Page 66 - The Content Code: Six essential strategies to ignite your content, your marketing, and your business - PDFDrive.com

attribution, and then give it your own spin:

What did you learn from this new research?
What new ideas did this enable?
Was the research done correctly, or is there a problem with the
methodology you need to highlight?
How can the research be practically applied to problems in your industry?
What surprised you? What doesn’t make sense? How does the research
provide a new world view?

All of these personal spins on data can make compelling original content
highly valued by your most passionate audience members.

18. Encourage comments.
People who care enough to leave comments on the content you publish are also
highly likely to share it with their networks. If they spend the time to leave an
opinion on your work, they want the world to know it, too! To the extent that
you can encourage comments, you’re encouraging social sharing.

Here are some easy ways to encourage people to comment:

End your post with a question. People hate an open-ended post and are
more likely to close the loop by answering your question in a comment.
Ask specifically for comments. In Chapter 7, I cover the importance of
comments and social proof, but prime the pump by asking a few friends and
work colleagues to leave a comment. Comments spur comments. People
feel better about leaving their views when they see they’re not standing all
alone in the comment section.
Mention influencers with large audiences in your post and link to their
content. Most of the time they will be “pinged” when someone links to their
content, but don’t be afraid to let them know the link exists. They’ll
probably share your post.
Notify potential commenters. Send an email to people in your industry who
would be interested in your post. You need to use this method judiciously—
you can’t keep going to the well until it’s dry! If they trust you and the
request, you’ll almost certainly earn a comment and a share from these
connections.

19. Tap into FOMO
Many people are obsessed with being constantly connected to the web due to a