Most people are agreed that the old adage is true – if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right! If you’re in the business of creating content, then this should be your mantra. If there’s one thing that Google tells us over and over again, it’s that the best content rises to the top, and the content resembling the ramblings of a semi interested SEO guy going through the motions falls through the floor – and right to the bottom of the rankings pages! Anyone wanting to create good content need think only these few things– is the content they are putting together contagious? Do people want to spread it around? Do others want to read it? Is it something that people will want to show others, and would you want to read it yourself? Here are a few great ways to make sure you’re on the right track.

Evoke Emotion

It may sound easy but it’s anything but. You have to engage people, and the way to do that is to find a reaction. If you’re writing about something boring – and let’s face it, there are plenty of boring topics out there – you have to find an angle that is going to cause a reaction. Think about your subject matter and find an angle that you know will cause people to think. Even if they disagree with your viewpoint, you may well generate discussion, which of course means content being shared, commented on, and linked to. Of course, you have to make sure you are evoking the right emotions – you should be looking to cause amusement, interest, happiness, surprise or delight.

Be Seen

It sounds like an obvious suggestion, but if you make sure the presentation of your content is highly visible it is going to help your response levels. Make sure you include logos, design features associated with your brand, and colours to reflect what you are talking about. You can’t do yourself any harm by promoting your business while you promote individual pieces of content, and any sort of design work that goes into the overall presentation of your content is going to draw people to it. A full page of text never looks very appealing.

Give Away Your Secrets

A great way to get people to share content is by telling them something they didn’t know before. If you can make people feel like they are in on something that no one else knows about, they are going to love to be able to share it. Common knowledge doesn’t travel well, whereas new, exciting information is always enjoyed. If you have an exclusive, shout it from the rooftops, and let it form the punch line of your content. If you can make your readers feel like a part of your team, then they’ll soon do the hard work for you!

Give Your Readers Practical Value

The simple rule of thumb is, the more useful the information you pass on, the more shares you are going to get. In reality this is not a special piece of advice relating to the way the internet works – it’s common sense! If you are giving some fantastic advice, you are going to want to share it to benefit your friends, and it works in just the same way online.

Sometimes getting the most out of your content really does involve getting back to basics. The simple process of making sure your work is useful to the people who read it, as well as ensuring that there’s a great hook and an emotional vein running through your material can send your likes, shares and comments through the stratosphere! Add a few physical embellishments to the page and hey presto! You should have a great piece of content to share!