In a world of viral TikToks and hundreds of millions of blogs, getting your brand to stand out can be difficult (to say the least). Effective online marketing requires a careful strategy, as well as original, high-quality content – and lots of it.
You want to create content to increase brand awareness and reel in potential customers, but you also need to churn out plenty of new ideas to entice your target audience.
The question is, how do you consistently generate fresh content ideas?
At Design Staff, we’ve been in the game for a long time, and we’ve seen countless content planning strategies. As a result, we’ve learned a thing (or two hundred) about content ideation, and we want to share our top tips with you.
If you’re looking to bolster your content marketing strategy with some fresh meat, here are five of the best ways to create timely, engaging materials.
1. Turn to Artificial Intelligence
We know – you’re probably shocked to hear a content marketing team tell you to use AI. Aren’t we proponents of human creativity, not robotic production?
Well, the truth is that we embrace tools like ChatGPT as invaluable assets for marketing. AI is just another weapon in our arsenal, and one that’s extremely adept at analyzing vast amounts of data, identifying emerging trends, and generating popular topic ideas (for any industry).
If you ask us, every brand should be using AI to create new content marketing ideas. This is a great way to come up with topics that will address customer pain points and engage your target audience.
We don’t recommend using AI-generated blog posts without substantial edits and additions, but you can at least use AI tools for creating content ideas that your team can run with. Think of AI as the spark – but it’s still up to your marketers to build a rip-roaring fire.
As of 2023, 61.4% of marketers are already using AI in their marketing activities. At least 44.4% have specifically used AI for content production. In other words, if you’re not using AI tools to at least help create content ideas, you might be falling behind.
2. Keep Up With Industry Trends
Every successful content marketing campaign has one thing in common: relevance.
You won’t win over real customers or search engines with outdated or unoriginal content. If you want to make waves, you need to stay on top of the latest industry trends, as well as social and technological shifts.
To position yourself as an industry leader, figure out how to create content that’s timely and relevant to today’s topics. You can do this by…
Setting Up Google Alerts
Did you know you can use Google Alerts to receive notifications about industry keywords, topics, and even your competitors? This automated tool delivers updates about Google trends directly to your inbox – so you can use that information to influence your content topic ideation.
This is a great way to become the first brand to talk about the latest topic or news story in your industry. More importantly, your followers and customers will learn to rely on you for the “hot” updates and opinions.
Following Industry Influencers and Thought Leaders
Research should always be a big part of your marketing efforts, and that includes diving into the world of influencers and industry leaders. Pay attention to what these noteworthy people are saying via social media posts, discussion boards, and in-person events.
By sticking close to prominent figures in your industry, you’ll have better access to valuable insights for creating content ideas that hit the bullseye.
Using Social Listening Tools
We don’t want you to go too Big Brother on us, but there’s a time and place for listening in on your target audience. Consider using listening tools to monitor conversations, mentions, and hashtags related to your industry on social media platforms.
These tools can provide real-time data on trending topics, pain points, and viral memes – all of which can (and should) play a role in your online content marketing strategy.
Ultimately, keeping up with the latest industry news and trends is one of the best ways to come up with excellent topics.
By incorporating these strategies into your content marketing efforts, you can create a dynamic strategy that helps engage your target audience and positions your brand as a relevant, authoritative voice.
3. Repurpose and Refresh
There’s no need to reinvent the wheel every time you create a new piece of content. In fact, repurposing and refreshing old content can offer a multitude of benefits that help maximize the value of your existing assets.
Take a look at your old blog posts or graphics that used to perform well, but that have fallen by the wayside. Can you take this content and breathe new life into it? Perhaps your team can update it with new information or even transform it into a new form of content.
For example, we often help our clients take a great (but older) blog post and turn it into an engaging infographic to share on social media. Nowadays, many brands are also going through their blog archive and using the topics to feed their podcasts or webinars.
As a bonus, revitalizing your old content can also help your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts. Search engines are continuously updating their algorithms and standards, so it never hurts to go back to old blog posts and other content to make some much-needed updates.
All in all, this strategic recycling of content can be highly effective for re-engaging existing customers, reaching more potential customers, and appealing to search engines like Google.
4. Brainstorm as a Team
Two heads are almost always better than one. If you’re short on content ideas, bring your online marketing team together for an ideation session. This is a superb way to come up with blog content concepts, as well as other new marketing ideas.
Brainstorming topic ideas as a team is crucial for fostering creativity, diversifying your content offerings, and collaborative problem-solving. When you have more people involved, you’re more likely to come up with original ideas – but you’re also more likely to spot content gaps that need to be filled.
Encourage anyone on the team to share any valuable and useful content ideas they might have, even if they’re not sure where they want to go with the concepts. No idea is a bad idea, especially when you’re trying to stand out in a crowded industry.
Don’t forget about your unofficial “team,” either – your target audience.
User-generated content and customer feedback should be a crucial part of any valuable content marketing strategy, including the ideation process. Listen to the pain points they’re talking about, and bring these concepts to the table for group discussion.
5. Peek at Content Competitors (But Don’t Copy!)
Lastly, we’re going to recommend some heavy-duty surveillance – but for a good cause.
Keeping tabs on your direct competitors and their content is an essential part of staying up to date in your industry. Analyze their content strategies, identify gaps, and find ways to put your spin on the topics they cover.
Remember, this is not about copying; it’s about finding inspiration to create content that’s relevant, but that also brings something new to the table – something your content competitors haven’t thought of already.
Competitive analysis is a cornerstone of effective ideation, offering valuable insights and empowering marketers to refine their online content marketing efforts. After all, you can’t come up with truly unique ideas if you don’t know what’s already floating around in your industry.
Continually monitor things like competitors’ blog posts and social media presence. This provides a real-time gauge of industry evolutions and shifts in the preferences of your target audience.
Jumpstart a Successful Content Marketing Strategy
As you update your content marketing efforts and come up with new ideas, keep one thing in mind: your target audience.
What do they want to see, and what have they already seen? What’s vital and relevant to them, and what topics have already been covered hundreds of times?
By tapping into customer insights, the latest trends, and other sources of inspiration, your team can fuel a content marketing engine that continuously churns out valuable material.
Need Help Getting the Ball Rolling?
At Design Staff, we specialize in local SEO services and digital marketing – including the creation of quality content. We’re here to help you address your target audience and their pain points while building brand awareness for your business.
Schedule a FREE strategy call with our digital marketers today. We’ll discuss what it takes to create a compelling content strategy that will get your brand more leads.
