How to Make Your Content More Shareable on FacebookMay 2012

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The human brain

When we talk about shareable content,

…we’re talking about the type of information…

…that people want to tell others about.

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The human brain

The urge to share information has always existed.

Sharing is driven, in part, by physiological arousal.

Arousal is controlled by the reticular activating system in the brain stem.

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The human brain

But now, with the rise of Facebook…

…we have the power to share with the world…

…like never before.

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The human brain

Why does this matter?

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THE SEARCH ERA (1998-present)

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The Search Era

People increasingly use Google to find news and

information

News organizations

optimize content to show up in

results

By optimizing content, news organizations have a better

chance of showing up higher in

search results

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The Search Era

The Huffington Post creates a content model built around this idea:

• Produce content people are searching for.

• Optimize content so it has the best chance of appearing in search results.

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The Search Era

Search is still important:

• Google is a top traffic referrer.

• It gives small news organizations visibility it might not have otherwise.

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The Search Era

Search has its downsides:

• Other than optimizing your content appropriately, you don’t have much control.

• Computers are deciding the fate of your content.

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THE SOCIAL ERA BEGINS (Now)

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• 2007: Facebook launches Pages, which news organizations can use to share content with their “Fans.”

• 2010: Facebook begins rolling out its Like, Share and Recommend buttons, which can be embedded directly onto news organization’s stories.

• Suddenly, people have a new way of finding and spreading news and information: their friends and social circles.

The Social Era

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The Social EraPeople discovering news and

information through social more than ever

Some news organizations

are now beginning to select, create and format content that

compels people to share it with

others

And people are sharing news information

more than ever

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The Social Era

“Portals are about impressions, search is about queries, and social is about sharing. It turns out that sharing is a richer, more human currency.”

--BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti

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The Social Era

“Search results are polluted with SEO gaming sites and pages that rank high that are more readable to a robot than a human. Social is avoiding these problems by directly measuring human actions. That is a better signal because humans are what ultimately matter.”

--BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti

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The Social Era

“We’re no longer writing to get the attention of Google algorithms. We’re writing to get you to share it, to digg it.” --The Atlantic Digital Editor Bob Cohn

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The Social Era

“A great headline is just a great headline. It has to be clear; it has to be intelligent. We’re not writing for machines. We’re writing for humans.”

--The Atlantic Digital Editor Bob Cohn

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The Social Era

We are right at the beginning of the Social Era:

• Facebook is closing in on one billion active users.

• Referrals from Facebook are surging.

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A tale of shareability awesomeness

Feb. 16, 2012:

The New York Times Magazine runs a 6,800-word piece about how retailers track their customers.

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A tale of shareability awesomeness

Feb. 16, 2012:Later that day, Forbes privacy reporter Kashmir Hill aggregates (with lots of links back to the original story) the piece in an 1,100-word post on her blog.

Hill’s story gets 27,442 shares on Facebook and 1.5 million page views.

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A tale of shareability awesomeness

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A tale of shareability awesomeness

So how was the Forbes version able

to get 1.5 million page views?

We’ll get to that.

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It’s a story, photo, video, audio or other content type that is written, headlined and packaged in a way that compels people to tell others about it.

Defining shareable content

It’s not just cat photos. News is shareable.

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Top 5 Shared Stories On NPR’s Facebook Page (During Month of February 2012)

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5. California’s Same-Sex Marriage Ban Is Unconstitutional, Court Says

2,845 Shares

Most Shared Stories On NPR’s Facebook Page (Feb. 2012)

• Newsy• Controversial• Compelling

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4. Vermont Inmates Hide Image Of Pig On Police Decals

3,077 Shares

Most Shared Stories On NPR’s Facebook Page (Feb. 2012)

• Funny• Quirky• Intriguing

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3. The Dark Origins Of Valentine’s Day

3,139 Shares

Most Shared Stories On NPR’s Facebook Page (Feb. 2012)

• Quirky• Intriguing• Strange• Relevant

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2. Six-Legged Giant Finds Secret Hideaway, Hides for 80 Years

4,393 Shares

Most Shared Stories On NPR’s Facebook Page (Feb. 2012)

• Quirky• Intriguing• Strange• Unbelievable• Unexpected

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Most Shared Stories On NPR’s Facebook Page (Feb. 2012)

1. In Reversal, Komen To Continue Funding Planned Parenthood

4,711 Shares

• Newsy• Relevant• Controversial• Compelling

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HOW DO I MAKE MY CONTENT MORE SHAREABLE?

