Coming up with new and original blog posts can be a big drain on time and resources, particularly in markets that are already saturated with content. Brainstorming fresh ideas that are unique and valuable to their audience is a challenge that businesses of all sizes face, yet marketers who prioritize blogging are 13x more likely to yield a positive ROI from their efforts. As such, the need to employ innovative techniques to grow your content strategy has never been greater.
From honing in on brand achievements to re-purposing existing posts in alternative formats, read on to discover a few techniques for generating killer blog post ideas.
Answer key industry questions
Almost all businesses can benefit from spending some time in the role of their audience. Consider not only how to attract users to your blog, but exactly what types of questions they’re likely to be asking in order to get there. Tools like Answer The Public are great for identifying search questions and long-tail keywords that are relevant to your industry, allowing you to develop content that provides direct solutions to the most common queries.
Here we’ve used the tool to research a keyword that’s directly relevant to the marketing industry – copywriting. What we’ve gained is a comprehensive view of related terms that boast high search volumes, providing original content ideas that can also benefit our organic search strategy.
Engage in competitor analysis
Actively keeping up to date with what your key competitors are doing is vital if you’re to see your own blog posts as part of the wider industry picture. Gaining an insight into what keywords your competitors are targeting and which posts are attracting the highest levels of engagement will stand you in good stead, and enable you to develop content that may even have the potential to leapfrog them in SERPs.
Formulate case studies
Case studies are a great way to generate content from your own success stories. In fact, research around case studies is paramount to 78% of B2B purchasing decisions. Developing a compelling case study that engages the audience and encourages conversions is a challenging task however, and one that hinges on your ability to seek out the right candidate. The ultimate goal of any case study is to demonstrate the positive results that have previously been achieved by your business strategy, gaining the trust of potential consumers in the process.
Instagram Business have devoted a whole category of their blog to such case studies. These aptly named ‘Success Stories’ clearly demonstrate the goal, solution and results that their services have provided for a number of global brands – from Levi’s to Mercedes Benz.
Try the skyscraper technique
Developed by SEO expert Brian Dean, the skyscraper technique involves mining the web for relevant content that has already attracted a healthy catalogue of backlinks. From there, it’s all about reshaping and improving the content in a way that increases its value. From refreshing outdated content to adding useful images and graphics, the skyscraper technique is less about brainstorming ideas that are unique to your business, and more about building on the resources that are already there.
Once content has been improved upon, the new and final product is yours to share. Whether targeting sites that are already linking to the original piece or reaching out to others in your sector, getting your content seen by the right people is crucial to its success.
Repurpose existing content
Looking back through the archives of you own content with the view of repurposing it in a different format can be one of the most time and cost-effective ways of generating something new. In a similar vein to the skyscraper technique, it’s all about identifying content that has the potential to rank well, but also the potential to be improved upon. From partial rewrites to turning written blog posts into videos, the opportunities to rework existing content are limitless.
Take note of inspiration as and when it hits
For most of us, reading books, blogs and industry journals is something that already forms a part of our daily routine. Getting into the habit of bookmarking articles that are of particular interest – or even making notes on key ideas – is a great way to establish a pool of inspiration that may help you formulate your own ideas later down the line.
Whether it’s a solo process or one that you contribute to as part of a team, the key to generating killer blog post ideas is to experiment with a variety of techniques. Through doing so, the goal is to develop an effective content strategy that has unique and varied ideas at its heart.
