Tag : Content Creation

3 Things You Should Be Doing on LinkedIn But Aren’t

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15Apr

The reason that so many otherwise great local businesses fail on LinkedIn is that they’re not really sure what to do. They look at Google publishing white papers and Wal-Mart rolling out national promotional campaigns, and they’re not really sure what their role is on the platform. Lucky for you, I’ve got the answer.

I’m going to cover what your local business should be posting on LinkedIn and how you should be posting it. Let’s catch you up on the LinkedIn strategies you’ve been missing!

Say Something Meaningful
As a local business, you don’t have the reach or the bottomless resources of a Fortune 500 company. But what you do have (hopefully) is a point of view. You’re working in your industry every day—use that knowledge to offer insight that only you can provide!

One tactic that The Go! Agency uses for our clients is to curate content then share it with something meaningful attached. So if you were a fashion boutique, you might share a post about a runway in Paris with your thoughts about the styles.

“But Christopher!” You say, “I don’t want people to care about that fashion show in Paris, I want them to care about my local business!”

Think bigger picture. Sure, the article isn’t about how great your business is, but it shows that you know what you’re talking about when it comes to fashion. It establishes you as an authority, so that when people in your area are looking at your LinkedIn page, they’re impressed and interested in your brand.

There’s more to succeeding on LinkedIn than just having a point of view, though. You need to say it before people get bored.

Make It Quick
On every social media platform, users are scrolling through their feeds, paying (at most) half attention to what they’re looking at. That means you have to spit it out!

No matter how good your insight is, I promise you that nobody wants to read an essay before they even get to the article you’re sharing. Keep your LinkedIn posts to two short sentences AT THE MOST. If you can manage it, fewer than 100 characters is ideal.

While this does limit the nuance you can give in your posts, it also makes it easier for people to see what you’re talking about. That means more engagements, more connections, and more business opportunities going forward. Save the long-form content for the blogs and make sure that your LinkedIn updates will actually get read!

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Join Relevant Groups
If you’re not joining LinkedIn groups, you’re missing a great opportunity to connect with people who would engage with your business. If you’re a salon, join some beauty groups! If you’re a restaurant, join a group for foodies! Whatever industry you’re in, there is going to be a LinkedIn group for your business.

Once you get in these groups, don’t be silent. Strike up some conversations! The key word here is “conversations,” though. You can’t just post constantly in the same group and hope that people will engage with you. Not only is that ineffective, but it’s a great way to get banned by a moderator for spamming the group.

Instead, like and comment on other people’s posts in the group. If you’re engaging with their content, they’re likely to reciprocate and send some attention your way. Just be sure to do the same when someone likes or comments on one of your posts!

Use This Advice ASAP
I’ve seen countless small businesses fail to use these best practices on LinkedIn—don’t be one of them! Starting today means you’re late, so hop on this train before you miss your chance for your small business to succeed on LinkedIn.

Could you use some more advice on how to succeed on LinkedIn? Schedule your free consultation with The Go! Agency!

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The Essential Guide to Visuals

The Essential Guide to Visuals (17)
19Nov

The best piece of content in the world will never get clicked on without a good visual. Of course, this begs the question: What makes for a good social media visual?

Well, there are a lot of things that factor into image quality: white space, kerning, and several others. But if you’re not an experienced graphic designer, just describing these issues isn’t going to tell you very much.

I’m going to show you real examples that my team made of good graphic design practices vs shoddy graphic design practices. Take a look!

1. White Space

White space is the empty part of a visual that gives it room to breathe. An image that’s crammed full of saturated colors and complicated patterns is going to exhaust anyone looking at it. On the flip side of that, too much white space makes your visual boring!

In this first example, the bad image has way too much white space. It’s boring, empty, and you’re only getting a glimpse of the one object in the image.

But white space is used much more effectively in the second image! It isn’t just a straight shot of the laptop, which would be dull to look at, but it balances the activity on the keyboard with the emptiness of the background and the rest of the laptop.

2. Text Layout

In our first visual, there’s a nice picture presented in an interesting way, but none of that matters once you notice that the text is cutoff. It makes the poster look amateurish, which is never a word you want associated with your brand!

