Creating new content for blog posts or videos is one of the biggest challenges for small business owners. The first hurdle is scheduling the time needed to write a new post or create a new video each week. But once you’ve set aside dedicated time for content creation, what do you do when you’ve run out of ideas?
You’ll find 6 easy ways to find new topics for your business blog in this article. Choose a few to start with, or save this for later when you’re having writer’s block.
1. Re-purpose the content you’re already sharing on social media
If you’ve set up several social media sites then (hopefully) you’re updating your accounts on a regular basis. Are you sharing quick tips several times a week? Or referencing helpful information or resources in a conversation?
Save the helpful content you’re already sharing in your social media updates and use it later to go into more detail on a blog post. Or combine all the content from shorter posts into material for one video.
2. Answer frequently-asked-questions
What questions do your current customers ask you on a regular basis? Answer their questions in the form of a blog post, a longer video or several shorter videos.
If you’ve already created a Frequently Asked Questions Page on your website, create an individual post or video for each “answer” that goes into more detail or discusses a related topic.
3. Give your opinion or additional insight on someone else’s blog post
If you’re sharing other people’s content on your social media sites, then you most likely have an opinion on some of the topics being discussed.
Add your unique point-of-view to a topic shared in someone’s post (referencing and linking to their post if you mention them).
4. Tie current events or popular trends to your business
You may want to write a few posts that reference current events or trends. Be careful, though, that you are not “hijacking” a current events’ topic or news story just to get your business’ name out there.
Stick to events or news that relate to your industry or customers in some way.
You can check out trending topics on your Facebook, Google+, and Twitter feeds. Or you may want to set up a Twitter List with accounts from news channels or news outlets to keep up on current events.
There are also a variety of tools that list top hashtags across social sites that can help you find trending topics.
5. Monitor real-time conversations with a social media listening system
Set up a system to listen in to conversations on topics that your blog audience will find interesting.
There are numerous ways to monitor posts in real-time. A few examples include:
- Twitter search – use Advanced Search to see Tweets on keywords/phrases. You can save Twitter Searches on your account or in a dashboard like Hootsuite.
- Facebook Groups, LinkedIn Groups, and Google Plus Communities – check-in on a regular basis in the Groups you belong to (or join a few Groups that focus on topics of interest to you and your target audience).
- Twitter Chats – participate in (or just follow) a Twitter Chat that covers topics or events that you want to blog about.
- Google Alerts or TalkWalker Alerts – set up alerts with either of these tools to get real-time notifications when the keyword or phrase you enter is being mentioned online.
6. Ask your online community
One of the best ways to come up with blog post or video topics is to ask your online community or current customers. You can post a question on your social media sites on a regular basis to get feedback from your Followers. Facebook and Google+ give you the option to easily create a Poll in your status updates.
Or use a free tool such as Survey Monkey to create a quick survey that you can send out in an email or share on your social sites.
One of the best ways to come up with blog topics is to ask your online community.
So there you have it – 6 ways to find content for your blog posts and/or videos. Use these ideas to start building a content calendar today. And let us know if you have any questions about content creation!
Free Guide:
Planning your content is just one step in creating a Social Media Strategy. Learn more about what else is needed to put an effective strategy in place for your business with our free guide: 6 Steps to a Successful Social Media Strategy – click here to get your copy now!
About Terry League