You’ve probably experienced pouring countless hours into curating content just for it to flop with audiences. 

The hard truth of the matter is that you may love your content, but that doesn’t mean your audiences will. 

 

‘Good content’ just isn’t enough.

Nowadays, marketers are constantly competing against algorithms, technology, and each other to get people to interact with and view their content. 

Even if you are a magician when it comes to making quality content, without the right strategy, you are setting yourself up for failure. Successful content needs to be on-point and put in front of your audience in places where they naturally hang out.

1. Lay out the foundation for a successful content strategy 

Before beginning your brainstorming session or looking for new content, it helps to lay out the groundwork. Figure out what you want your content to achieve —whether it's getting people to buy or just spreading the word about your brand. It’s essential to know not only your brand personality but also who you're talking to.

Whether you’re brainstorming alone, or with a colleague, run through the following checklist of questions to build a content strategy of new ideas that are aligned and consistent with your brand. 

  • What is the goal of your content? Top of the funnel (brand awareness) or bottom of the funnel (addressing doubts and asking for a sale)?
  • Who’s your target audience and what are they struggling with?
  • What message do you want to convey and how do you want to be perceived? Is the piece in line with your brand values and brand personas?  

Apart from these burning questions, cadence and consistency are also of utmost importance. Once you’ve fleshed out these guardrails, it becomes easier to come up with quality content ideas.

2. Go straight to the source: ask your audience directly 

Getting straight to the point and asking your audience what kind of content they're into is a smart, but often overlooked move. Get the inside scoop on what they really want - taking the guessing game out of the content creation equation. Surveys and interviews are common ways brands delve into the minds of their audience. The online landscape also offers a ton of valuable insight into audience interests, for example, naturally occurring social media conversations, review sites and user feedback are gold for getting live insights if you don’t have the capacity or resources to do a full-fledged research study. 

Not only is it a straightforward way to understand what your target audiences are interested in, but by involving them in the content creation process, you're showing that their opinions matter. 

Also, incorporating your audience's input into the content brainstorming process is not just about meeting expectations; it's about exceeding them by delivering content that aligns with their goals, solves their problems and, in turn, cultivates a more loyal and engaged audience.

3. Take a step back and look at your ranking keywords and search trends

Take a more strategic (and data-first) route by exploring what keywords your brand already ranks well for, and what noncompetitive keywords are overlooked by competitors (or you). 

After looking at the keywords for which your brand is already performing well, you can understand the topics and themes that resonate with their audience and make a decision to create more content around them.

By identifying non-competitive keywords, you can leverage the opportunity to explore untapped areas creating content that addresses specific needs or questions that might be overlooked by competitors. 

Following search trends is another great way to stay on top of the latest that is happening in your industry and globally.

Understanding how your brand can employ both keywords and search trends can help you diversify your content ideas while maintaining a well-rounded content strategy. 

4. Contribute to industry conversations

When in doubt, contribute to the mix! Pay attention to ongoing industry conversations (on social media, in closed groups/channels, or within associations) and actively engage in recent discussions by addressing relevant questions. Having the pulse on the market can help you gain a real-time understanding of ‘what's hot and what's not’. 

Moreover, responding to questions not only positions your brand as an expert resource but also provides valuable content ideas based on real-time needs.

Identify recurring themes, misconceptions, or emerging trends to spark inspiration for content that directly addresses the queries and concerns of your target consumer audience. 

5. Use AI tools for a data-led approach to generating new content

Leveraging AI tools are a game-changer for generating new content ideas. Bringing a data-driven approach to content mapping/ planning, these tools analyze datasets and trends to uncover patterns and emerging topics for marketers to hone in on. By delving into consumer behavior, social media trends, and industry insights, AI tools help marketers stay informed about what's currently popular today, and what’s the next big ‘thing’ on the horizon to create content that resonates with their target audience. 

6. Repurpose content

It’s time to let go of the ‘out with the old in with the new’ mentality when it comes to creating new content. Lots of content pieces are posted once and left to die. Few marketers realize that not all of their audience will see every post on social media and click to read every content piece. 

Just like most human conversations, most content topics are destined to repeat themselves - meaning many of your content ideas are far from expiring, and shouldn’t be lost to the grey void of unused content. 

Repurposing content is a great way to get more mileage out of the content you've already worked hard on. Plus, it's a time-saver. Instead of spending too much time and energy researching how to create completely original ideas, you can build on what you already have.

By continuously upgrading older content you can get in the habit of creating ‘evergreen’ content - or content that stays relevant to general topics, without expiring over time. 

Additionally, a well-crafted blog post can be transformed into engaging social media snippets, a compelling infographic, or even a podcast episode, catering to diverse audience preferences. This not only extends the content's reach across various channels but also ensures that the core message resonates with different segments of the audience. 

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The key takeaway? Keep it real and dive into the authentic stories of your consumers. Authenticity resonates with audiences, and by actively seeking out and showcasing real experiences, challenges, and triumphs of consumers, marketers can tap into a relatable and compelling narrative. 

Showcasing these authentic stories not only humanizes your brand but also sparks ideas that hit home.