How to Format Your Blog Posts to Get More Social Media Shares?
Have you written a well researched and high quality article but were disappointed because it was not noticed?
Also, have you noticed that there are some articles that are not written very well but they have received lots of likes and shares. Well, the reason for this is that even if you have the best content in the world, but if it is inviting, attractive, not scannable, or if it is not well structured, then you are less likely to earn a big response for it.
In this post, I will share why the formatting is important and there are suggestions to format your blog so that it is worth noting.
Why format your blog post-creatives?
According to a Microsoft study, the average focus of the Internet user has dropped significantly from 12 seconds in 2000, to just eight seconds in 2015.
So, you have only 8 seconds to attract a reader and convert a lead into a possible form. Failure to attract a customer can cause huge losses. Therefore, why not format your content and make sure that you do not lose any readers as a formatting, it takes only 10-15 minutes of your time. Apart from this, it is not a rocket science that involves technicality.
While writing articles I use some killer tips that I use.
Practical Tips for Formatting Your Blog Posts
- Scannable:
Make your article easy to browse. Within a few seconds, a reader decides whether he wants to read a material or not. If your content is messy and is not properly structured, then it is highly probable that readers will know how well your content is before you know it.
- Use bullets, lists and highlights:
If you see blogs like ScoopWhoop, BuzzFeed, Entrepreneur, then you will see lots of bullet points and many types of lists. The reason is that:
- List scans and easy to read
- Attract readers’ attention
- It stands out from the rest of the blog posts
In addition to using lists and tablets, you can also highlight important sections or sentences of your blog posts. Your goal should be formatted in such a way that the reader only reads highlights and lists, yet he should be able to get a summary of the article.
- Use the sub-title:
Your sub-headline should be able to tell what is that particular section. For example, in this special post, I have used two major sub-headings, “Why Formatting is Important” and “Killer Tips for Formatting”. By reading sub-headings, it gives you an idea that everything about the section is what it attracts attention to the readers.
Use the title tag wisely in WordPress. The H1 tag is for the blog title. The H2 tag is the sub-title of the H1 tag and the sub-headline of the H3 tag H2 tag.
- Use the right images:
Humans process scenes more efficiently than text. According to Jeff Bulla, 94% more views are obtained than images of images without articles of images. You can use an image, infographic, gifs, memes or screenshots. Use at least one image per blog post. The maximum number depends on the type and relevance of the post.
You can also add captions to the image as it will increase the quality of the content and be more relevant.
In fact, according to Social Fresh, if you want to generate more shares, animated graphics were the best type of images used for your blog post.
- Use the Inverted Pyramid Method:
We have always been asked to start with the foundation of the blog post and then move on to the conclusion. However, it is always better to start with the conclusion and then it is better to move to the body of the blog post. The initial few lines should be explained to the reader why they are reading the post and what is theirs.
- Highlight quotes:
Separate your quote from the rest of your blog post. You can bold it and keep it within the inverted comma. You can also use the plugin to click plugin by the cursor so that readers can tweet it.
This will increase the reach of your blog posts, and you will get more likes and shares.
- Finally use a call to action:
It is important for your readers to know what you want them to do at the end of the post. Do not assume that they will take action without asking it. You can ask them to post a comment, share it on your friends or social media, give suggestions or give them some bonus like free ebooks etc.
The key here is to allow readers to take action before clicking away from your blog.
Do you have any formatting tips in your mind that you use for your blog?
