Sometimes, blog and social media content pop into your brain quickly and easily. Sometimes, the writing comes effortlessly and you create an amazing piece of content on the first or second try. Other times, however, it feels like your brain has exhausted every possible topic. You aren’t sure what else you could possibly say about your business or industry. And even when you do sit down to write, nothing comes to mind.
It happens to all of us every now and then. Creator’s block sets in for one reason or another (maybe your physical store has kept you from your company blog), and you aren’t sure what else to do that will engage your current customers and catch the eyes of prospective patrons.
That’s why today’s blog post is all about how you can keep your content fresh. Whether you’re repurposing some older work or trying to find new ways to say “our brand is awesome!”, we have some ideas to help you out.
1. Make Interactive Online Content
Content on social media and your website should be interactive by its very nature. However, you can take this a step further by actively and explicitly telling your community to engage with you. Here are a few examples:
Do a Livestream
Go live on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, or wherever it is your audience is. Start actively posting about it a few days before the event on all of your social media platforms to let people know when you’re going live.
On top of this, make sure you have a plan for what exactly you will do once you’re live. Will you show them a behind the scenes look at your business? Are you going to give them a quick tutorial? It’s best to have this sorted out before the camera is on you.
And while you’re doing the show, be sure to respond to questions and comments people have in the chat. This will help make the overall experience more interactive and enjoyable.
Host an AMA
If livestreaming isn’t really your thing, or you’re just looking for some other ways to engage, try hosting an AMA (ask me anything) on one of your social channels. Tell your followers to send questions about your business, your staff, your products, etc. Then, post the questions and answers in whichever format makes the most sense.
Many AMAs take place on Instagram stories since there is a feature to add a question box. Or, you could take questions on TikTok and record yourself giving answers. Whichever platform works best for your customer personas and for you!
You could even use this content to create a Q&A-style blog post. This will give customers who may have missed your AMA the chance to read through some of your answers.
Do a Social Media Takeover
If followers are used to seeing you on their feeds, let one of your employees or an influencer take over for a day. They can take your customers through a typical day in the life, share their favorite parts of your brand, and overall give your followers a new voice to associate with your business.
Again, be sure to promote the takeover continuously for a few days before it actually happens. That way, people will be more likely to get excited and pay attention to it.
2. Repurpose Older Content
It feels great when you can take content you’ve already made and recycle it to be even more useful. This way, you can reach new audiences, remind existing customers of the importance of the topic, and save yourself the time and energy of creating something from scratch.
But what does this look like in practice?
Before putting together your repurposed materials, it’s important to identify the topic you are trying to drive home. What makes a particular piece of content worth re-sharing? It’s also a good idea to look back at the piece in order to update it for relevancy.
There are a couple of ways to go about repurposing your content. For instance, old blog posts can be used to create a guide or e-book. Any statistics that you’ve used in the past can become stand-alone social media posts. Graphics or designs can turn into a gallery or Pinterest board.
Just be sure that a reasonable amount of time has passed before you decide to update and resend content. Three or more weeks is usually enough to ensure that people have seen the original post(s) and are ready for an update.
3. Create Opportunities for User-Generated Content
Whenever you can use your follower’s work, be sure to do so. Often, customers will post on social media about your brand just because they appreciate your product and want to share it with their followers.
When this happens, be sure to show them that you’re grateful for their business and continued engagement with your brand. Share their shoutout on your own platforms. This, in turn, will encourage others to do the same.
This can take a few different forms. For example, you will no doubt get random shout-outs on social media, given you have a strong presence and active follower base. In this case, retweet, share on your story, and @ mention people in order to show that you are appreciative of their advocacy.
You can also directly tell customers what kind of content you want to see from them. Create a post asking people for feedback or to share a picture of them using your product with a specific hashtag. Just make sure not to make the directions too intricate. People should be able to complete the task at hand within a few seconds, otherwise they will simply keep on scrolling.
If you need any further reason to invest time into user generated content, take a look at the numbers. According to Stackla, 60% of customers think that user generated content is the most authentic form of content marketing. In a world where people highly value authenticity, this number is too important to ignore.
To Summarize
It’s easy to put your brand’s content in a box, one that may begin to feel uninspired after a certain amount of time. However, the internet is a place in which creativity is not just encouraged, it’s a necessity. So, if you feel like your content marketing strategy could use a little bit more liveliness, consider turning to a few of the steps above.
Still feeling stuck? Vervology would be happy to help! We can give you insights on your content strategy and help get it to where you want it to be. Reach out to schedule a free consultation.