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What makes content shareable?

GOOD HEADLINES!

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What makes content shareable?

GOOD HEADLINES!• Put a lot of your creative energy into

writing good headlines.

• A good story with a bad headline will get fewer shares.

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What makes content shareable?

ORIGINALITY!• People share things that are surprising

or different.

• Try to distinguish your content from most others.

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What makes content shareable?

EXCLUSIVITY!• Focus on strong original reporting.

• “News scoops are inherently social content. Telling people something NEW is a great strategy if you want people to share your content.”

--BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti

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What makes content shareable?

LISTS!

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What makes content shareable?

LISTS!1. They help us quickly learn new things.

2. They’re easy to remember.

3. They help answer questions and explain things.

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What makes content shareable?

PHOTOS!

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What makes content shareable?

PACKAGING!• Subheads and block quotes help people

scan through your content.

• Links provide a better user experience.

• Photos and videos and audio give users something extra to look at, watch or listen to.

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A tale of shareability awesomeness

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A tale of shareability awesomeness

“I took a great piece by an excellent reporter and created a version of it that was better for an online audience. This is a big part of what I do as a ‘new journalist.’”

--Kashmir Hill, Reporter, Forbes

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A tale of shareability awesomeness

“The New York Times article is a delicious nine-course dinner; mine is an equally tasty, bite-sized snack for readers on the go. Most readers online are looking for something quick and easy to digest, so my version worked better for them.’”

--Kashmir Hill, Reporter, Forbes

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Headlines

• Not a bad headline, but a little vague.• Probably worked really well in the magazine.• I don’t necessarily feel compelled to read it.

• I feel like I need to read this.• I feel compelled to share it with others.• I have a pretty good idea about what this is about.

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Text

• Times piece is excellent longform journalism, written for the deep reader.

• Forbes piece pulls out the juicy details for the web reader.

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Packaging

• Forbes piece has lots of links, pull-quotes and is easy to scan through.

• Times piece is for deep-diving, not scanning.

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Packaging

• Forbes piece has lots of links, pull-quotes and is easy to scan through.

• Times piece is for deep-diving, not scanning.

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What makes content shareable?

FACEBOOK!

• Think of your Facebook page as your second home page.

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Find a consistent post pace – once every hour, once every two hours, once every three hours – and stick to it. Make it mandatory for your team.

Posting on a consistent, frequent basic everyday throughout the week will help grow your community and force you to find creative ways to share your content.

NPR posts roughly every hour.

Pace

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When you post a link to your content, make sure it has a good headline and is scannable.

Make it look good

• When you post to Facebook, you should edit your station name out of the headline.

• And make sure to delete the URL from the text box.

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Don’t just post the story. Add something -- a question or a quote -- in the text box. It encourages engagement and makes your post more visible.

Use lead-in box to ask questions, add voice

• Michigan Radio Facebook.com/michiganradio

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Don’t just post the story. Add something -- a question or a quote -- in the text box. It encourages engagement and makes your post more visible.

Use lead-in box to ask questions, add voice

• WBUR Facebook.com/wburnews

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Don’t just post the story. Add something -- a question or a quote -- in the text box. It encourages engagement and makes your post more visible.

Use lead-in box to ask questions, add voice

• KPCC Facebook.com/kpccfm

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Interacting with your Facebook following will remind them that there are humans delivering them information.

Respond to comments

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Photos are highly shareable.

Occasionally post photos from stories, but also to give a behind-the-scenes look into your station.

Post photos

4,234 Shares

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The human brain

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The human brain

A recent study published in the Journal of Marketing Research set out to figure out what makes people share information.

The researchers found that sharing is evoked by emotion.

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The human brain

But then they wondered:

• What types of emotions compel people to share content?

• What types of emotions don’t compel people to share content?

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The human brain

What they found:

• Content that “activates” arousal is more shareable.

• Content that “deactivates” arousal is less shareable.

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The human brain

What they found:

• Content that evokes anger, awe, anxiety, surprise, interest is more shareable.

• Content that evokes sadness is less shareable.

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The human brain

Questions?

Eric Athas

eathas@npr.org

@ericathas

617-622-5433