Being buzzworthy on social media means different things to different people. To some, it means generating content that gets liked, retweeted or commented on by current fans and followers. To others, it can mean having their content go viral, gaining new fans and increasing blog traffic and sales.
In my opinion, being buzzworthy can be all of these things. It means producing content that strikes a nerve with your fans and followers; so much so, that they can’t help but engage with it and share it with their friends.
Following are 7 principles that are fundamental to being buzzworthy on social media: meaning consistently proving yourself to be worthy of the trust and attention of your online community.
1. Know Your Followers.
It sounds cliché, but understanding the needs, desires and interests of your fans and followers is an absolutely fundamental part of being buzzworthy.
Even the most amazing content can fall flat if it doesn’t ‘fit’ with your audience.
Some questions to ask yourself when you’re planning out your content include:
- What are the pain points and needs of my community?
- What questions are they asking on social media, and how can I help answer these with my content?
- What types of content do they generally prefer? Text, video, image, audio?
- When and where are they most likely to be active on social media?
- What types of content are they most likely to share?
2. Evoke Emotion.
Content that goes viral on social media more often than not evokes strong emotions within its viewers. Some marketers assume this means that their content has to be funny, however that’s only one potential option.
The important thing is that your content makes an emotional connection with its viewers, making some kind of impact on their lives (even if only making them smile for a moment during a really bad day).
Some of the best viral videos and posts evoke a sense of:
- Awe, surprise or wonder (“I can’t believe what I just saw”)
- Joy, happiness or laughter
- Nostalgia
- Pride
- Patriotism
- Feeling part of a global community
As you can see, being buzzworthy goes far beyond a simple funny post or video. Consider how your content can evoke emotions in your community, making their day just a little bit better.
3. Use Visual Content.
While offering different types of content is important, being buzzworthy will always mean incorporating visual content to some extent. Visual content has a way of grabbing attention in a way that text-only content never will.
For instance, did you know that according to Hubspot, [Tweet “Facebook posts with images receive 53% more likes and 104% more comments than those without”]?
Or that videos are shared 12x more than links and text posts combined?
Figure out what types of visual content your community prefers, and then incorporate this into your overall social media strategy. Keep in mind this may mean simply adding visual content to the networks you are currently on; but it also may mean joining new, visually-rich networks like Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube or Vine.
4. Online Influencers Should Be Part of Your Strategy.
Even if you’ve built up a large, loyal community of your own on social media, leveraging the influence of others can significantly increase the reach of your content.
Apart from the obvious benefit of having an online influencer promote your content – having it reach a wider audience – it can play a big factor in increasing the credibility of both your content and of your business.
In other words, if someone who is well known and trusted in your niche promotes your content, it gives you that extra bit of authority and trust by association: “If he or she likes it, it must be good!”
To leverage influencers in your niche, you first need to build relationships with them.
The best time to start this is now! Comment on their posts as your page, promote their content to your audience, and leave thoughtful comments on their blog posts. All of these strategies will enable you to build trust and relationships with key figures in your industry.
5. Be Surprising.
While this may seem similar to #2 – evoking emotion – I am actually meaning something quite different here. Part of being buzzworthy is offering something very different and unique to your fans and followers.
Chances are high that you are not the only business or person in your niche on any given social network. Ask yourself: How can I differentiate myself from my competitors? What are they doing that I can do better? What are they NOT doing that I can do?
Don’t just rely on articles like this one to come up with new ideas and strategies for your content. Dig deep into the recesses of your mind and figure out something new, exciting and engaging based on what you know about YOUR community!
6. Be Personal.
With few exceptions, people want to connect with other people, not with big, nameless, faceless brands. If you want your content to be buzzworthy, let your online community get to know the real you.
Some ways you can do this include:
- Posting pictures of your family or pets
- Showing behind the scenes photos or videos
- Asking for advice or feedback on a situation
- Using emoticons where appropriate
- Signing your Facebook posts with your name
7. Be Authentic.
Perhaps the best advice I can give you for being buzzworthy on social media is to be authentic. In a time when social media is often being used to manipulate people into buying a product or service, being true to yourself and to your values can go a long way to setting you apart from your competitors.
Being authentic means truly connecting with your community, being open and transparent, and providing valuable content that meets the needs of your fans and followers. This helps your community grow to trust you, making it far more likely they will listen to you, engage with you, and share your content. And, when the time comes, it also means they will be far more likely to buy from you rather than from someone they don’t know.
Being buzzworthy isn’t about following a set of rules or best practices. There is no blueprint for ensuring your content gets the attention of your audience or goes viral. However incorporating the 7 ideas above will give you the best possible chance of finding an eager and receptive audience for your valuable social media content.
If you’re looking for more tips, see my posts 3 Ways to Generate Big Buzz With Your Content and 7 Top Secret Fixings for Cooking Up Viral Facebook Posts.
What would you add to the list above? What strategies or principles have you found generate buzz for your social media content? Share below!
Image courtesy of Sean MacEntee under CC 2.0
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Kim, this is right on target and exactly the advice I need to remember to adhere to, as I build my brand and name out there. Thanks for the tips!
Today I am posting a blog post that has nothing to do with my services or business. It’s about putting yourself out there, etc. I had someone read it and they said, “IT’S REAL, it’s personal.”
Great ideas and I really love your reminder to “be personal.” I have unfollowed so many “experts” because their area of expertise is all they talk about. Or they only promote links back to their special offers. Ultimately, Social Media is all about connections and relationships. For me, that includes a lot of personality!
Luv hearing this, Jerry 🙂
Nice tips! Being personal, finding your brand voice, engaging with your audience and using visual content seem easy in theory, but so many businesses fail to put it into practice. Live video is also becoming more prevalent and is expected to draw a significant amount of engagement in upcoming years while allowing users to connect on a more personal level.