Understanding why people choose to share content sheds light on how you can adjust your strategy and carve out a competitive edge by embedding shareability into everything you create. Think about content you recently shared. Why did you do it? Do any of these reasons ring true?
- It made you look cooler, smarter, funnier, or more relevant—providing you with a personal psychological benefit.
- The content struck some strong emotional chord. It made you laugh, cry, or otherwise feel something so profound it deserved to be shared with others.
- It’s practical or timely. Sharing the content will help and inform your friends.
- You found a new idea and can’t wait to be the first to share it.
- You feel deeply connected to the author and you want to support them.
- It represents an achievement. Maybe you or your company were mentioned in the content and it makes you feel good to show this representation of your status.
– from “The Content Code” by Mark Schaefer
