6 Tips to Creating Content That Gets Shared
Patrick McFadden • July 10, 2013
Let’s face it effective social media marketing amounts to your content being shared and with the massive amount of noise out there it’s tough to break through the clutter. Just on Facebook alone 30 billion pieces of content are shared each month. This includes blog posts, links, news stories and photo albums.
According to HubSpot’s Dan Zarrella there are three things must happen to get your content shared.
- People must be exposed to your content (be a fan on Facebook or follow you on Twitter).
- They must be aware of your content (meaning they actually see it).
- They must be motivated by something in your content to share it.
Here are six tips to keep in mind when creating content that gets shared:
- Appeal to your audience’s key motivation. Marketing 101 says that you focus on the problems and desires of your prospects, and match those up with your content.
- Tell a story. This has always been a key component for businesses to get talked about and remembered. Social media provides a way to tell stories at scale and tell them with a picture, a thirty or six second video shot with an Android phone or iPhone, or a status update, or a tweet.
- Trust is the foundation. At the heart of every transaction is TRUST. Trust is all about developing a rapport. People share who they trust.
- Keep the message simple. The fact is we are inundated with content. People are starved for time and as such they greatly respect and value short to the point messages.
- Appeal to emotions. We are emotional creatures and what appeals to us are the things that make us feel healthier, or wealthier, or wiser. Owning the emotional equity is what social media is all about, especially since you are more connected to your fans, customers, and supporters than ever before.
- Create a sense of urgency. In the post “Make your product or service presentation succeed while all others fail” I mentioned that you must invest time in destroying and slandering and dismantling the status quo. Once your audience understands how the current situation can’t help but decay, and ultimately fail, they’re far more likely to listen to your offering. Your content is the same. Focus on whats broken now and you create a sense of urgency.
Question: Did any of these tips surprise you?
Understanding platform intent, sales cycles, and what actually works in high-ticket home services
1. The Challenge: VMI was like many service providers — positioning their value around what they thought clients wanted : “Office furniture installation and assembly — let us handle creating your perfect workspace.” But the actual buyers — facility managers, project managers, furniture reps — weren’t looking for “perfect workspaces.” They were trying to avoid installation nightmares . Their real priority? ✅ Great installation days. ✅ No chaos. ✅ No missed deadlines. ✅ No angry phone calls from clients. 2. The Insight: After conducting stakeholder interviews under our marketing strategy consulting engagement , the Indispensable Marketing team uncovered critical feedback: “We need installers who maintain a professional site and follow instructions.” “We lose relationships when installations go badly.” “I need quotes back quickly or I can’t sell the job.” This wasn’t just about services , it was about trust, problem-solving , and professional reliability . So we reframed their differentiators not by what they did, but how they showed up : Same-day project quotes Problem-solving on-site Update protocol with clients Professionalism guarantee Lasting Impression Insurance 3. The Shift: We shifted the positioning from vague benefits to real-world, emotional triggers : Instead of: “Let us create your perfect workspace.” Now: “Get the perfect installation day, every time.” That subtle shift aligns with who’s actually buying (and who feels the pain when things go wrong). The end-user may care about the workspace. But the buyer cares about the install . 4. The Lesson for Others: If you’re selling a service, don’t describe what you do. Describe what the client wants to avoid or achieve — and who the real buyer is. Then, systematize what you’re already doing well and give it a name. Just like our team did with: “Same Day Quotes” “Lasting Impression Insurance” “Reliable Presence Protocol” 5. The Outcome Within weeks of updating their messaging and positioning: The company reported more qualified leads asking the right questions Furniture reps began referring them because they were “easy to work with and made them look good” They were shortlisted for larger, multi-phase projects due to increased confidence in their process But most importantly, they stopped competing on price — because they weren’t selling perfect workspaces anymore. They were selling peace of mind on installation day.
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