As a marketer, one of the biggest challenges you’ll face is constantly coming up with fresh, engaging topics to post about. We’ve all been there – staring at a blank screen or piece of paper, desperately trying to think of something, anything, that will capture your audience’s attention. But fear not…with the right content creation and ideation techniques, you can kiss those creative droughts goodbye and keep the ideas flowing freely.
Let’s dive into some proven strategies for never running out of cool things to give your followers!
Your audience should be the driving force behind all your content efforts. What are their biggest pain points, challenges, and frequently asked questions? Make a list of these and use it as a springboard for topic ideas that provide value.
You can also dig into your website and social media analytics to see what types of existing content resonate most with your audience. Do certain subjects get more engagement, comments, or shares? Those are clear signals for the kinds of topics you should keep exploring.
What’s happening in your industry or niche? Are any new studies, regulations, product launches, or hot discussions happening? Capitalize on current events by offering your unique perspective and insights.
Subscribe to top publications and influencers, join relevant online communities, and set up Google Alerts for your core topics. When something buzzworthy happens, you’ll be ready to create timely, newsworthy content while it’s still fresh and relevant. Some of my faves are Social Media Today, Later.com, and HeyOrca’s weekly social update newsletter.
You have a wealth of content ideas surrounding you every day – your coworkers, peers, friends, and social media connections. Don’t be afraid to pick their brains! Ask them about the challenges they’re facing or the topics they’d find valuable.
For bonus points, you can even run ideation sessions where people pitch ideas and build upon each other’s concepts. The group atmosphere can spur creativity like wildfire!
If you’re regularly creating SEO content, keyword research can be a goldmine for uncovering popular topics and content gaps to fill. Use tools like Google’s Keyword Planner, SEMrush or Ahrefs to see what types of terms your audience searches for.
You can also scan the “People Also Ask” and auto-suggested search results in Google for inspiration on the specific angles and questions to address.
Having a huge content archive is a double-edged sword. On one hand, you have tons of topic fodder to draw from. On the other hand, that older content can quickly become outdated or redundant.
Do a periodic content audit to identify posts that could use a refresh, either with updated information/stats or a new angle or perspective. You can even break up longer posts into shorter pieces or combine several into one ultimate guide.
In our AI-powered world, there are handy tools that take the grunt work out of topic brainstorming. Tools like Answer The Public aggregate common questions around keywords, while Portent’s Content Idea Generator draws upon Reddit for content premises.
You can also try AI assistants like ChatGPT, Claude, or Jasper to generate long-form content outlines and premises based on simple prompts. Just be sure to put your own unique spin and fact-checking on anything an AI produces.
Some of the best content stems from real conversations happening around you every day. Maybe it’s a question from a client, an interesting discussion on a podcast, or an “aha!” moment from teaching others.
Keep a running list of these gems whenever they come up. Conversations are fertile ground for identifying the topics, pain points, and knowledge gaps that people genuinely care about.
Content ideation isn’t just about blog posts and articles. What about creating videos, infographics, checklists, worksheets or other multimedia content types? Taking a multimedia approach instantly expands your creative playing field.
And don’t forget about repurposing – you can extract mini-campaigns worth of content from a single ebook, webinar or long-form piece. Break it up into bite-sized pieces optimized for different formats and distribution channels.
This last one is both a blessing and a curse for content creators, but hear me out. Sometimes the most fascinating ideas come from going down research “rabbit holes” and letting your curiosity run wild.
Start with a broad topic that interests you, then start consuming related content and following the trail wherever it leads – cross-referencing sources, exploring tangents and building out mind maps of ideas. You’d be surprised where these curiosity odysseys can take you!
As you can see, there’s no shortage of techniques for generating an endless stream of content ideas. The key is to develop a habit of always being on the lookout for inspiration from the world around you.
Pay attention to conversations, immerse yourself in your industry’s trending topics, audit your existing assets, and don’t be afraid to go down an occasional research rabbit hole. With some creativity and the right approach, that idea machine will never quit churning!
And of course, if just the thought of sustaining a never-ending content strategy gives you a headache, we’d be happy to put our ideation skills to work for your business!
At Socialfly, our team of expert content strategists can craft a customized content roadmap to keep your audience engaged and position your brand as an industry authority. So why not take a load off and let us put our expertise into action? Reach out today to see how we can propel your content marketing success.
Written by Brooke Monroe, Content Strategist and Copywriter