.
• To promote your brand and your offerings to the right people.

The different kinds of sharers

There are many different kinds of sharers of social media. The main ones are:

Careerists: Careerists are knowledgeable online users who have the ability to recognize how valuable social media really is. They are able (and inclined) to use popular social media channels such as Facebook and LinkedIn to make full use of their profiles and to form valuable relationships. There are many advantages that can be realized through online connections.

Selfless people (altruists): These are people who have a desire to help others. They maintain contact (generally through Email) and they don’t hesitate to pass along valuable information to others who they feel will benefit from it.

Young, modern sharers: These are young, creative online users who are very much into the new, cutting-edge technology tools that are available. Their sharing approach will go beyond Email to the next level. They will share through Twitter, text messaging, and Skype.

Boomerangs: These are people who share their content so that they get a sense of being validated. The more reaction their content invokes, the happier they are. The information is what give them power. They are called boomerangs because something is returned to them after they have made the effort to share their content.

Getting people to share content online

If you can reach your online connections in a way that motivates them on a human level, they will want to share online. It is important to know how to respond to your online connections.

• Keep your language clear and concise.
• Maintain a sense of humor at all times.
• Communicate a sense of urgency whenever possible.

Conclusion

When it comes to sharing content online through social media channels, it is critical to understand that it is not a one-night stand. You really want your content to keep on giving and the only way to do that is to get people to recognize the value of the content that you are sharing. Social media is a wonderful way to do that. People are interesting creatures. There are certain attributes that we all share, including the idea that we all follow some model, we all wish to be in control, most of us are against change, our memories are rather short at times, we have acute visual capacity, and we love to socialize. Oh, and don’t forget that we will make mistakes sooner or later. After all, that is what it means to be human.