In the second image, the text is in its proper place and you can fully appreciate the image and layout that the graphic designer chose. This visual is much more likely to earn some clicks!

3. Kerning

Kerning is the spacing between letters/characters in your visual, and it plays a huge role in how your work is received.

Look at the first design. There’s so much space between the letters that the text is right against the border and the edge of the image is cutoff. As a result, the whole thing looks like a crowded mess.

The second image tightens up the kerning, leaving plenty of room for both the visual and the text. Instead of cramped, this visual feels well-crafted and perfectly spaced!

4. Overcrowding

Sometimes, visuals just have too much going on!

The first visual’s funky background makes the entire thing feel too crowded. Your eye isn’t sure where to go, and your social media following would quickly tell you that your visual gave them headaches!

The revised visual is much more pleasant. There’s plenty of empty space, and your eye can much more easily focus on the central image.

5. Legibility

As a graphic designer, you have to carefully pair the color of your font with the image!

The text in the first image is clear—until we lose it in the trees and the woman’s hair. Because the graphic designer didn’t consider how a dark green font would look against leaves, you lose the tail end of the message.

The green text looked great, so our graphic designer fixed this by changing up the spacing. You get a clear, legible visual without sacrificing text that fits the image’s background!

6. Justification

In design, justification is how text/graphic elements are structured. For example, if text is “right justified,” it will all start from the right side of the visual.

This is where we enter the uncanny valley—something looks off, but the reason may not be obvious at first. In our first image, the text is all slightly mis-aligned, with the “No” slightly off from the preceding line of text.

Our second image changes everything to be left justified, and the entire visual is better for it. It looks crisp, orderly, and doesn’t make you scratch your head and wonder, “What’s wrong here?”

Invest In Your Visuals
There are a lot of elements that go into great graphic design, but it’s important that you keep them in mind! You wouldn’t skimp on your written content, and visuals are at least as important!

Could your visual content use some help? Schedule your free consultation with The Go! Agency!

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7 Social Media Marketing Things You Should Know but Don’t

7 Social Media Marketing Things You Should Know but Don't
5Nov

Social media marketing is constantly in flux, and it doesn’t look like that’s going to change anytime soon. The best practices of yesterday are painfully outdated now. As a marketer, you’ve got two options: fall behind your competition, or stay sharp!

I’m going to share the seven biggest things across social media that every marketer should know—but most don’t. Let’s see how up-to-date your knowledge is!

1. You Need Tools
Social media management tools aren’t just flashy programs for people with money to burn. They’re an integral part of social media marketing, and if you’re not using them, odds are you’re falling behind.

Unless you like the idea of manually posting multiple updates across social media every day, writing error-ridden content, and having low-quality visuals, you’re going to need some help!

2. You Need to Curate Content
Thinking of fresh, original content every day isn’t going to work if you’re not seeing what other people in your industry are posting. Content curation lets you share relevant, valuable news with your followers and can give you ideas for how to produce your own unique content!

3. You Need to Understand Metrics
Nobody likes to learn a lot of jargon, but it’s there for a reason. In marketing, it’s not enough to just “go with your gut.” You need to have hard, quantifiable data to support your social media marketing strategy, and having a working understanding of metrics and when to track them is the only way to get that information.

4. You Need to Work on Visuals
Graphic design often gets pushed aside by marketers who chant the Bill Gates quote, “Content is king.” And sure, your written content is important, but nothing can replace the impact of quality visuals. Think about it: Would you read a blog with Pulitzer-worthy writing that looked like its visuals were made by a toddler? Of course not, because you never would have clicked on their content to begin with!

5. You Need to Find and Engage With Your Audience
The appeal of social media marketing is that you can target specific consumers who are most likely to buy from you, so why wouldn’t you make the most of that? By creating buyer personas and optimizing your engagement for your audience’s preferred social media platform, you can make your campaign much more effective.

6. You Need to Watch Your Competitors
It isn’t enough to just look at your own successes and shortcomings. Your competitors are, by definition, appealing to a similar market, so see what you can learn from them! By tracking their movements on social media, you’ll double your opportunities to improve your own strategy!

