Digital Marketing Content Inspiration

We received a response on our last post that plagiarism is often a result of writer’s block.   That can certainly be the case especially for longer running marketing campaigns.  We are fortunate at eMarketing Innovation in that digital marketing strategy and technology evolves quickly, so even old topics become new after a period of time.  But even with that advantage we are not immune from feeling like we are repeating ourselves or struggling to create compelling content.

So what should a trainer, consultant, or professional coach do if the deadline for their content calendar is looming and they are grasping for ideas?  Here are a few tactics on how you can generate legitimate content, even when you’re not inspired to do so:

Reuse a Topic but with a Different Media

Did you have an article or report that was well received and has been gathering dust for at least six months?  Update the content a bit and shoot a video that visually or verbally illustrates some of the points you made in the written version. This allows you to highlight things like tonality and body language that might be lost in the written format.

It can work in reverse too.  Maybe a series of videos can be compiled into a whitepaper or checklist.

Just be sure that you are offering something new from the original content.  Otherwise, you run the risk of getting into a cycle of regurgitating what you’ve already released.

Newsjacking

Newsjacking is the process of using a breaking news story to make your own commentary or inject your ideas to generate audience engagement. Trainers, consultants, and professional coaches have to educate themselves to stay at the forefront of their field.  Leverage that learning process to inspire new content.  You can do this by making direct commentary on new studies or illustrating a point with current events.

As an example, a client has done a series of articles about negotiating tactic using recent political maneuvering as an example of victories and missteps.

Leverage Frustration

Everyone runs into frustrations with their work.  That energy is often diffused by venting to others, exercising it off, or letting it simmer into a multitude of unhealthy behaviors. Redirect your frustration into inspiration.  Some of the most passionate and insightful content comes from a trainer, consultant, or professional coach that sees a missed opportunity or can’t get best practices to stick.

Write or record what it is that’s frustrating to you and then mold that into an article, video, report, or whitepaper that illustrates how others can avoid or overcome that frustration.

It’s important to do editing on these pieces and helpful to get a third party to review it.  You don’t want to release a rant or something that comes off as threatening. It’s also important not to identify, let alone attack, an individual.  If your content refers to a person, change or omit the name to maintain anonymity.

Inspiration is often the hardest part of content creation.  If you are struggling to come up with compelling content, let the stimuli in the world around you, either past content, current events, or professional frustrations, inspire you to make something unique and valuable.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *