In the era of social media dominance, content is king—but shareable content is emperor. Shareable content is that which resonates so deeply with the audience that they feel compelled to engage with it, repost it, or pass it along to their networks. When paired with influencers, who already command the attention of vast online communities, shareable content can expand a brand’s reach exponentially. However, creating shareable content with influencers requires a strategic approach—one that goes beyond simply sending products for a review or asking for a sponsored post. It involves building genuine, collaborative relationships and understanding both your target audience and the influencer’s persona. This guide will explore how brands can create content with influencers that is not only shareable but also deeply impactful.

1. Understanding the Power of Influencers in Content Creation

Before diving into the process of creating shareable content with influencers, it’s essential to grasp the role that influencers play in the content creation ecosystem. Influencers are individuals who have the ability to affect the purchasing decisions of others because of their authority, knowledge, position, or relationship with their audience. Influencers can be categorized based on their reach, with distinctions such as micro, macro, and mega influencers.

• Micro-influencers typically have a smaller but highly engaged audience (between 1,000 and 100,000 followers), making them particularly valuable for niche marketing.
• Macro-influencers have a larger following (usually between 100,000 and a million followers) and are ideal for campaigns seeking broad exposure.
• Mega-influencers (celebrity-level) have millions of followers and offer vast reach but often come with high costs.

Each type of influencer offers a different benefit, but the key to creating content that resonates across the board is ensuring that the content is both authentic and shareable.

2. Define Your Objectives and Target Audience

Before collaborating with an influencer, it’s crucial to define the goals of your content campaign. What do you hope to achieve? Is your focus on brand awareness, driving traffic to your website, or generating conversions? Each of these goals will dictate the type of content you create and how you approach your influencer partnerships.

Once your objectives are set, the next step is to understand your target audience. What are their interests? What platforms do they frequent? What types of content do they engage with most often? If your audience primarily uses Instagram for lifestyle inspiration or YouTube for tutorials, this should inform your content strategy. Understanding both your audience and the influencer’s community ensures that the content you create is tailored for maximum engagement.

3. Choose the Right Influencers

Choosing the right influencers is paramount. Selecting an influencer whose values align with your brand is vital for creating content that feels organic rather than forced. This is where the power of authenticity comes into play.

• Relevance: Does the influencer’s content align with your brand’s message or niche? For example, if you’re a fitness brand, partnering with a health-focused influencer or trainer would make more sense than partnering with someone in the fashion industry.
• Engagement: An influencer with a large following may seem ideal, but high engagement rates are even more important. Look for influencers who not only have a big audience but also foster strong connections with their followers. Engagement (likes, shares, comments) reflects how much their audience trusts their opinion.
• Authenticity: Choose influencers who create content that feels genuine and relatable. Audiences are becoming more discerning and can often tell when a post is purely promotional. Influencers who integrate your product or service naturally into their daily lives will create content that resonates more with their audience.
• Reach vs. Niche: While reaching a large audience is valuable, niche influencers can often provide higher conversion rates. Niche influencers have smaller but more targeted audiences, which can result in better engagement rates and a more enthusiastic reception to your content.

4. Collaborate on Content Ideas

Once you’ve chosen your influencer(s), it’s time to collaborate on content ideas. This step is crucial to ensure that the content you create is shareable. Keep in mind that audiences are more likely to engage with content that feels natural and resonates with them on an emotional level.

• Leverage Storytelling: Humans are wired to respond to stories. Consider how you can incorporate storytelling into your content. Whether it’s about how the product fits into the influencer’s life or how it helped solve a particular problem, storytelling can make content more relatable and engaging. A compelling narrative increases the likelihood of the content being shared.
• Authentic Product Integration: Instead of creating overly promotional content, allow the influencer to use the product in a natural way. This could be a tutorial, review, or behind-the-scenes look at how they incorporate your product into their life. When influencers authentically use and recommend a product, their followers are more likely to share that content because it feels real.
• Interactive Content: Interactive content, such as polls, quizzes, or challenges, invites the audience to engage actively. You could collaborate with the influencer on a challenge that encourages their followers to create their own content using your product. This creates a viral loop where both the influencer and their audience share content, further amplifying your brand.
• User-Generated Content (UGC): Influencers are often in tune with what their followers love to engage with. Ask your influencer to encourage their audience to create content around your brand, whether it’s using a specific hashtag, participating in a challenge, or sharing their own experiences. UGC is incredibly shareable because it comes from fellow consumers and feels more authentic than branded content.
• Multimedia Formats: Different types of content resonate with different audiences. Video content, particularly on platforms like TikTok or YouTube, tends to generate higher engagement than static images. Instagram Reels, for example, have become a hotspot for shareable content. Partnering with influencers to create short-form videos or long-form content can help to capture attention and increase the shareability of your campaign.

