Sharables are the river on which word of mouth flows.  They are the "stuff" that people use to talk about your brand/service/product in conversation.

In the offline world, we see examples of sharables all the time.  Eco-friendly grocery bags, coupons inside your Amazon box, even the free stationery you get at your hotel – these are all designed to encourage you to talk and share something about the brand. 

Online sharables are just as easy, fun, and vital to create as well. Here are a few examples.

EXAMPLE 1
Nearly every conference these days has a social media component.  In this example, the organizers for the Sakai conference set up tags ahead of time and encouraged attendees to use them.  That way, word of mouth around a particular topic or event can more easily flow. 

EXAMPLE 2
Your PR department has probably already created a hub for press materials like stock photos and B-roll footage. The goal is to make it easier for the working press to access materials that used to be difficult to obtain on a deadline.  Why not share it with the world and let ordinary people have access to the same material? 

In this example, that's exactly what Mayo Clinic has done.

EXAMPLE 3
The National Honey Board actually makes it fun to share.  They've created a slew of cute clip art and made it freely available without having to go through a rigorous registration system in advance.

Is a blogger going to use this in their Web site?  Maybe.  Would a parent print it out for use on a playdate, thereby exposing the brand to several other parents (potential consumers) in the process?  Definitely.

Bottom Line
All of these examples prove that creating a sharable doesn't have to be hard.  Just make it fun, simple, and easy for your advocates to pass along to their friends and colleagues.

Learn More
Social media sharable tags from the Sakai conference
Stock photography and B-roll footage from Mayo Clinic
Clip art from the National Honey Board

Your Turn
Do you have other examples?  Please share them in the comments.

More about Michael:
Twitter: @merubin
LinkedIn: Michael E. Rubin