Social media and blog content go together like peanut butter and jelly. At least, in my world they do. I’m not only a die-hard PB&J girl, but the amount of time that I spend looking at social media sites and brainstorming blog content is probably a little unhealthy. I think that social media is a great way to find ideas for your blog or in our case, for our client’s blogs. Here’s the how and why of using social media to find great content ideas for your blog.
How
There are so many different social media channels available, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, SnapChat and Instagram – so how can you use them to get inspired. Well, I recommend picking one of your more popular platforms and focus on that. Ask yourself, “where is my audience engaging the most with my brand?” In this case, we’re going to look on Facebook.
Head on over to your Facebook page and from here you have a few options:
- Go to your recent posts and see if anyone has commented. What is your audience saying? Do they have any questions on what you’ve posted?
- Go to your “visitors post” section and see what your customers are saying. Are they asking questions or do they have complaints? What are they saying and sharing, this way you can find a way to address it.
- Check out your Facebook Insights – what posts performed the best? What kind of content resonates with your target audience?
Now that you have done some research into your audience and what they are saying, it’s time to formulate a plan. If they have asked the same question over and over, like “what size should my Facebook cover photo be?” then write a blog post about that, or create a resource like this one to help them. If they are commenting or complaining about something, address their problems head on in a blog post. Do they not like that your product is expensive? Then, explain the process of how your product is made and why it’s worth it.
Now for the content types, there are two reasons for this. It shows some insight into the content that they like. Is your audience all about the listicles? Or the quizzes? Or do they prefer a more informative post or a how-to? If one of your best-performing posts is an informative article, then keep that up! If it’s a listicle, then write some more of those. It really shows how your audience likes to digest content. And if they prefer photos, then work on your graphics. Work with a designer and step up the images you create for your blog. Here are some tips from our awesome designer, Irene.
So those are just a handful of tips to get your creative juices flowing and how to leverage your audience on Facebook to brainstorm content for your blog.
Why
I mean, really, why not? When you create content, you shouldn’t just create it. There should be a real purpose behind the content that you are creating. So, if you’re not sure of your goals for creating content then you need to stop reading and re-evaluate your strategy.
(Hint: talk to your executive team and decision-makers and figure out the purpose of your content. Is it to drive leads, generate more brand awareness, convert leads into customers? Once you know your goals, you can cater your content to those goals).
Okay, so back to having a purpose of creating content. If the purpose of creating content is to drive awareness (in this case, say yes), then knowing what your audience wants to read and how they like to read it will give you the upper hand. The great thing about social networks and Facebook is that it gives you direct access to your audience. You can have a two-way conversation with them and get real answers and real insight into their needs and wants. That’s why you should use it to help drive your blog strategy.
If you’re able to tap into their minds and find the content that they want to read and share, then you’re on your way to creating killer content that will drive brand awareness (and boom, hit your goal)!
Conclusion
Brainstorming content is a great exercise and you definitely should spend some time each week (or month or quarter) to come up with new innovative ideas for your blog. But, be sure to include some time to research and review the content that you’re already sharing with your customers and see what works and what doesn’t. Having access to real customer insights via Facebook can help you better understand your audience and create a content strategy that drives results.
And remember, if you need a little creative help – we’re brainstorming pros over here!