According to marketing expert Jeff Bullas, 72% of all internet users are active on social media. Even the elderly are not lagging behind with 60% of 50-60 year olds and 43% of 65+ year olds active on social media. With over 1.5 billion Facebook profiles, 1 billion Google+ accounts and 550 Twitter users, companies have so much to gain by going social. However, you’ll be spending the money and time you’ve invested in vain if your content isn’t shared. After all, businesses rely on social media to generate leads through existing followers or fans. If they don’t like your content or if it doesn’t make much of an impact on them, they’ll navigate away until they stumble on something worth sharing—perhaps something from your competitors’ page.

If you want to generate leads and ensure your existing clients’ loyalty, you need to know how to make your content shareable. We’re going to tell your how to get your content shared on social media. So read on to find out what it takes to make your content share-worthy and more likely to hit the viral point.

The Type of Content Social Media Users are Likely to Share

One of the factors that can influence your followers or fans to share your content is its type. In an infographiccreated by Dubai-based Go-Gulf, people liked sharing pictures the most. 43% of shared content consisted of images, followed by links to articles (26%), personal recommendations of what users like (25%), news (22%), links to other sites or other people’s posts (21%), and video clips (17%).

You should also take into consideration the platform you’re sharing on. For instance, while sharing photos is popular on Facebook and Google+, text is preferred on Twitter. To give you a better idea of which media goes where, here’s a breakdown of every type of content shared on the top three platforms:

Facebook Sharing in 2013

• 476.95 million images
• 349.60 million comments on daily activities
• 287.82 million links to an article
• 259.86 million videos created by others
• 140.86 million comments on daily activities
• 171.75 million images
• 118.08 million links to blogs
• 109.15 million links to articles
• 97.08 million videos

Twitter Sharing in 2013

• 140.86 million comments on daily activities
• 171.75 million images
• 118.08 million links to blogs
• 109.15 million links to articles
• 97.08 million videos
• 206.74 million images
• 136.42 million links to blogs
• 127.44 million links to articles
• 135.12 million comments
• 124.89 million video clips

Google+ Sharing in 2013

• 206.74 million images
• 136.42 million links to blogs
• 127.44 million links to articles
• 135.12 million comments
• 124.89 million video clips

What Drives People to Share Content

After selecting the type of content your users want to share, you’ll need to determine its purpose. According to Go-Gulf –

• 84% share to support causes they care about
• 78% share information to stay connected with people they don’t usually stay in touch with
• 73% share content that allows them to connect with others who share the same interests
• 69% share media to feel involved in the world
• 49% share information on products they use or like to change others’ opinions or encourage action

It may be tricky to create content that matches these. However, there’s no harm of going a little out of the way to touch on other topics. For instance, when news of Robin William’s death circulated, many companies stopped their marketing operations to add a post in memory of the comedian. They were able to show their human side by sharing their clients’ shock and grief. This sort of participation in current events and issues is one way to interact with your current and potential customers in more organically and personally.

The Golden Rules for Maximizing Your Content’s Sharing Potential

Now that you know the basics, let the following tips help you increase your content’s reach and possibly even make it go viral.

Remember that Identity Formation Affects What Users Share

Social media has become a popular tool for identity formation, or the process of developing a distinct personality. Users are more selective of what they share as everything online reflects on their personality. According to a study at Facebook and Carnegie Mellon University, 71% of Facebook users censor what they share because they fear what others may perceive about their character.

In addition, 84% of the 1,000 surveyed by Inc.com said that they want to show themselves as good friends to people they care about. To these users, sharing is caring. Take this into consideration in your content strategy and create content that connects people to one another when they share it.

Factor in the Devices Your Customers Use

One of the biggest mistakes marketers make is ignoring the mobile device trend.There are over 7.3 billion smartphones and close to 1 billion tablets across the world. According to PewResearch Internet Project, 40% of mobile device users access social networking sites on their phones. Facebook users especially enjoy using mobile devices with 66% of social media sharing traced back to the Facebook iPhone app. Therefore, find out whether the traffic you’re getting is from a computer or mobile device and create content accordingly.

Sprinkle a Little Humor on Your Content

Humorous posts are more likely to grow viral. In the U.S., 85.7% social media users are likely to share funnycontent. Grammary’s Facebook page is good proof of this. If you check the page’s post on December 17, which quotes Robert Frost on writing being an emotional experience, you’ll notice that it has only 133 shares. Meanwhile, a funny post on dog poo posted on December 18 garnered 3,708 shares in just 17 hours. However, make sure not to cross the boundaries of socially appropriate or offensive content, as users will hesitate to share your content.

Make Your Content Look Good on Social Media

As marketers, we understand the importance of visual appeal, so make sure your posts are visually appealing so your content doesn’t end up lost in the crowd. All you need to improve the visual appeal of your posts is a small bit of meta-tag code included in the <HEAD> section of your HTML page. You don’t have to be a skilled IT specialist to get this right. There are numerous tools that you can rely on to do this little task on your behalf. In addition, social media networks such as Facebook offer different tools such as the Debugger, which allows you to see a page’s markup as it appears to the social network.

Share at the Right Time

One of the reasons your shared content may not be getting the attention it deserves is because you haven’t been sharing it at the right time. According SurePayroll’s April 2014 infographic, the best time to share on Facebook is between 1-4pm with the peak time being Wednesdays at 3pm. As for Twitter, 1-3pm between Mondays and Thursdays are ideal with 9am – 3pm being peak time. Finally, 9am – 10am is the best time to post on Google+ while 9am on Wednesday is considered peak time.

Be Selective of the Words You Use

Consider the importance of the words you use. Certain words can influence your clients’ decision-making process according to the July 2014 infographic by Quick Sprout. Make sure to jot down the following words to generate more shares, likes and comments.

• Facebook – Post, When, Where, Warns, Discount, Inspires, Comment, Deals, Take, Submit, Tell Us, Amuses, Would, Should
• Twitter – Social Media, Help, Free, Follow, Twitter, Retweet, Social, Top, Great, New Blog Post, You, 10, Post
• Google+ – Share, Promote, Create, Discover, Increase

With these tips, your content won’t stop at your followers or fans, but will expand to reach a larger audience. Just remember to also track your results to learn which content was shared the most and constantly provide similar, if not better, quality.