How to Make Your Social Media Content Shareworthy as a Freelancer

Image Source: Unsplash User Robin Worrall

Everyone who freelances knows that in order to stay current and rise above the competition, it’s important to have a strong, professional online presence. That doesn’t just mean having a modern website that’s filled with great content that’s easy to navigate through. Social media profiles are becoming an even more important part of the puzzle. It’s important to figure out how to regularly attract a relevant, engaged audience and the way to do that is to create social media content that people want to not just “like,” but share.

Think about why people share social media content in the first place.

Research is always an important part of any social media plan of action. Start by really breaking down the concept of social media sharing. Aside from funny, entertainment-related content, people generally share things on social media to make some sort of point, either about a topic that means a lot to them, or to gain positive feedback and more followers.

Hint: consider making your social media content a balance between promoting your freelancing work, and sharing fun, click-worthy content that’s directly related to your niche.

Optimize your content for readers who scan.

Perhaps you’ve written what just might be the best social media content of all time. That doesn’t take away from the unfortunate fact that most people just scan content. They like lists, bold fonts, bullet points, and images. The more readable/to-the-point your content is, the better the chances it’ll be shared.

The more infographics, the better.

Of all the types of social media content you could create, none is more shareworthy than the infographic. Why? Because it’s versatile enough that it can perform well across several different social media platforms simultaneously.

Not sure how to create an infographic? These can help:

• Canva’s Free Online Infographic Maker
• Justin Wiesenfeld’s Piktochart post, “How to Create an Infographic and Other Visual Projects in 5 Minutes”

Evoke both thoughts AND emotions.

It’s great to inform and promote, but much-shared social media content often centers around the, “Hey, I remember that!” feeling. A perfect example is Buzzfeed and its nostalgia-inducing lists of ‘80s and ‘90s content.

Don’t forget the contests and giveaways!

If, above all else, your goal is to develop your freelancing brand through social media, then there’s no better way to achieve that than through a contest, or a giveaway.

• If you’re a freelancer in the media industry and are participating in a local event. On Facebook or Twitter, say that for every share of your specified social media post, it’s one entry into a lottery for a gift card, etc., or even free tickets.
• Freelance artist? For every share, it’s an entry to win one of your photographs/paintings, etc.
• For you freelance writers or editors out there, you could offer to write or edit one piece for the shared post lottery winner.

Remember, social media is an ever-changing part of the Internet landscape. What works for a while might suddenly not work at all, and that’s nothing to be discouraged about. Instead, keep learning, keep trying; the chances of your social media content getting shared will be all the greater thanks to your diligence.

Content source: my own blog - please click the image below for the link!