Something we hear quite often from clients is, “We have a creative team, so we can write our own content”. The confidence and enthusiasm are wonderful to see. But here’s what makes content creation so challenging. You can put a lot of effort and creativity into your content, but without audience engagement, it’s like cooking up a storm worthy of a banquet without any guests. The true measure of successful content isn’t what you put into it, but what your audience does with it.
Successful content doesn’t happen on its own. It takes great copywriters, a content marketing strategy, and clear goals. Here are some time-tested content ideas that you can use to create content that resonates with readers.
Satisfy the Learner – Create How-to Posts
Your audience uses search for three main goals:
- Navigational
- Informational
- Transactional
Meet your readers where they are and provide how-to information for your industry. Think your content idea is stale? There are dozens of ways to make your content unique. You can add some humour to the mix. Maybe include some history while you’re showing how to do something. Think about your own local flavour. Start with a failure and how you turned it into success. Offer a couple of hacks that you use in your industry. Use your user’s intent to guide your content.
Satisfy the Competitive Spirit – Run Contests
Everyone loves free stuff. The great thing about contests is that your audience has to engage with your content to get an entry. Ask for shares instead of likes, giving you an even larger reach. Give something away when you reach a certain number of followers. Have a creative photo contest. Give a product out for shares, likes, and follows. Ask followers for their best ideas on using your product and run a survey to pick the most creative. Have a check-in contest at your location. Put out some trivia questions. Bring your contest back to your brand, because ultimately, you want your audience to remember your product.
Satisfy the Fans of Pop Culture
Bring some pop culture into your content strategy using movies, music, television, or even sports. Lists are always fun to read, so create a list of your office’s favourite movies for your industry. Choose your favourite fictional character and put him or her in your shoes for a day. Showcase the hobbies of your team and talk about how the skills transfer into your industry or office. Go back in history and explain how a major event transformed your industry, especially one that might not be easily connected. In the United States, women’s suffrage reduced child mortality.
Satisfy the Argumentative with Controversial Posts
A little controversy can get your audience engaged with your brand. The key is to find the right angle without offending your customer base. The kind of controversy you’re looking for is to be provocative and to make people think about your industry. You could take a misconception in your industry and give your take on it. If there’s a scandal that is newsworthy in your industry, maybe you could present your opinion. Invite healthy debate among your audience. Make sure your content is never offensive to anybody in any way.
Satisfy the Holiday Calendar Enthusiast
Holiday posts are a great way to connect with people. Tie the holiday to your brand in some way, because you want your audience thinking about your product or service. Need some random, fun, weird holidays? Check out this list from TimeandDate.com. Write a post for February 7 – send a card to a friend day, reminding your audience to reach out to their loved ones. June 25 is National Take Your Pet to Work Day. Bring your pet to the office and make a blog post about their day. Maybe you can clear up some misconceptions about your industry through your pet’s eyes.
Satisfy the Myth Buster Brigade
Everyone loves a good “5 Myths About …” article. Use your content to address myths, legends, and misconceptions about your brand, your industry, or even your customers. Here’s a great example from Global News and Walmart Canada to clear up myths about food insecurity. It’s a great way to present information to your audience.
Satisfy the Hunger for Case Studies
A case study is a great way to present an up-close, in-depth look at a particular problem you solved for a customer. It’s a real-world narrative that lends itself well to content. You may have pictures, video, and other in-house resources already developed to showcase this case study. It’s just a matter of putting it in content form. You have characters, a conflict, and a resolution. Case studies are shareable, and when the customer you write about shares their story, they feel like a star, and you gain new readers you might not otherwise reach.
Satisfy the Visionary with Predictions
You don’t need to be Nostradamus to forecast trends in your industry. Use your content to describe where your industry is headed. Talk about past trends that have gone by the wayside or new trends that may not be very good, like allowing AI to write your content. You have a lot of insight into your brand and industry. Share that with your audience.
Satisfy the Behind the Scenes Looker
Readers enjoy seeing a new take on your company. Let people get to know your team. Profile your employees. Give them some praise. They may even share the content with their own friends and family. Show off how your office works to make things happen. Share your mission. Share the story behind your logo or brand. Give your audience a look behind the curtain, so to speak.
Take Your SEO Content to New Heights
SEO content doesn’t have to be boring. When you have a solid content plan combined with consistently high quality, you can grow your traffic to keep your audience engaged with your brand. Let a content agency help you create content that builds on your SEO strategy while connecting with your readers. Contact MintCopy to get more information on our content services.
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Resources:
https://www.designwizard.com/blog/business-strategies/blog-Ideas
Sheetal Pinto is the founder of MintCopy, a content agency that has been helping businesses communicate effectively since 2008. With a passion for words and a knack for SEO, she’s worked with companies around the world to craft copy that not only engages but ranks. Whether it’s blog posts, website content, or social media updates, Sheetal has a talent for turning complex ideas into compelling stories. When she’s not optimizing content or editing for clarity, she’s probably daydreaming about the perfect headline or debating the Oxford comma. With over 16 years in the business, she’s seen the digital marketing and SEO content landscape evolve and grow. Sheetal’s mantra? Fresh copy, refreshing results!
