Content serves as an important marketing piece for any brand.  It’s without a doubt a necessity especially when it comes to visibility and awareness.  So, you have a website or blog and wondering how you can drive more targeted traffic.  Perhaps you’re fairly new to blogging and just barely getting your feet wet.  An important element to remember here is that publishing fresh content consistently on the web helps contribute towards the establishment of an authoritative status within a specific niche.

You’ve been starring at your Google Analytics for an hour now analyzing the last post you wrote.  Yeah, that’s the one that got you 1 single visit.  It’s frustrating, trust me I know.  The fact of the matter is online users hate reading boring content.  It puts them to sleep and surely would have the same effect on you in a reversed situation.  So, what can you do about getting your content shared on the web by others?

  1. Compelling Headings – these are tough to come up with it, without a doubt.  I’ll be the first to confess to that.  Sometimes the creativity just isn’t there.  Perhaps some resources and research can help you come up with something unique.  Just remember that main headings of your articles serve of the utmost importance.  They grasp and hook your audience while providing a glimpse of what the content may be all about.  Think twice before you stick something up there.
  2. Content Sharing Features – ah, yes this one’s of huge importance.  The contents of your blog post may be of great significance or relevance to the readers but if they can’t share it on the web it doesn’t really matter.  A few of the most common share buttons are Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google +1, StumbleUpon and Digg.  Contingent upon the infrastructure of your website the accomplishment of this may be technically challenging.  If so, seek the expertise of a web development specialist to assist you in this task.  The additions of such social sharing features will enable your readers to distribute content from your website onto social networks.  Therefore giving it more exposure and generating additional traffic for you.
  3. Good Information – as I mentioned above content  has taken a drastic turn of things.  Well, a positive one though.  Being too plain and boring doesn’t really provide much of a value to your readers.  Discuss a topic or subject that hasn’t been touched upon just yet.  It’s difficult to do especially when you’re running short of good ideas for fresh content.  Re-purposing of content works to an extent and should be exercised with great caution.  Don’t copy and paste the whole thing, literally.  Pinpoint main area of interest and express the same objective in a different tone, voice or overall messaging.  The web contains tons of content on the same topics and subjects although expressed from a different perspective.  Keep your readers interested by providing some value or an incentive.  Use your imagination on how extreme you want to get with this.
  4. Be Influential – building an influence definitely takes some hard work.  Although in the reality of things most internet users surround themselves with influential figures or brands.  There’s several ways you can do this.  You’ll need to apply yourself proactively in the social media realm in order to build a following.  Whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube or any other social avenue the concept remains same.  Once you’ve established a solidified following don’t be afraid to flaunt it.  Consider adding authoritative badges on your blog or website to support your influential status on the web.  It helps build status with new and existing fans.
  5. Write/Blog/Record Video Often – for most bloggers it’s challenging enough to write consistently let alone fall into some sort of a pattern or sequence.  Although in all honesty such consistency definitely contributes towards the frequency of content sharing.  There’s really no specific timeline or time frame for blogging except the fact that the more often you do so the better your chances are for getting that content shared.  It’s safe to set a benchmark of at least two blog posts a week to be published on your blog.  If you can do more, great although it’s highly recommended for optimal visibility and content sharing opportunities that you provide new content as often as possible. Having said that consider getting yourself setup on YouTube if you don’t already have a channel there.  It’s the second largest search engine in the world with plenty of untapped potential in any industry.  Same concept for increased content sharing applies to video blogging.  There’s a common fear of being in front of a camera though and if that’s you, well sorry but can’t help you there.

Getting your content shared on the web definitely takes some serious time and effort.  It all boils down how much much you’re willing to invest so you can position yourself as a though leader within your your niche, industry or vertical market.  What are the rewards of getting your content shared on the web?  Well, for starters there’s targeted leads, thought leadership, influence, building a following and much more.  Writing may not be your forte although it’s something that can be managed and improved upon.  Think of it like other things that you’ve done in your Life that may have presented a challenge.  How about learning to crawl before you could walk?  You get the point.