Seven sure-fire ways to ignite your content

If you want to create content that sparks interest, fires up comments and explodes on social media, you need to set yourself apart.

Here’s a few tips I picked up at the Inbound Conference in Boston last week. Since I was one of only three Aussies there, I wanted to share seven gems I learnt.

1. Publish original data

Run a survey or conduct a poll and compile the results into a report.

People like stats, and bloggers and journalists love new studies they can quote in their articles.

2. Be controversial

Take a stand on something topical and only publish half the story. This allows people with opposing views to use the comments section to ignite discussion and debate.

Controversial stories usually get lots of comments and have a track record of spreading like wildfire online!

3. Post content at 7am

This is when fellow content publishers scour the web for new insights to reference in their posts.

It’s also a very popular time for people to be on social media, since many people are on their way to work!

4. Love your existing followers

Give the love first!

If you’re actively sharing content with people in your community, then they are much more likely to reciprocate when you publish a killer article.

Lead with generosity and then you’ll get the boost you need to send your content soaring!

4. Use a catchy title

Many great storytellers, journalists and bloggers swear that you need to spend just as long working on your titles as you do on the actual article. I totally agree.

Whilst the actual article might be identical, a brilliant title can be the difference between an article that explodes and one that doesn’t.

If your great article was a fizzer, simply craft a new title and try again.  If no one read it the first time, no one will ever know you’re recycling!

5. On Facebook, upload photos not links

Rather than embed a link, which creates a thumbnail-sized image, upload the photo and add the link in the caption.

Since the image is significantly larger in the news feed, click through and share rates have been known to skyrocket.

6. Content opportunities surround us

Make the most of everything around you. Take more photos, film videos and write articles whenever inspiration strikes.

When you have a great idea, capture the moment or make sure you save it in your phone for fine tuning later.

7. Ride the wave of breaking news

Follow what’s breaking in news and post an article related to it.

If you attract the attention of journalists looking to report the story further, you may well have thousands of articles referencing you and linking to your website!

This is what David Meerman Scott calls newsjacking!

Many thanks to Pamela Vaughan, Laura Fitton, Dan Zarrella, Ann Handley and David Meerman Scott for the inspirational nuggets I’ve been able to share with you in this article. I suggest following them all on Twitter.

If you’ve got dynamite content and just need some pointers to ignite it on Twitter, you may find this new Twitter Cheat Sheet valuable. It’s our latest free download.