Winning the Competition for Content Marketing

According to a study by KPCB, the amount of content that people are sharing globally is around two trillion gigabytes. So, whether you're a content marketer or a social media recruiter, you're up against a lot of competition.

What sort of content should you create? And where should you post it to have the best chance of being shared?

I recently went to an expert in the field, ShareThis. They're the ones who created that little button you see on so many blogs and websites (including this one), letting you easily share a post on more than 120 social channels. Their most recent study has some eye-opening findings.

First, the five leading channels for sharing are Facebook, followed by Twitter, which together make up 75% of all internet sharing. Email comes in third, followed by Pinterest and LinkedIn.

But that's only one part of the story. A second study by ShareThis found that Pinterest content is five times more popular for sharing content than Twitter is -- though Twitter itself is a more popular channel. In other words, fewer people visit Pinterest, but those who do share a lot of content. So if you have photos, cartoons, or infographics, you should post them on Pinterest along with Twitter for a one-two punch.

I was also surprised by the latest information on video sharing. 66% of video shares happen through Facebook. 13% are shared on Twitter, with sites like Reddit and Tumblr making up most of the remaining 21%. Once again, it seems that Twitter isn't always the best venue for sharing content. Video creators, take heed.

The findings of both ShareThis and venture capital firm KPCB convinced me that mobile is the future of sharing. Right now, mobile sharing is twice as social as the desktop, and I expect that number will increase. The typical user checks social media on their phone nine times a day, but checks the web on their computer only three times.

50 ways to share content via buttons like ShareThis and AddThis

As always, it seems the only constant is change. 2012 became the year of Instagram, but now it gets fewer photos uploaded per day than Snapchat does. If you want to be seen as a cutting-edge brand, you may need to add Snapchat to your marketing strategy. 

What are other strategic ways of sharing content? Video gets all the attention, but don't forget about audio; 11 hours of sound are uploaded to SoundCloud every minute. So consider creating songs, speeches, and podcasts along with YouTube videos.

It's also time to re-evaluate Facebook likes. They're not the same as shares. Scott Monty, social media director at Ford, recently called likes the "digital grunts" of Facebook: "The like, as far as I'm concerned, is the minimum commitment you can ask from a fan. Likes, comments, shares -- it goes in that order of importance." Keep that hierarchy in mind when analyzing your metrics.

There's real value to a share. EventBrite came up with this breakdown for buying an event ticket: A share on LinkedIn is worth 92 cents; a retweet is worth $1.85; and a Facebook share is worth $4.15. This may mean the era of "clickbait" articles is over, since content that gets clicks and views simply isn't as attractive as that which gets shared (I'm looking in your direction, UpWorthy.)

As for the type of content to produce, Likeable Local's CEO Dave Kerpen recently delineated seven important qualities. The more of these your content has, the more shareable it becomes:
Consistent -- Post regularly so readers know when to expect your content.
Useful -- Find a way to help, educate, or entertain your readers.
Authentic  -- Be honest and real instead of writing press releases for your company.
Emotional -- The most shareable content often tugs our heartstrings.
Where the audience is -- Find the right channels using the statistics given above.
Paid for -- Use sponsored posts on Facebook and promoted tweets on Twitter.
Storytelling -- Tell the true stories behind your company, its leadership, and its employees.

Need help determining what content to create and where to post it? Brandemix has a long history of using shareable content to support marketing, branding, and recruiting campaigns. Contact me if you'd like to know more.

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