5. Leverage Trending Topics and Formats

Staying on top of trends is another key to creating shareable content. People love to engage with content that’s current and relevant to what’s happening in the world. This could include leveraging:

• Current Events: Tie your content to trending topics, news events, or cultural moments. For example, if there’s a major holiday, event, or social movement, consider how your influencer can create content that aligns with these events in a way that feels natural and relevant.
• Viral Challenges or Memes: Influencers are often the first to jump on viral trends, challenges, and memes. By participating in a trending challenge or adapting a meme to fit your brand’s message, you can increase the likelihood of your content being shared. Ensure that it aligns with your brand values and feels authentic.
• Hashtags: Create branded hashtags that influencers can use to encourage sharing. A catchy, memorable hashtag can help rally a community around your brand and give followers an easy way to find and engage with the content.

6. Encourage Cross-Platform Sharing

Different social media platforms cater to different content types, and what works on Instagram may not work on Twitter, or vice versa. When collaborating with influencers, make sure to encourage them to share your content across multiple platforms.

• Repurposing Content: Ask the influencer to repurpose content across platforms (for example, using the same image on Instagram and Twitter but with slightly different captions or formats). This approach increases visibility and provides an opportunity for the content to be shared on different platforms, increasing its chances of going viral.
• Platform-Specific Features: Take advantage of the unique features that each platform offers. For instance, on TikTok, influencers can create trending sound clips or take part in viral challenges, while on YouTube, longer-form content might be more appropriate. Consider where your target audience is most active and encourage the influencer to create platform-specific content.

7. Track and Analyze Performance

Once the content is live, it’s important to track and analyze its performance to understand what’s working and what’s not. Platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok offer detailed analytics that provide insight into engagement rates, shares, and audience demographics.

• Engagement Metrics: Look at likes, shares, comments, and saves to measure how well the content resonates with the audience. A high share rate indicates that the content is deemed valuable or interesting enough to pass on.
• Conversion Metrics: If your campaign’s goal is to drive traffic or conversions, track the number of website visits, sign-ups, or purchases that resulted from the influencer’s post. Many platforms offer ways to track referral traffic through unique links or promo codes.
• Feedback from Influencers: Don’t forget to check in with the influencer and get their feedback. They may have valuable insights into how their audience is engaging with the content or suggestions for future campaigns.

8. Building Long-Term Relationships

Creating shareable content with influencers isn’t just about a one-off collaboration. Building long-term relationships with influencers can lead to more authentic, consistent, and high-quality content over time.

• Create a Partnership: Instead of treating each collaboration as a transaction, work toward building a mutually beneficial relationship with the influencer. Regular collaborations, where the influencer truly believes in your brand, will help foster long-term loyalty and more organic content.
• Exclusive Experiences: Consider offering influencers exclusive experiences or products that they can share with their audience. These special moments help build anticipation and can encourage more authentic, shareable content.

Conclusion

Creating shareable content with influencers requires a combination of strategy, creativity, and collaboration. By selecting the right influencers, working together on authentic and engaging content, and leveraging the power of social media trends, brands can significantly increase their chances of producing content that resonates and spreads virally. When the content feels authentic, adds value to the influencer’s audience, and aligns with both the brand’s message and the influencer’s personal brand, shareability becomes a natural outcome. Through careful planning, strong partnerships, and continuous optimization, brands can harness the full potential of influencer marketing to expand their reach and create meaningful engagement.