There you are, sitting in front of your computer, ready to create a content plan for a killer social media strategy. There’s just one problem, though. You’ve been staring at your blinking cursor for over an hour. Your content plan is decidedly empty, and at this point, you are starving for content ideas.
Call it writer’s block. Call it creativity block. Any cute name will do, but it still won’t unlock the bajillion amazing content ideas you’re searching for.
But some time-tested strategies WILL.
Stop staring at your cursor. Check out these easy strategies to generate dozens of content ideas for your social media plan. And if you’re in a pinch and need ideas now, scroll on to read 35 content ideas that will work for any business’ social media.
Generate Content Ideas with this 5-Step Approach
Let’s take a realistic look at the situation here. Content ideas generally don’t appear out of nowhere. Yes, there will be times that you’re walking your dog and suddenly you come up with a GREAT idea for a Reel. But, a whole month’s worth of social media content (i.e., a plan, a strategy) usually takes more than a single moment of inspiration.
Great content ideas come when you put 5 simple steps into action.
1. Identify Your Goals
Please don’t skip this all-important step. It really does make a difference, ensuring you don’t publish willy-nilly content that leaves your audience feeling like, “what do I do with this?”
Before you even think of coming up with content ideas, ask yourself what you want to achieve with it.
Start with a timeframe. Are you planning social media content for one month? One quarter? Get clear on that.
What action from your audience will help you advance your business goals? Purchases? Engagements? New Leads?
Start planning, using a simple table format, like this:
Timeframe: Q3
| Goal | Content Pillars | Content Ideas |
|---|---|---|
| Authority | ||
| Awareness | ||
| Engagement | ||
| Lead Generation | ||
| Sales |
When you decide what your goal is, you’re ready to proceed to Step 2.
2. Brainstorm Ahead of Time
The key part of this approach is “ahead of time.”
Let me beg you: PLEASE don’t think this will work as well as you want it to if you’re brainstorming the day before your content plan is due. Give yourself time!
Brainstorming isn’t as boring as splashing down ideas on a page, sometimes known as a “brain dump.” That can work sometimes, but I recommend engaging in some really cool brainstorming strategies that are very effective in generating great content ideas. It’s best to do this with a team, but if you fly solo, try talking it through out loud or asking a few loyal customers to join you for a creative focus group. Try these:
Drivers Analysis
Gather your team and identify 3 key problems that your target audience has. Write this on a white board. Then, start with one problem. Ask “What drives [this problem]?” Write down answers, and then get more granular. “What drives [this answer]?” Keep going until you feel like you’ve arrived at the main driving cause of each problem (hint: there could be more than one!).
Swipe File Analysis
Review your swipe file (your folder of saved posts, blogs, publications that you think are excellent). Record a list of patterns, effective ideas, unique strategies, and more. Next to each idea, briefly list 3 words describing why you think it works or why you like it.
Slip Writing
Sit down with your team. Ask each person to write a brief content idea on an index card. Pass the index card to the next person. Each person will add to the idea on the index card in front of them. Keep passing until you get your own card back.
3. Open Your Umbrella
Say what?!
Don’t worry, it’s just an analogy. I don’t want you to invite back luck by opening an umbrella inside your workspace. Yikes!
I do want you to identify a theme for your designated timeframe. This means that all of the content ideas you come up with later should naturally sit under your umbrella, or theme.
Your brainstorming strategies probably revealed common patterns, trends, problems or questions that pertain to your niche. Use these commonalities to decide on your monthly or quarterly theme. Examples of themes might be:
- Health and wellness tips for [insert community]
- How to make summer reading fun
- Traveling on a budget
- Entrepreneurial growth
The bottom line is that each content idea should connect to your general theme.
4. Get Out Your Buckets
Oh my! Another analogy! We’re on a roll…
Here, we’re talking about “content buckets,” otherwise known as content pillars. Implementing content pillars helps you maintain diversity in your content plan. Unless your social media strategy is solely about inspiration, you won’t want to create a whole month of inspirational quotes. Make sense?
Maybe you already have content pillars. If you don’t, then decide on content pillars that are relevant to your audience and your purpose on social media. Content pillars are living and breathing, and you will apply them according to your goals in a given timeframe. Some months, you might use 4 of your content pillars, while other months you might use a different 3 of your content pillars.
Take a look at a good visual here.
Timeframe: Q3
| Goal | Content Pillars | Content Ideas |
|---|---|---|
| Authority | Education, Resources | |
| Awareness | Entertainment, Inspiration, Tips | |
| Engagement | Inspiration, Connection | |
| Lead Generation | Tips, Resources | |
| Sales | Promotions, Proof |
Notice that some content pillars will help you achieve multiple goals. That’s a good thing! Ready to start coming up with content ideas? Great, let’s do it.
