The 7 PrinciPles of

how To Make conTenT shareableSocialdesign

It’s All Word

of MouthB y J o h n

B e l l

The 7 PrinciPles of

how To Make conTenT shareableSocialdesign

Is the content

valuable to the end

user in some way?

Entertainment has

value, but so does utility.

In either case, you need

to understand what your

audience values rather

than just assuming

they have an innate

fascination in your brand

talking about itself. ValueExchAngE

The 7 PrinciPles of

how To Make conTenT shareableSocialdesign

ideasDIsruptIvE

We stop to notIce ideas

or concepts that challenge

our understanding of the

way the world works. The

Museum of Memory and

Tolerance in Mexico asked

the question “what if

tweets that discriminated

against races and genders

were bullets aimed at the

heart of Mexico?” A social

media fueled paint gun

stained the word “Mexico”

every time someone

posted a discriminatory

tweet. This social data-

driven demo shocked

citizens around the hate

speech going on around

them.

The 7 PrinciPles of

how To Make conTenT shareableSocialdesign

sTorygrEAt

so many of our decIsIons

are based upon emotional

drivers, not the rational

features and benefits of the

latest widget. Great stories

are not only dramatic, they are

also emotional. Our team in

Amsterdam created a deeply

emotional story—for funeral

insurance, of all things—

when they asked people to

share what they would want

to tell a loved one before

they died. These stories are

so emotionally touching, we

want to pass them along and

reach out to our own parents,

favorite aunt, or close friend

to tell them how important

they are to us.

The 7 PrinciPles of

how To Make conTenT shareableSocialdesign

freshIntErEst

What Is neW or

InterestIng about a

topic? Finding that fresh

area of interest when you

are launching a product

that’s not as sexy as the

next Tesla Roadster is

every marketer’s job.

People want news they

can share around the

vending machine at work

or via their Twitter handle.

The 7 PrinciPles of

how To Make conTenT shareableSocialdesign

ProofsocIAlWhen We see others

doing something, we

are often more apt to

make that same choice

ourselves. Why else

do we have counters

next to Tweet icons or

Facebook tallies that

tell us how many others

have already thought that

content valuable enough

to share? The beauty of

Facebook advertising

is that the ads tell me

which of my friends find

a product interesting

enough to “like” it.

The 7 PrinciPles of

how To Make conTenT shareableSocialdesign

I Wrote a chapter

In the ebook

“Social@Scale.” Since

I participated and

was able to be highly

creative—those were my

words and thoughts—I

am now far more likely

to pass that content

along. Nutella has

applied that principle

to its product label as

content. In Belgium

and other countries,

users can customize the

iconic product label with

their name in place of

the logo and have that

product delivered.

creaTiVepArtIcIpAtIon

The 7 PrinciPles of

how To Make conTenT shareableSocialdesign

siMPleADvocAcy

When We make It

sImple and then

actually ask people to

share, they aremore

likely to do so. Reducing

the number of button

clicks it takes to share

a white paper is worth

sweating bullets over.

And don’t forget the ask.

The 7 PrinciPles of

how To Make conTenT shareableSocialdesign

lIke most good suIts, shareable

content doesn’t come off the rack ready-

made. But if you start weaving the fabrics

of these principles together, trimming

a little length here, broadening the

shoulders over there, you can wind up

looking like a million bucks.

The 7 PrinciPles of

how To Make conTenT shareableSocialdesign

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