Are you constantly stuck for ideas of what to blog about or post on social media?
Most of us have a hard time coming up with content ideas. Some ideas are random, some are awesome, some are difficult to pull out of a hat when you need them.
Coming up with a content idea is not a magical thing, it requires a focus and a format to create a content plan.
Without further a-do, here are some great ideas for you to mix and match to include in your Content Plan, regardless of whether you offer a product or service.
How to Create a Content Plan
FIND YOUR FOCUS
All ideas can generally fit one of the following:
- FEATURE – where the focus is a person: who are they, what do they do, what is there ‘why’?
- OVERVIEW – provide basic information
- DEEP DIVE – detailed information, everything about a topic, evergreen (ie: can be used over again)
- HISTORY – looking back, background , brand origin, evergreen
- DIY – teaches a process, is useful, evergreen
- RESOURCES – curator of useful links, other peoples research, updateable and repeatable
- RESEARCH – new and original info, study, audit or survey, uncovering new trends
- PRODUCT – customer education, product information, branded
- EXAMPLE – a case study, customer story, a testimonial
- OPINION – a review, ranking or other opinion, from your expert perspective ‘our favourite’
FIND A FORMAT
Some of these formats may be a ‘stretch’ for you, depending on your passion, skill and equipment you have available to you.
- WRITTEN – long-form, blog posts, interview
- AUDIO – podcasts, audio interview, environmental
- VIDEO – prioritised on social, webinar, long-form, short-form
- INFO GRAPHICS – charts, graphs, illustrative data
- MAP – geographic context, a unique way to plot a story
- GAME/QUIZ/TOOL – helpful, tool
- LIST/ROUNDUP – collection or ranking of items (eg: 12 ways to be more productive)
- Guide/Ebook – single topic, everything you need to know
- SLIDE SHOW – related imagery, visual list, visuals and text
- TIMELINE – show change over time, trends
USE A MULTIPLIER
Let’s say you’ve chosen Focus 4 (History) and Format 9 (Slide Show) and about to create a blog or social media post. This combination is not a one-time-only experience! Try repeating the same focus and format but adjusting the relativity as a multiplier. Eg: history + slideshow + relative to your founding year; or history + slideshow + relative to last winter etc.
- Year
- Season (winter, summer, spring, all)
- Life stage (newborn student, newlywed, retiree)
- Budget (free, cheap, under X)
- Resources
- Situation
- Demographic (men, kids, family)
- Complexity (easy, advanced)
Once you have brainstormed these ideas, be sure to add them to your Content Calendar!
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