10 fresh content marketing ideas to use now
Stuck for inspiration? Try these useful content marketing ideas to get your creative juices flowing
There is absolutely nothing that can top the power of great content on your website. Content that engages and excites, that provokes a reaction and calls the consumer to action is the most powerful sales tool at your online disposal. And, with Google working harder than ever to understand and rank original, unique, trustworthy and useful content as part of its latest SEO algorithms, 2017 is set to be the year that you write and upload more press releases, news items, blog posts and articles than ever before.
If you’ve been guilty of not updating your site often enough with fresh new content or of taking the easy way out and just rehashing the same old story, you’ll probably agree that the hardest part of the entire content creation process is not putting finger to keyword and writing something, but finding a constant stream of relevant topic ideas.
To get you started and make 2017 your most successful content year ever, we’ve compiled a series of ideas you can incorporate into your content marketing strategy today. There are enough topic suggestions to update your site regularly for the next few months. Take them in the order they are presented, pick and choose as the occasion demands or just use them as a starting point and add your own twist – however you use this list, it should provide enough inspiration to raise your content marketing game over the next 12 months…
-
1
Resolutions for the months ahead
A recap of the last 12 months and a preview of plans for the next quarter, next six months or the next year. How will you better serve your customers? What exciting new developments are there in the pipeline? How will you set yourself apart as the business to do business with this year?
-
2
New hires
Do your plans for 2017 involve recruitment? The creation of local jobs, however many or few, is always newsworthy. And announcing your intentions with a press release or news item means you’ll get the pick of applicants. Follow this with appointment updates.
-
3
New product(s)
Do you have any new products or services in development or ready for launch? Announce them to a fan fare, including how long you have spent perfecting them or sourcing them, what the usefulness is for clients new and old, and how this product or service differs from what competitors offer or previous incarnations.
-
4
Social media
Write a piece on your social media presence and any exciting initiatives or collaborations you have planned.
-
5
Investment
Are you seeking investment? Crowdfunding or celebrating the conclusion of a successful funding round? Perhaps you are upgrading premises or investing in new equipment? However you invest in your business this year, write a PR about it. Include the reasons behind the investment and what the benefits will be.
-
6
Community involvement
Whether you offer a local student a work placement, give a careers talk at a local school or sponsor the local football team, advertise your charitable endeavours with a PR or news release sent to local press and posted online. This can be the starting point for other releases throughout the year as you follow up on your student’s placement progress or post match reports after every game for the team you sponsor.
-
7
Charity
Volunteer your business as a collection point for a charity or arrange a charity challenge. However you contribute to helping others, raise awareness to make your activities even more successful with a PR, blog post and social media updates.
-
8
Buying trips
Buying trips present great opportunities for new content items. Team members can keep a diary of their trip highlights to appear as blog postings complete with pics or videos on the web site and via social media platforms such as Instagram. A piece before or after the trip also makes for good blog post material, setting out the lengths you’ll go to to find the best products and materials for clients. This can be accompanied by a press release, infographic, podcast or vlog.
-
9
Exhibitions, conferences and seminars
If you have confirmed an exhibition presence, have special guests on your stand, have been invited to speak at a seminar – anything related to an exhibition or conference presence gives ample opportunity for blog posts, articles and press releases. Presentations can also be repurposed into blogs, white papers and slide shares.
-
10
Research, surveys, trends and questionnaires
Launch a customer service questionnaire, survey or trend report. Asking your clients and social media users what they think and want makes for great content. Invite them to submit suggestions and feedback, gauge their sentiments and ask them about the habits, thoughts and fears. Compile statistics from their responses and follow up with blog posts, press releases and infographics.