There are countless websites, blogs, and brands doing the rounds on the web, but only a select few ever really make a big splash and fulfill their potential. Why is this?

Simply put, it’s because many brands are somewhat dry and wet. How often have you seen articles on ‘How to Lose Weight’ or ‘How to Make Money Online that don’t have anything exciting or new to say? These marketers should ask why anyone would be interested in subscribing to that content!

Meanwhile, the posts that do well on social media are the ones that are highly unique, very niche, or even quite controversial.

The posts that try to please everyone will end up not making much of an impact on anyone. At the same time, those with something obvious to say to a particular type of person will do well. And there’s an excellent reason for that…

The Psychology of Sharing

A post will do well on social media when it gets shared. Suppose you can create an article or a blog post that gets shared by all your followers and all their followers. In that case, you will have a chance of going viral – essentially, breaking one million readers and potentially exploding.

So why do we share? Here, it’s helpful to remember what social media is on a fundamental level. Social media is a communication tool, meaning people use it to express themselves or communicate something with someone else.

This is true of sharing too. People tend to share content for one of two reasons:

A) It says something about them. They like it so that other people will see it on their wall and know what’s on their minds.
B) It says something about a friend. They share it with a friend to show they’re thinking of them, or perhaps as a joke.

An Example

So let’s take an example. If you write a post on ‘How Working From Home Turns Your Brain to Mush,’ this will instantly appeal to people who work from home and want to learn more about the impact that might have on them.

If they agree with your post, find it interesting, or find it funny, then they may go on to share it on their wall. In doing so, they are reminding their friends that they work from home and maybe trying to help them understand a bit more about who they are.

Meanwhile, your post might also get shared by people who have friends who work from home. These people will share your content to demonstrate that they understand their friends’ plights as a way of poking fun or to show that they’re thinking of them.

But this only works because your content appeals to a specific type of person. Don’t be afraid to narrow down and potentially exclude others. That’s how you become a brand with something valuable to say.