The Shareability Test
Improve every content idea by asking why its audience would share it.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~days to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 96%
Evaluate content from the audience member's perspective after establishing the core story. First identify the exact person the piece should reach and the value it provides. Then ask why that person would share it with someone else rather than simply consume it. The answer might be that it makes them look informed, helps a colleague, expresses an identity, reveals insider knowledge, or entertains their network. Strengthen the piece around that motive without sacrificing the underlying message. Entertainment is a spectrum rather than a synonym for comedy: mass-market brands may use broad humor, while enterprise brands can use clever industry references, distinctive data, or memorable presentation. If no credible sharing reason exists, revise the format, framing, or insight before publishing.
Origin
Extracted from Marketing Against the Grain during Kipp Bodnar and Kieran Flanagan's discussion of how Liquid Death's entertaining marketing earns attention and voluntary distribution.
Core principles
- 01Useful content is not automatically shareable.
- 02People share content partly because of what it signals about them.
- 03Entertainment can make serious information more engaging.
- 04The appropriate form of entertainment depends on the audience and market.
How to run it
- 1
Define the intended sharer
Specify the role, interests, context, and reputation concerns of the person expected to encounter the content. Avoid using a broad audience label.
Pro tip Picture one real customer or community member when evaluating the idea.
Watch out A piece aimed at everyone rarely gives anyone a specific reason to share.
- 2
Clarify the core story
State the insight, narrative, or practical value before adding jokes or visual devices. Make sure the content deserves attention on substance alone.
Pro tip Summarize the story in one sentence to expose a weak premise early.
Watch out Entertainment cannot permanently rescue an empty message.
- 3
Identify the sharing payoff
Write down how sharing the piece helps the audience member look, feel, connect, teach, or contribute. Select one dominant payoff to guide the execution.
Pro tip Complete the sentence: Sharing this makes the person look or feel more ___.
Watch out Do not confuse the brand's desire for reach with the audience's motivation to distribute.
- 4
Choose the right entertainment mode
Match the presentation to the audience's expectations and the trust required by the category. Use comedy, insider recognition, surprising data, or distinctive visuals as appropriate.
Pro tip In serious B2B markets, clever relevance may be safer and stronger than broad comedy.
Watch out A tone that undermines competence can reduce trust even when it increases attention.
- 5
Run the final share test
Ask whether the target person would confidently send or repost the finished piece and why. Revise or reject it if the answer remains vague.
Pro tip Have a representative audience member explain the sharing reason in their own words.
Watch out Do not publish solely because internal stakeholders find the content entertaining.
In the wild
An enterprise software company publishes original industry benchmarks using memorable charts and subtle jokes recognizable to operations leaders. The report remains rigorous while giving readers an entertaining way to demonstrate expertise to colleagues.
→ Target buyers share the report because it is useful, distinctive, and flattering to their professional identity.
Liquid Death extended its brand through humorous videos and a punk-rock album rather than publishing conventional bottled-water advertising. The material gave fans something entertaining and culturally relevant to pass among friends.
→ Customers could distribute the brand as entertainment rather than as an ordinary product promotion.
Common mistakes
Optimizing only for usefulness
A useful piece may be consumed privately and generate little organic distribution if it offers no social reason to share.
Treating entertainment as comedy
Broad jokes are only one option; specialist audiences may prefer insider knowledge, remarkable data, or clever presentation.
Making the brand the beneficiary
The sharing motive must benefit the audience member, not merely satisfy the marketer's desire for reach.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for marketers developing organic social posts, reports, videos, campaigns, or educational content in crowded feeds.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal for private operational communications whose success depends on comprehension rather than public engagement or distribution.
From the transcript
“why would the person that you are trying to reach share this with anyone else?”
“Does it make them look better?”
“Think about why somebody would not just find your story or content valuable, but why they would actually share it with somebody else.”
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