BY MEL DUNN
We’ve lost count of the number of times we’ve preached the significance of consistent content creation for driving marketing success. But we empathize with the struggle of thinking up original topics and crafting engaging subject matter that grabs your audience’s attention time and time again. On top of this, ensuring that your content provides actual value and isn’t just checking the “monthly blog post box” is key, especially as you scale production. Quality over quantity, period.
Like any frequent and repetitive process, content ideation burnout is real. This is particularly true for established brands that have been around the content block a few times. If you’re starting to feel that your content taps are, well, tapped, don’t fret. Before you go ask ChatGPT for ideas—although, Rob Ott can help get the creative juices flowing—there are some tried-and-true tricks for making content topic ideation stress-free—and dare we say, fun!?
If you’re thirsting for ideas, follow these strategies to rehydrate your 2024 content calendar.
Listen to your audience
When determining which content topics your audience wants to consume, there is no better tactic than to go straight to the source. You can do this in a couple of ways:
Talk to sales and client-facing teams. These folks, a direct line to prospects and current clients, are uniquely positioned to sense which matters are top of mind during a pitch and take notice of common questions. Then, you can create content that proactively answers the FAQs and dissolves any hesitation to buy. Arming these teams with a relevant talk track and assets to send as a follow-up can make all the difference.
Ask your followers. These individuals willingly chose to tune into your brand’s content, so ask them what they want more or less of. Post a poll on LinkedIn. Send a short survey in your email newsletter. Yes, it’s that simple. Just ask.
Sniff out the competition
Keeping tabs on your competitors’ content is one way to gauge your topic gaps, erm, opportunities. But beware of falling into a copycat trap; imitation isn’t always the sincerest form of flattery. This strategy is for inspiring ideas, not stealing them. Of course, you can write about the same topics as Competitors A, B, and C—you’re competing for the same eyeballs, after all—but make sure your content provides a new spin or else you’ll be treading water for attention. And remember, talking about stuff that your competition isn’t yet talking about is the sweet spot.
Tap the thought leaders
Thought leaders are excellent marketing partners, and it’s worth folding their perspective into your marketing mix. Whether the founder of your business, a passionate executive, or a seasoned employee-turned-brand champion, a credible expert in your organization can spark countless content ideas. Book a 30-minute meeting and ask what they’re currently working on, or tell them “I’d love to hear about your opinion on [insert a timely industry topic].” Asking thought leaders thought-provoking questions will open the content floodgates.
Book a brainstorm
Ideating content topics by yourself is lonely, not to mention generally inefficient. Instead, invite colleagues—marketers and especially non-marketers—to a group brainstorm to gather diverse perspectives and collect a bunch of concepts. While you may not leave the meeting with a concrete plan, you’ll walk away with a wealth of ideas that you can turn into rich content pieces later on. We’ve developed some rules of the road to help you lead and participate in effective brainstorms so that you can unleash the creative talents and brainpower of your team.
Keep a pulse on industry news
While evergreen content is a smart long-term strategy, posting reactively to a timely update can help your audience build trust and confidence in your content. Over time, they will start looking for your take when industry news breaks. To avoid refreshing the newsfeed all day, we highly recommend creating Google Alerts. Set a bunch of alerts for various topics and keywords related to your business, such as your organization name, your competitors, applicable laws and regulations, industry bigwigs, and more.
We hope you’ll set aside time to try one or all of these tactics, but when you’re in a pinch or fending off burnout, remember that repurposing existing content is always a fair fallback approach. Recycled content is better than nothing. As you work your way through these strategies, write down every single idea that comes up. Then, build yourself a content topic bank—an organized spreadsheet will do just fine. The next time you’re staring at a blank Word document, you’ll be glad you did.