Creating new and compelling content for your social strategy might feel like an uphill struggle some days. It’s a surprise there’s any time left for content inspiration between publishing, connecting with your community, evaluating data, and responding to stakeholders.
If you’re having trouble connecting with your creative side, consider turning to your peers for social media influence. What distinguishes another brand’s social post in your feed? What components of your social approach can you adapt and make your own?
When constructing a posting schedule as part of your marketing plan or content strategy, it might be tempting to just list the first themes that come to mind and consider it a day.
While the initial top-of-mind content ideas may be effective and useful to your customer or fascinating to the reader, they may not be the sorts of content subjects that generate sales or engagement with your brand.
The most effective content strategy plans switch things up by highlighting content that is supposed to be shared, demonstrating how a product answers a reader’s problem or explaining why a company or brand is the one people should trust.
If you need to establish a new content strategy for the next several months or refresh an old one, look no further than these five things for content ideas.
- Competitors
Since the dawn of time, brands have looked to their competitors for information, strategy, and innovation. When CEOs develop initiatives for their companies, they always do competitive analysis to ensure that they are not losing out or falling adrift.
When developing content planning, content strategists and copywriters should use the same strategy. It’s not always about the number of page views or the number of times a piece of content is shared on social media — sometimes the greatest stuff to copy is more subjectively motivating.
The best content educates the potential consumer or client, which leads to a sale or the formation of a new connection. Examine how your rivals communicate with their potential consumers.
- Customers
Surveys and feedback forms are two of the most effective methods for generating content ideas. Make certain that your customer care staff is reviewing customer feedback and discussing it with the marketing team.
When you see trends, such as someone repeatedly asking the same question, light bulbs should emerge in your brain.
These are the issues that should most likely be covered on your FAQ page, as well as maybe expanded upon in blog articles or how-to videos. This can also lead to more engagement if customers leave similar comments in the future.
As part of responding to client inquiries, customer care representatives can simply include a link to the appropriate material (article, video, etc.) in their response, which can keep the potential customer interested and ideally re-enter them into the sales funnel.
- Internal Unit
Many marketers make the mistake of always looking externally for content ideas. Reaching out to other teams in your firm, on the other hand, may help you generate some of the finest content ideas.
Speak with your company’s employees — salespeople, customer service representatives, and anybody on the front lines engaging with consumers – and ask them to share:
- What kind of feedback do they get on a regular basis?
- Which patterns they believe will emerge.
- What they consider to be the finest features and benefits of your firm in their opinion.
For example, interacting with the sales team may teach you something totally new about your brand or consumer wants that should be addressed in fresh material.
- Sources from the Industry
This source of inspiration extends beyond competitive analysis to groups and associations that provide thought leadership, which may sometimes influence the future of your brand.
For example, a school that offers truck driving classes should be up to date on new driver requirements and how they affect the test pupils must take to get qualified.
After all, what the institution incorporates in its curriculum will be influenced by this. This can also lead to content informing prospective students about these changes and how they will affect their education.
By demonstrating that you are up to date on the newest developments in your relevant field, you add credibility to the quality of your service.
- Use of Social Media
It’s so simple to brag about how fantastic you are on social media that many businesses overlook the fact that social media provides excellent listening tools that can be utilised for research and content preparation.
Examine what people are saying about your items and competition on all of the main social platforms, Amazon comment boards, and everywhere else people discuss your sorts of things.
Take note of which posts are receiving the most shares and which are generating the most comments. For competitive analysis, the replies to social media might be just as valuable as the posts themselves.
Make sure you know the correct hashtags to use and how to tag and optimise your material for search so that it can be found. After all, what good is content if it just sits there gathering dust?
Additional Content Planning Recommendations
Remember that material may be processed in a variety of ways. It makes sense to veer away from the usual blog post style for material sometimes.
Consider adding visualizations to your armoury, as well as a YouTube channel with “how-to” or testimonial films. These might be a valuable asset or addition to your brand’s reputation. Examining all of the social media platforms available to you (there are so many today!) will help you evaluate which ones are most popular with your target demographic and which aren’t the greatest use of your time.
When designing your content schedule, don’t forget to include the methods you’ll use to market each piece. Consider Facebook postings or tweets that would include a link to your website.
We hope your content strategy aids in the growth of your brand. Regardless of where your inspiration comes from or what business you represent, your two top goals with your content should be to establish new consumer connections while reinforcing current ones.
Connect with The Social Lions to learn more about content strategy. It is a digital marketing agency in Mumbai’s Andheri area.