5. Organize Content Ideas
Now you can get to the good part! Organizing content ideas nicely into each “bucket” or pillar, and watching them help you achieve your goals.
Refer back to your brainstorming notes and your theme. You should have some great ideas already cooked up from these exercises. As you begin organizing your content ideas, you will likely think up a few more (that’s because your creative juices aren’t just flowing, they’re on fire because you’ve been deliberately sparking them!).
Maybe your organization looks something like this:
Timeframe: Q3
| Goal | Content Pillars | Content Ideas |
|---|---|---|
| Authority | Education, Resources | Product Tutorial, Explainer Video, How to complete [insert task], Checklist to follow for your niche, Research digest relevant to your industry and audience |
| Awareness | Entertainment, Inspiration, Tips | Inspirational quote that motivates your audience, Brand backstory that shares your “origin” and connects to your audience, Meme that captures emotions of a particular situation, Hacks to save time or stress for your audience, Advice that shares “gems” of lessons |
| Engagement | Inspiration, Connection | Poll to learn more about your niche audience’s needs, Inspiring lessons learned, Ask Me Anything to engage and cultivate community, Ask for feedback on a recent product release |
| Lead Generation | Tips, Resources | Answer FAQs, Downloadable checklist or resource for professional service providers in your niche, newsletter subscription to build audience |
| Sales | Promotions, Proof | New releases of great products, sales or coupons for upcoming holiday, Share user generated content, Show before and after to demonstrate usefulness of your products or services |
6. Create AMAZING Content
Now that you have an inspired, organized, strategic plan of content ideas to spice up your social media, you’re ready to create amazing content!
At this point, if you haven’t already, I highly recommend using a content planning tool so you can keep your ideas and schedule organized. At Spicy Lemon Marketing, we use ClickUp. Other examples include Asana, Trello, and Monday. You can adapt task organizers and statuses to reflect your goals, content pillars, and of course your content ideas.
After you get your content planning tool set up, start writing your content. Within each content idea’s task, input the following:
- Text for graphic
- Guidelines for designer, if applicable
- Content for Caption
- Hashtags
- Destination channel
- Publication date
There are a lot more details you can add in your content planning tool, but these basics will get you started. Creating content within a content planning tool, and using steps 1-5 beforehand, will be an effective use of your time. Plus, it will prepare social media content that your audience needs to see.
Pro-Tip: Save time by using an automated scheduling tool, like Meta Business Suite, Hootsuite, etc. This will automate publications on your social media channels so you don’t have to think about it later!
35 Content Ideas When You’re in a Pinch
We get it! Sometimes life gets in the way and you’re staring down a blank slate with a very loud clock ticking in your brain.
For times like those, pull out these 35 content ideas. Specially designed to meet common business goal and frequently used content pillars, these content ideas will help you fill up your social media schedule and buy yourself some time to plan for the future with Step 1.
| Goal | Content Pillars | Content Ideas |
|---|---|---|
| Authority | Education, Resources | 1. Give a step by step tutorial 2. Post an explainer video to use a product 3. Publish a how-to guide 4. Post a handy checklist 5. Digest industry research |
| Awareness | Entertainment, Inspiration, Tips | 6. Post a quote that inspires you 7. Share your brand backstory 8. Create or share a relevant meme 9. Give a list of helpful hacks 10. Offer advice for common problems |
| Build Community | Connection, Advice | 11. Collaborate with a relevant/non-competitive account 12. Host a Live Q & A 13. Answer an FAQ 14. Invite Followers to Join a Cause 15. Tell a story that relates to your audience |
| Drive Traffic | Promotions, Resources | 16. Offer a flash sale 17. Promote a resource on your website 18. Post a link to your blog 19. Promote newsletter subscriptions 20. Share your About Page |
| Engagement | Inspiration, Connection | 21. Conduct a poll in your Stories 22. Share an inspiring “lessons learned” story 23. Host an “Ask Me Anything” 24. Request audience feedback 25. Ask followers to describe their day with a GIF |
| Lead Generation | Tips, Resources | 26. Advertise a free webinar 27. Post a link to download a free guide 28. Promote your e-newsletter 29. Post a demo w/CTA to comment for full steps 30. Show a tool you can’t live without |
| Sales | Promotions, Proof | 31. Advertise new releases 32. Post a flash sale or coupon 33. Share user generated content 34. Show before and after 35. Post testimonial for service or product |
Still Need Help with Content?
Running your own business can feel awfully chaotic! Even when you know that content marketing is an important part of your business, the chaotic nature of your role can make it hard to carve out time to create content.
That’s when it’s a super savvy idea to bring in the experts to spice up your social media content.
Contact me and my team today if you’re ready to squeeze the opportunity for content made without the chaos.
