There are millions of people using social media platforms every day. Many are not just logging in a couple of times a day, instead they are checking Facebook the minute they wake up, posting images from their smartphones during the day, catching up with friends at lunchtime and comparing notes with as they watch TV in the evening.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could catch their attention so they share your content with their friends? Lets’ take a look at some ways you could do encourage them to do this for you:

1. Understand your audience

First, you need to get into the mind of the person you want to share your content. What interests them? What are they looking for? Are they the same type of person who will ‘consume’ your more in-depth content and ultimately buy from you or not? For example, you may want to create content that attracts the attention of bloggers who will talk about you with their audience rather than become a direct customer of yours.

Look at the type of content that’s already being shared by your audience. You’ll need to come up with an original idea, but looking at what already works may suggest if you should try images rather than video, or if your audience prefers quick tips to thought-provoking quotes.

2. Design your content with the result in mind

Each piece of content you create should have a goal. For example, the goal of a detailed product description is likely to be to sell that product. The goal of a short report might be to get the reader to subscribe to a mailing list. Think about the types of content you could create where the goal is for it to be shared as widely as possible. This will vary depending on your audience and product, but it’s likely to be light, easy to consume, attention-grabbing and perhaps funny or clever.

Some ideas might be funny images, cartoons or short videos if your audience are consumers. For business you could try planners, ‘cheat sheets’, infographics or quick reference guides.

For inspiration, look for the hot topics of the moment, the burning problems that people want to solve, seasonal trends or what’s in the news.

3. Ask people to share it

It sounds obvious but if you want something you need to ask for it. This can become annoying and pushy, so try not to go too far. But often, small business owners tend not to ask for what they want often enough. Social media is so busy that unless you tell people what to do next they’ll be gone, so don’t be shy!

And finally… don’t forget to include your URL

Sharable content won’t necessarily be shared along with its caption or description, so don’t forget to include a URL – or some other way that readers or viewers can find you – within the content itself. Add your URL in the corner of an image, a slide at the end of a video or a footer to a PDF document.