Content marketing isn’t exactly a walk in the park. If you’ve ever made a content calendar to help ease your way into a bigger content marketing plan or strategy, you already know that when you’re just starting out for a new blog or website, it’s pretty easy. Just think about what there is to write, write it, and the publish it. Rinse and repeat until you’ve got a nice pile of blogs posts.
The real trouble doesn’t come until you’re a little later into your strategy. When that comes is really dependent on your niche – some have content that can keep you writing for years. Others? Well, good luck after the first few weeks when you’re scrabbling around, devoid of ideas with a huge deadline laughing in your face.
That’s when those ideas start to dry up, especially ideas which offer visitors engaging, unique, and informative helpful content that’s also interesting. Suddenly, you’re bone dry and there’s no water in the content desert. Your best ideas are horrible rehashes, and you’re driven to despair because this is it: you and your flagship brand have reached the end of the road.
Well, hang on a minute. It’s not that bad.
Instead, you’ve got to learn from the masters. Some of the best laid plans and strategies in content marketing mix it all up, promoting things that need to be shared, or help their audience to solve a common issue, or simply builds the reputation of their business.
But still – you need a content plan to really help you navigate these hard times – and ideally one so you can kinda autopilot it for a few months. Here are a few areas you can go digging for ideas to help spruce it up.
Check Out What Your Competitors Are Up To
Where would we be without competitors? Since the first few businesses opened way back when, businesses have been keeping a close eye on their rivals to see how they were doing and borrowing everything from ideas and insight to plump up their own business.
It’s called competitive analysis in business, and it’s something no C-level executive does without launching a major change to their business. So, it’s something a savvy content writer should be doing too.
This doesn’t mean swipe their best performing posts on a metric (like most read or shared) but finding something that actually inspires you and looks like it could inspire your competition. It’s also worth looking to see if they’re covering areas you’ve missed, or seeing how they engage with any audience members.
Talk to Your Customers and Clients
This is really about asking the people who actually read your content, buy your products, and know your brand to help shape the future of your content to stuff they really want. It can be as simple as getting feedback from customers with a survey or contact form, or a direct ask.
What you might notice is a little pattern forming which shows you that you’re missing out a key content area. Hurray – you’ve now finally got something to write about! This content could be anything, from a new FAQ question to video content. It’s also a great way to listen to your audience and make them feel valued.
One smart trick you can leverage here is not just to create this content but send it directly to the person/people who ask for it, gaining huge brownie points in the process – which is also a great way to land more sales. Win, win, and win.
Look Into Your Industry’s Sources
By this, I mean skip the content analysis of your nearest competitors, but head up to the higher levels of your niche or industry where the pantheon of thought leaders resides. These guys are the people who speak – and a whole industry listens.
They’re a fantastic source of cutting-edge content, which in turn is great for your content as it keeps you on the leading front of whatever’s happening. You can also review important changes in your industry and how it affects different people in it. What this content does is essentially reveal that your brand is close to the top of an industry and has its fingers in most every pie, giving readers the latest information.
Get Social on… Yep, Social Media
OK, so social media is where we all go to share our content, tell everyone that we’re great, and occasionally chat with clients and customers. But there’s so much more to it than that when it comes to great content!
For instance, you can look at what people are saying about your various content pieces, and even what they’re saying about your competitors. You can even check out which posts are stealing everyone’s thunder. Hashtags are the best way to look around as well as share – so get your social buzz on!
Content marketing isn’t easy – and its certainly time-consuming. But there is no denying that these days, it’s an essential part of your online business. If you’re fresh outta ideas and need inspiration, these tips should help you find your next post and a whole lot more. So – remember it’s a big world out there, and it’s full of content inspiration, just for you!