Generating original, authentic, engaging content everyday is no easy feat.
In the world of big data, increasing information, and waning attention spans, the challenge to be noticed can feel like it gets harder everyday. And when you have a daily deadline to post, it’s perfectly normal to run out of creative juice.
But the online world waits for no one, and the perfectionists among us (yes I am talking to you) will still feel a duty to produce high quality content.
When you’re out of ideas, feeling unoriginal, or simply not feeling photogenic these five pointers should help clear your creative block.
1. Let someone else say it for you
Move the focus away from you or your brand “directly”. Pick a thought leader, a well-known trailblazer, an artist or an author and create content around that. From a passage out of book, a renowned painting, a lesser known but thought-provoking quote, a pioneer – the possibilities are endless.
If you cannot think of anything or anyone that inspires you, think back to what inspired you in the beginning. The idea is to select and use existing content that aligns with your brand and values. Use this as a starting point for the content you will create.
A huge plus to creating this kind of content is that it also offers you an opportunity to foster relationships between your brand and other industry peers and companies – potentially paving the way for collaborations!
2. Data is your friend
Some of the most engaging content can be found using data.
Crunch the numbers to find your most popular blog post this year, or your most used product or service of last year. Data can speak for itself when you don’t have something interesting to say.
Create content based on that data. If you’re a retailer, for example,For a this could be a list of your most purchased products this year. For a blogger, it could be a list of your most read/engaged with blogs.
Backing up your brand with facts and figures is a great way to validate your service or content and make you into a trusted voice within your field. It’s not you saying how great your are – it’s the data!
Additionally, you can look up search terms related to what you are selling via SEO tools and answer those queries through your content. Whether it is one specific pain point or gripe, or you are answering frequently asked questions masked as an engaging piece of content, showing that you know understand the reader will boost your credibility.
This can often be a very valid entry point for someone to engage with you for the first time, or consider your services.
3. Join the #conversation
Take inspiration from the news of the day and create a post around a hot topic.
Find out whether it’s National Puppy Day or Nature Appreciation Day by heading to sites such as Days of the Year or Forekast. Whereas Days of the Year is simple and clear listing site, Forekast allows days and trending topics to be voted by their community – so it’s worth exploring them both.
You can also head to the Twitter Business blog to stay informed about upcoming trending topics on the platform. Twitter publishes the calendar roughly one week before the end of every month so you can stay ahead of the game.
4. Something old, something new, something useful?
As is always the case with marketing, you want to create value for your consumer by helping them satisfy a desire or tackle a frustration.
Locate something that is genuinely useful for your audience, this is known as a lead magnet. For example, if you are food blogger you could produce a free recipe for your readers. Or if you offer travel retreats it could be a packing list for the destination.
However, it is very important to bear in mind that this has to create real value for your customer in an easily consumable way.
Think about your target audience and map out their customer journey and activities. Even if it’s not your source, the value you provide will be a reason for people to get to know you, trust you or even purchase from your brand in the future!
5. Repair, recycle and reuse
In the world of constant content creation, sometimes it’s a good thing to look back. Go back to your old content, I mean the really old content and look at what worked well. Take that content and adjust it to make it brand new and relevant.
If the words aren’t coming to you, try to mimic your tone or format. Approach it from a new angle or swap out the subject matter. If you did a post about Thailand, try and approach a post on Paris in the same way.
If you’ve been producing lots of content, it’s fair to say that perhaps your old stuff didn’t get the exposure it deserved. Dust it off, give it a new coat of paint and you’re good to go!
Coming up with new content all the time doesn’t always have to be difficult. When you’re stuck in a rut, try one of these tips. What are some things you usually do when you can’t come up with new content ideas?
For more articles by Kyomi Wade check out her website!