What to Do When You’re Out of Ideas

Most of us post, write, and share nearly every day. Whether that’s on Instagram, Facebook, Linkedin, Blog, or email, the content beast always needs to be fed.

That’s a lot of ideas that we need to come up with, and while most times it can be a lot of fun, everyone hits a rut every now and then, and as we all know, consistency is one of the most important elements of any successful content marketing strategies.

That’s why we wanted to collect ideas from some of best content creators and other sources to keep that creativity flowing, because content calendars don’t wait for the moment when inspiration hits.

Rand Fishkin, Founder of Moz.com and SparkToro:

• “Reflect on the questions people ask you most. What do people seek your advice on, or ask for clarity on regarding your product? Even if it’s not a frequently asked question, rather one that you’ve only been asked once, if it inspires you, go for it. If you have a lot to say about it, it’s probably worth sharing.”
• “Talk to your customers. What keeps your customers up at night? What are the things they care about? The things they love?”
• “Look at what people in your niche are saying online. After all, your community is your audience, and talking to them, lurking in their conversations, and reflecting on your communications with them are all ways of conducting audience research.”

Read more of Rand’s ideas here

Tim Stoddart, CEO of CopyBlogger

• “Identify customer pain points. The best content idea isn’t necessarily the most creative idea – it’s the one that solves a burning pain point your audience feels.”
• “Iterate on your top performing content. If you notice that a specific content topic consistently generates high engagement, don’t try to reinvent the wheel – just double down on what’s already working and create more content on that topic.”
• “Look at your competitors’ top performing content. Tracking your competitors’ top performing content will help you better understand the type of content your target audience enjoys. While you don’t want to copy their content, you can put your own spin on the same idea.”
• “Share what you’ve learned. As ChatGPT makes it easy to quickly generate factual advice, people (and Google) want content that provides personal experience. So keep a journal of what you learn. Perhaps set aside some time each Sunday to reflect on experiments you’ve run, important conversations you’ve had with team members or industry influencers, and anything else you’ve learned during the week.”

Read Tim Stoddart’s full list here

TikTok’s new “Creative Ideation for SMBs”guide

• “Do your research, know your audience: Having a clear understanding of your audience’s preferences and the content that captivates them is the best way to set your marketing strategy up for success.”
• “Embrace your unique brand voice: Is your brand silly, serious, educational, or somewhere in between? Make sure to bring your brand’s singular tone to your video content.”
• “Keep up with the trends: Engaging in trends – particularly those that are popular within your target demo – can be a great way to increase reach and ride the wave of trending content!”
• “Put your products/services in the spotlight: As a format, video content is a great way to get educational and highlight your offerings in informative and visually stimulating ways.”
• “Get collaborative: Having your internal team get involved in content ideation – whether they’re on the creative side of your business or not – can be a great way to unlock fresh ideas and breathe new life into your content strategy.”

Read TikTok’s full Creative Ideation guide here

A couple more brand new resources to help you come up with ideas:

• TikTok has just created a new resource that they call the Trends Digest, which is a rundown of the hottest trends of the month, with specific suggestions about the ways we can use them for brand content. Check out TikTok’s Trends Digest Here
• Instagram is sharing a series that they’re calling Scroll-Stopping Content Themes, which includes step-by-step instructions on how to create engaging Reels that tell your brand or product story. Check out Instagram’s Scroll-Stopping Content Part 1 here