“Having generated a social media pages for my business a few months ago, I was disappointed with the response. I expected an explosion of interest, but I’m lucky if I’m getting one or two likes. What am I doing wrong?”

Sometimes the most surprising things can go viral. It’s hard to predict and you’re likely to need a crystal ball to foresee the future to be able to tell, but there are a few elements that make up a good share-worthy post.

Promotions

Coupons, giveaways, discounts and deals are always a winner. However people are exceptionally lazy, they don’t want to have to fill in a form with all their details. They don’t want to have to put in too much effort at all and if they do, well the prize better be REALLY awesome like a holiday or a large sum of cash. Competitions and giveaways requiring your followers to jump through too many hoops will fall flat. Just remember to stay within the promotion guidelines for the social media channel you’re using.

Warnings

Product recalls, bad weather and warnings of potentially dangerous situations are often quite widely shared. For example, if you’re in the real estate industry, you might warn about mortgage interest hikes. Emergency service providers may issue weather warnings or traffic updates. Followers love to be thought of as ‘in the know’ and will tag in friends they think your warning may affect.

Advice/Life Hacks

How-to’s are generally very popular. Everyone like to think themselves as an expert, even if it’s information gleaned from social media. Ways to beat the system, simplifying the way things are normally done with thinking outside the box life hacks, and asking for advice are great ways to generate interaction on your social media platform.

Use Funnies

Life is depressing enough without every post being super serious. Don’t be afraid to have a little fun. In New Zealand, Civil Defence, an organisation you wouldn’t associate with funnies, has been having a field day with their social media posts.

Their posts have been going viral and caused a media storm. And what better way to get noticed online. (Word of warning: If you’re a social media manager check posts like this have the thumbs up before posting. Sometimes the big wig may not have a sense of humour).

Inspiration

Quotes with inspirational words to encourage and inspire are a good way to publish photos related to your business with a few rousing words.

Meet the Team

Funny facts and great images of the people who work behind the scenes are always a firm favourite. Many followers will like a page because they know their friend works for the company and having a photo is going to draw comments and shares from the people that know them.