Three scientific ways to get your fans to spread the word

Dan Zarrella does it again.

The social and viral marketing scientist who brought you the science of retweets has turned his attention to what makes blog postings and articles go viral on Facebook.

Here’s what he’s learned:

1. Keep it simple.

The lower the reading grade level of the article headline, the more likely it is to get shared on Facebook, Zarrella’s research shows. For instance, headlines written at the:

• Fifth-grade level got shared 15 percent more often than average
• Ninth-grade level got shared 10 percent more often than average
• 15th-grade level got shared nearly 20 percent less often than average

2. Numbers count.

Publication headlines with numbers sell stories. That’s because they promise quantity and value. (Oddly, odd numbers sell better than even ones.)

The same thing’s true in social media. Add a numeral to the headline for your blog posting, and it will make the rounds more widely on Facebook.

“In a wide range of marketing arenas, digits have been shown to perform very well,” Zarrella writes. “They tend to help conversion rates in the form of prices. And on social news sites like Digg, ‘Top 10’ style posts have always done well.”

In Zarrella’s research, blog posting and article headlines:

• Including the numerals 1 through 9 got passed along 1.25 percent more often than average
• Without digits got shared nearly .75 percent less often than average

3. Publish on the weekend.

People post fewer articles on Facebook on the weekend. But the stories that do get posted on Saturday and Sunday get shared more often, on average, than those that get posted during the week.

Why?

One reason is that more than half of U.S. companies block Facebook, so people can only use the social network at home, Zarrella says. Also, the mainstream Facebook audience doesn’t use Facebook for work.

Zarrella found that pieces posted on:

• Saturday get passed along nearly 40 percent more often than average
• Sunday get shared more than 15 percent more often than average
• Weekdays get shared about as often as or a little less often than average

“If you want your article to be shared on Facebook,” Zarrella says, “try posting it on the weekend.”

Check out Zarrella’s Facebook-sharing research methodology.

Reach readers online

Want to get the word out via email and other online vehicles?

• Rev Up Readership members: Read the whole article.
• Invite Ann’s team in to handle an online writing or editing project.
• Bring Ann to your organization for a Web writing workshop.
• Work with Ann to polish your skills with one-on-one writing coaching.
• Get dozens of tipsheets on writing better Web copy on RevUpReadership.com.
• Study Ann’s Reaching Readers Online system.
• Find out about Ann’s next Web writing workshop or webinar.

About Ann Wylie

Ann Wylie is president of Wylie Communications Inc., a training, writing and consulting firm. She works with communicators who want to reach more readers and with organizations that want to get the word out. Wylie is the author of RevUpReadership.com, a toolbox for writers, and Wylie’s Writing Tips, a free e-zine. She has earned more than 60 awards, including two IABC Gold Quills, for her work.

Copyright © 2011 Ann Wylie. All rights reserved.