How To Generate A Content Marketing Strategy That Engages With The eLearning Audience
Creating fresh content is key to keeping your audience's engagement high. At this point, you should have a solid content marketing strategy in place. We’ve covered how to profile your target audience, how to assemble a talented team of thought leaders and writers, and how to ensure your content hits the mark regarding lead generation process.
In other words, you’re off to a great start in terms of producing fresh content that resonates. Excellent job, but that doesn’t mean your hard work is complete. Sooner or later, every content creator must contend with writer’s block.
It can be a challenge to maintain a steady stream of original, compelling and fresh content ideas. Before you find yourself staring at a blank page with growing anxiety, take a step back and explore some proven tactics for generating fresh topics that drive results or ask for advice from experienced marketing agencies of your niche. For instance, as eLearning Industry, we help our clients on what they should be writing to acquire the right audience and also offering a complete lead generation strategy including an editorial calendar service with a ‘topic reservoir’ an abundance of ideas, keywords and topics to tackle just in case your content team ever exhausts the 52-week editorial calendar we can create for you!
How To Plan For Ideation By Using Fresh Content
As a long-term strategy, content marketing requires you to produce new material on a consistent basis. One great whitepaper or online course sets the table for the next one, and so on.
You’ll likely have a stockpile of ideas ready to go at first but you also need to think ahead. What comes after your initial plans? How do you outline a logical progression of content with each piece building on the foundation set by the others?
This writer’s block sometimes stems from a paradox of expertise. You’re so familiar with your subject matter that basic topics don’t spring to mind. It’s a perfect time to lean on your audience profiles and customer journey maps for inspiration. When you put yourself in your target audience’s shoes, it’s easier to develop valuable content that showcases your expertise and delivers the fundamentals your customers need at each step of their journey.
The editors of your industry trade publication will also be an invaluable asset for ideation since they recognize ‘topic fatigue’ and have a clear view of what is trending, but also what drives more engagement. Seek to develop a relationship with those editorial teams. After all, when they help you create your next series of awesome content, they can also distribute and amplify it for you!
Beyond inspiration, proper planning is the key to fresh content creation. Rather than jump straight from an idea into writing, take time to outline your chosen topic. Work through how it fits within your larger content plan and what it needs to convey to readers. Not only will this simplify production, but it also should spark ideas for complementary content.
The Everyday Places You’ll Discover Ideas
It would be wonderful to have a wealth of superb ideas every time you need to generate new content, but that’s not always possible. Thankfully, practice does not necessarily require a huge marketing budget and can ensure the ideation process isn’t a pain.
It seems like the best ideas come out of the blue as you’re driving home from work or taking your morning jog. It’s no coincidence; it’s neuroscience. When you’re immersed in these types of tasks, different parts of your brain take the opportunity to connect random thoughts and memories to create new ideas [1].
Be open to ideas that come at unexpected times. For example, approach watching TV as a potential source of inspiration. The dialogue between characters might trigger an idea for a new piece of content or a unique way to present information to your audience.
Conversations, whether live or via social media, offer fantastic opportunities to generate content ideas. Engaging in discussions with industry experts keeps you at the top of your game and provides perspective on what has people buzzing. Social media can be particularly useful when it comes to developing ideas. It’s a great way to track trending topics and gauge interest in subjects you’re considering.
At its core, successful content marketing strategy depends on curiosity. Build time into your schedule to read weekly, if not daily relevant online trade publications and attend a few select industry events, as expensive a resource as that might be. There’s no better way to understand the changing needs of your target customers, discover what articles or free resources your competitors are publishing online, and stay current on industry developments.
5 Secrets For Generating Ideas On Demand
Like anything, replenishing your idea pipeline gets easier with practice. Thankfully, there are some tricks of the trade you can adopt to make idea generation second nature.
1. Seek External Inspiration
Nothing sparks creativity more than exposure to people you admire, perspectives that challenge you, and design that catches your eye. Be diligent about following the blogs and Twitter conversations of influencers and experts who inspire you, both inside and outside your industry. You’ll get daily motivation along with insights regarding what’s inspiring key personalities.
2. Become A Content Connoisseur
Don’t forget to consume content as often as possible. Look for new content sources and bookmark websites when you find something that resonates. Go deep by reading user comments and clicking through to related links. Regularly visit the sites that your audience frequents, but push yourself to discover new resources like podcasts, webinars, and magazines that align with your content marketing strategy. By realizing what catches your attention, you’ll also learn how to create click-worthy content of your own.
3. Turn Your Ideas Inside Out
Your first idea is rarely your best. Instead, take your initial thought and put it through a rigorous vetting process. Beat it up a little, poking holes anywhere you can. It’s likely to transform into something bigger and better.
For example, try combining two ideas to create even stronger content. You also might turn your initial idea on its ear to explore it in a different format than you initially conceived. Even if you end up sticking with your original plan, these exploratory exercises will help you build out the proof points you will need when it’s time to put pen to paper.
4. Give Yourself Permission To Focus
Realizing the full potential of your idea will take time. In our multitasking environment, concentrating on a single idea can be difficult. Start by creating space on your calendar to close the door and turn off your phone to allow time for nurturing ideas. Set objectives for what you want to accomplish in the time allotted, and stay on task by not allowing yourself to stray into unrelated territory. You’ll be surprised by what you can do in a short amount of focused, uninterrupted time.
5. Recycle
Don’t think of your content as "one and done." When a piece of content performs well with your target audience, mine it for additional ideas. Evaluate user comments to see what’s clicking and where you can add more information through an update or a supplemental piece of content. You also can repurpose high-performing content by translating it into different formats, such as turning a few relevant blog posts into a gated eBook.
Sadly, ideas do not grow on trees. By recognizing ideas as they happen and making time to nurture them along the way, you’re sowing the seeds for a strong pipeline of fresh, engaging content.
Content Marketing serves the purpose of improving conversions using a very strategic approach, connecting and supplying leads and potential customers with real value. Download the free eBook Digital Content Marketing Strategy For eLearning Marketers: An Essential Guide to delve into an excellent method to start building long-lasting relationships by establishing trust, and see conversions skyrocket by giving users the information they need to make an informed purchasing decision.
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