magine this scenario: You spent sleepless nights crafting the best content you could probably produce. However, a day or two after hitting the “Publish” button, your content didn’t take off. It was radio silence.

What could have gone wrong? It is because you’re lame when it comes to content production? Does your target audience even exist?

The thing is, it’s possible that your content is drowning in the sea of other content. It’s called content saturation. This can also lead to less social shares, that’s why your content isn’t getting the eyeballs it deserves.

But don’t worry, here are 10 hacks you can apply on your blog post to boost its social shares.

1. Research on trending topics

According to Neil Patel, “relevant, pressing, breaking news” is the type of content that gets the most social shares.

Breaking news is so fast-paced and usually takes a short 24-hour cycle. What’s the hot topic today may not be the talk of the town tomorrow. Nonetheless, capitalizing on trending topics can give your blog posts that social buzz it needs.

This is where Google Trends comes in handy. It gives you the trending topics, new stories, and insights in a particular country at the moment.

You can comb through the trending headlines, and see how you can incorporate it on your blog.

Take a look at this HootSuite post back riding on the popularity of Game of Thrones for inspiration.

2. Create shareable content

Alexa’s Jennifer Yesbeck once pointed out that “To get as many eyes as possible on your content, it needs to be shareable.”

However, a relatable topic is what makes content shareable. In fact, a study by a team of UCLA Psychologists revealed that humans are compelled to share content when it resonates with them.

As humans, we think that whatever information matters to us will also matter to other people. Especially for our family and friends.

Good thing, you don’t have to guess what topic would resonate well with your readers. You can use websites like BuzzSumo to look for shareable content. That way, you can easily come up with a blog post ideas that your readers are likely to share.

3. Ask influencers to contribute

There are people in your niche that your target readers deem as thought leaders. And having these influencers share your content can go a long way.

If you want to ask for their help in terms of content marketing, you can start by asking them to answer one question.

For example, ask their number one tip in creating shareable content. Collect and list their answers, and turn it into a blog post. Let the influencers know as soon as you publish your content so they can share it with their followers. And then wait for the traffic to flood your site.

Just keep in mind a few things:

1. Be familiar on the movers and shakers in your niche
2. Share some or interact on their posts
3. Reach out to them when the time is right

4. Network with fellow bloggers

Doing everything on your own can be challenging. But just because you can do everything doesn’t mean you have to.

Blogger networks on various social channels can help your blog post get as many social shares as they can.

You can start by joining blogger groups on Facebook. Or, you can start your own group!

Remember, though, that some groups have rules. You can only share your posts on a particular day or thread. There are also groups that only cater to blogs in a particular niche.

However, don’t go crazy with joining blogger network groups on social media. It’s important that you are mindful with what you share on these social media groups. After all, people are only compelled to share information that matters to them.

Not to mention that not following the group rules could mean getting banned from it.

5. Publish at “best times”

Sure, a relatable topic is what makes content shareable. However, timing also plays an important role in your blog post’s social media success.

According to Melanie Tamblé, it is import to post the right content at the right place and time.

“If only 10% of your followers are online, only 10% of your followers will get the chance [to] see your post. In reality, it will be even less. Most of your valuable content is likely to go down in a constant flow of social media streams. If, on the other hand, 50% of your followers are online, your chances are much bigger than people will actually see your post.”

While there are a lot of posts suggesting when is the best day and time to share your content per channel, we suggest that you look into your social media analytics (i.e. Facebook Insights and Twitter Analytics). These tools show when your followers are most active, even the type of content that they like best, giving you an idea on what to post and when to post it.

6. Produce visual content

According to John Medina, people can remember 10% of the information they heard even after three days. But when a sound is paired with an image, they can retrieve 65% of the information after three days.

In addition, visual content can generate 94% more views on social media. That’s because people prefer to engage with content that’s both informative and visually appealing.

When sharing your blog post on social media, make sure that it’s something relatable and pleasing to your audience’s eyes. That way, you can maximize your content’s social shares.

7. Add “highlight and share” plugin

The Highlight and Share plugin is a popular WordPress plugin for highlighting and sharing content on social media.

How can this plugin help your social media marketing efforts?

For one, it allows your readers to personalize how they share your content on their social media accounts.

Sure, writing a regular status update on your Facebook account can attract readers to your blog. However, letting readers share a highlighted text from your post gives their network more context on what your blog is all about.

As pointed out by Jason Daszkewicz, “When users read a quote from a particular post, they share it with their friends and followers, thus, increase your chances of increased blog traffic.”

8. Use scrolling social share buttons

While installing social media buttons is a known hack, a lot of bloggers are getting this wrong.

Some bloggers only attach the social media buttons on the top or bottom of their content. Meaning, the more readers scroll down on your content, the less likely are they reminded to share it on social media.

The solution for this is a scrolling social share button. A minimalist block of social buttons will follow the reader down the page, making sure that it’s there when he or she feels like sharing your post.

Remember: You need to constantly push your readers to share your content.

9. Leverage social proof

Social proof can impact your blog depending on how you handle it. After all, it is a double-edged sword.

Social proof shows how compelling of a content creator you are. However, when your post shows a low number of comments and social shares, your readers are less likely to engage.

To prevent this, Adam Connell advises that you only show your social share counts when it’s more than a certain number.

10. Hire a social media agency

When your social marketing efforts keep on failing, you might want to consider hiring a social media consultant or agency.

There are many reasons to ask for the help of a social media agency. However, Voymedia advice “to pick an agency that would analyze where your efforts currently bring you, and then make some adjustments based on your goals and the results of the analysis.”

There is no denying that social media is integral in promoting your blog. Nonetheless, it’s more important to use it strategically than to take advantage of it thoughtlessly. By following the steps we mentioned above, you should be able to see results you need to help increase your blog’s readership.