How to Generate Awesome Content Ideas

Once you’ve established your Ideal Client Profile and know inside and out WHO it is that you’re targeting and talking to online, you may be stuck wondering ‘now what?’

If this is you, don’t fret! Let’s talk about how to drum up awesome content ideas.

Have a plan + stay inspired

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail - Benjamin Franklin

It’s super crucial to have a plan in place for your online content and it’s equally important to stay inspired.

Here are some tips to help you stay inspired while creating your online marketing content ideas:

1. Create lists of brand crushes:

   Those brands online that you follow that you absolutely love - there’s a reason you love them. You resonate with their brand for a reason. Make a list of these accounts and watch what they do online. This will help keep you inspired!

2. Keep a running list of your own ideas:

   If you’re anything like me, you may have random inspirational thoughts at very strange times of the day (or night!). Try to keep a list of your inspired thoughts to come back to when it’s time to drum out some new online content. If you’re on fly - use your phone and text yourself or use your phone’s Notes app.

3. Train your brain to capture postable moments ‘behind the scenes’:

This doesn’t come naturally for some, and quite naturally for others. But, like everything else, it takes practice. When you’re attending an event, networking or otherwise, at a client meeting, working offsite and enjoying a lovely latte, meeting with your team members - whatever it may be - get in the habit of capturing those moments and posting them online. People love seeing the ‘you’ behind your brand. It keeps things real!

4. Study your brand crushes + competitors:

What do you love about their content? What don’t you love? What types of posts get the most engagement? Do a little detective work - find out what’s working for them and what’s not. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel with your content.

5. Organize your posts into categories:

Again, remember - we don’t need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to creating online content. Publish a variety of posts + get organized. Here are some examples:

1. Blog posts

2. Questions

3. Other people’s content (share a blog post)

4. Inspiring content (quotes)

5. Tips + Tricks

6. Contests + Giveaways

7. Promos

8. Behind the Scenes

9. FB lives

I’ve seen it time and time again with clients (and myself!), if we fail to stay inspired, we are less likely to stay consistent with our online content scheduling and posting.

Try some of these techniques and let me know how you stay inspired!

Creating Content That Connects

Do you ever feel frustrated with the task of creating your social media content? If you answered yes, you’re not alone! I hear this time and time again when speaking to people about their social media - that they just don’t know what to post - and, if they are posting, that their posts are just not getting any traction.

I’d like to share a few content secrets with you over the next few weeks in hopes to help you not only create great content that generates conversations for you online, but also helps keep you focused, on track and organized.

Secret No 1

Know Your Audience

Knowing who your ideal client is, is paramount in your online space. You need to know who you are targeting so your messaging can relate to them - and, you need to know them intimately! You need to know what resonates with them. What are they looking for in terms of value? Once you create content that resonates with them, they will like, comment and share that content with other like-minded people who may very likely also become your follower online as well.

You will find that once you create this resonance with your following - your ideal clients - you will create that ‘know like and trust’ factor. Then, when the time comes to sell a product, service or program, creating those marketing messages your ideal clients respond to won’t be as much of a struggle. You will be creating solutions that help solve their problems!

How do I determine who my Ideal Client is?

• Ask your clients

• Send out a survey

• Create a client avatar

Clarity comes from engagement, not from thought - Marie Forleo

Here’s how to craft awesome content:

Let’s do a little more digging to find out more about our ideal client:

1. What is their biggest challenge as it pertains to your product, service or program?

2. What is your ideal solution to overcome those challenges?

3. How can your biz solve that problem?

4. What topics about your industry are they interested in learning more about?

5. How are they currently using social media?

6. What age, occupation and gender are they?

Answering these questions will help guide your social media content strategy.

Why should I care about this and how will I implement this in the real world?

When you have a crystal clear client profile, you will notice patterns in your content and responses to posts. You can then make any necessary small changes in your content as needed so that your ideal client will resonate with them.

Here’s an example: Your Ideal Client is a high level entrepreneur or executive with no time to spare. By creating small bite-size pieces of content this person can consume on the fly will be content they can really resonate with.

Another example: If you’re targeting moms of younger children you will likely need to post your social content in the early mornings or later in the evenings when you know the mom will more likely be online and not with her kids as she would be during the day.

Do you have an Ideal Client Profile? It really is the foundation of building a solid online presence. If you’re like me and love templates and guides, here is an Ideal Client worksheet you can print off and fill in to help you get clear. Your overall social strategy will thank you.

Next week I’ll share secret #2 with you - ‘Awesome Content Ideas Won’t Just Come to You’