What are ways to find fresh content for your blog and social media?

I struggled with content ideas years ago until I got introduced to Quora.com. I followed questions about LinkedIn, Sales Navigator, Networking, and Social Networking. Every day I get asked questions that I can answer. This has been one of my best content topic tactics as I am able to answer the question on Quora and then create a YouTube video, blog post, and often a new LinkedIn Post for my Profile or business page. What I have discovered is if 1 person is asking a question, very often others have the same question, again, that I get to answer for everyone.

I find the best sources of content come directly from the FAQs of my current and past customers. Those questions are perfect as blog and social media topics because if one clients asked it before you can bet that other potential clients are also wondering the same.

Sometimes after reading a really good book, listening to a compelling/informative podcast, or watching a good YouTube video, I will seek the influencer out on LinkedIn and/or other platforms. I write a friendly and thankful invite message and invite them to connect. Not only do I get to follow them on LinkedIn, but I start creating the basis of a relationship. I needed some business professionals to help me write a book a few years ago and because I had reached out to some of these really cool influencers one of them agreed to help me and another gave me two other ideas for contributors. Following sometimes is just not enough. Finding them on other channels, then engaging and connecting with them on LinkedIn can be impactful as well.

For years, I have been following various top voices, experts in both my direct fields or surrounding areas. Listening and trying out how they have created an unique voice for the social media community. I ask tons of questions about their experiences with creating popular posts and what their failures taught them. Very often they have given me insight that has made all the difference in my own social media successes. And open my eyes to how I can be valuable in creating content for great conversations too. Everyone wants to help- especially those who have become an influential voice in creating content for social media platforms.

Without doing keyword research, you can be off the mark when you are creating content for your audience. Keyword research tools help you identify not only what’s popular but how competitive it is. When you are starting out with SEO, focus on low competitive keywords. Sure the volume is lower, but you have a much better chance to rank. As your website gains more domain authority, you can go after the higher competitive words.

I’ve found polls on Linkedin to be an excellent way to do some market research on my clients pain points and what they are looking for. You can see who has voted for what and then take a conversation into direct messages.

If you aren’t reusing, repurposing and recycling your content, you are missing a trick. Most of our content only gets seen by a small % of our audience each time we post it - so why not repost it? Turning a video into a blog or social content is a great way to reach a wider audience because different people like to consume content in different ways. lt save you from having to come up with brand new content all the time and services the needs of your audience better.

Networking groups that offer business trainings or presentations can be a good source of content. The mainstream media, books and films often inspire me to write social content and blogs. Content is all around us, everywhere you look.

I have found that simply listening to others in my field or organization often brings new, fresh perspectives to various topics. I often try to create lunches or other social activities to keep my content fresh by using those conversations with others to spark new insights or discover interesting knowledge that I wasn’t aware of- Thus, creating more social variety as new connections by using a networking mindset can feed my creativity with fresh thinking about various aspects of life and business beyond my own personal work/life experience. Just create a list of questions that you can ask others about their interests, business/work/life experiences, or ask them to tell you a story about their hobbies etc. Then listen.

If you join social media groups where people gather to seek advice, these are great places to get ideas for content. It's always easier to essentially answer a question that's out there rather than make something up. Plus, you know if one person wants information on this topic, a lot of other people will, too!