7. You Need a Checklist
If you’re running a multi-platform social media campaign, you simply can’t keep it all straight in your head. There are too many moving parts for anyone to remember every little thing! By keeping a checklist and running through it on a regular basis, you guarantee that nothing will slip through the cracks!

Don’t Stop Learning
These are essential parts of social media marketing, but it’s not enough to stop once you’ve mastered these! Take this information as a way to get you started. From there, keep reading! Social media will never stagnate, and neither can your understanding!

Everyone could use some help staying competitive on social media. If you’re not sure what to do, just schedule your free consultation with The Go! Agency!

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Is Your Social Media Marketing Company a Good Fit?

Is Your Social Media Marketing Company a Good Fit?
23Jul

No one should settle for “meh” when it comes to social media marketing companies. Some of those companies just can’t hack it–and make the rest of us look bad in the process. How will you be able to tell that your prospective social media marketing agency is worth the investment? Here are some hallmarks of a good social media marketing firm.

1. The staff members fill specific roles. 

The smaller the firm, the more hats each employee wears. However, great social media marketing companies will have team members with specific jobs (account managers, content writers, graphic designers, etc.). That’s because those companies want these tasks to be completed by people who know what they’re doing. Sure, sometimes an account manager might throw together some graphics as a place holder, or the team will split the duties of a coworker who’s on leave, but generally all roles are clearly defined. 

2. The firm is focused on your long-term success.

You want a firm that looks at the big picture. These firms won’t waste resources on campaigns or tactics that will not have lasting effects. The managers strategize with you on a monthly basis, but with an eye on their annual strategy for your brand. This technique can be slow to take-off, but then will yield steady results. Such social media management companies are proving that they are invested in their clients.

3. Your account reps are accessible and responsive.

(Please note the tacit “within reason.” Few reps will be on-call 24/7/365, unless otherwise stated and even then only in case of an actual emergency.) If you have a question, you can easily reach them for an answer. If you have a problem, they will address it immediately. You should be able to get into contact with the correct person when necessary. On a slightly related note, good firms have low turnover. This is great because it means you will probably keep the same account manager or creative team throughout your relationship with the firm. This also indicates that the firm has good management and reliable employees.

4. They listen to and address your concerns.

A good social media marketing agency will work with you. True, you might disagree with their advice, but they won’t force you to follow it. They will be knowledgeable about your situation and will have researched the challenges facing your industry. They have a vested interest in your success, so they will try to persuade you on the best marketing strategies. Bad social media marketers take the maxim, “the customer is always right,” to an extreme–agreeing with every idea from the client, no matter how wasteful, silly, or damaging.

5. Good social media marketing firms have successful track records.

These agencies proudly display portfolios of previous campaigns and testimonials from satisfied clients. They have nothing to hide. Reputation matters: your agent should be able to provide references upon request.

What do you look for when hiring a social media marketing agency? Tell us in the comments!

How does your current social media marketing firm measure up? The Go! Agency has the digital marketing skills you need to thrive in the modern marketplace! Contact us today for a free consultation!

 

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The Best Instagram Tools You’re Not Using

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19Jul

Instagram has cemented itself as the premier social media platform of 2018. Less confrontational than Twitter, less esoteric than Tumblr, and more careful with your information than Facebook, Instagram is attracting users in droves. It is no longer just a collection of latte art, food porn, and bathroom-mirror-selfies: Instagram has risen to the top of the pack for social media marketing opportunities. 

Unfortunately, some brands aren’t taking advantage of all Instagram has to offer. Are you getting the most out of your Instagram account? Today we’ll discuss the features that you should be using (but probably aren’t).

Feed

• Following hashtags: Just like on Twitter or Tumblr, you can follow hashtags on Instagram. This will allow you to keep track of trends, influencers, and even your own brand’s hashtags!

• Muting users: Muting allows you to hide people from your feed without actually unfollowing them. This feature is a boon to anyone who is tired of seeing post after post of a friend’s baby (scientific fact: All newborns look like Yoda, no matter what filter you use), but can be equally beneficial to marketers who want to grow their brands! You can follow back without being bombarded with unwanted content.

Stories

• Archiving: Instagram Stories are fun yet fleeting–like the bloom of the Arizona’s Queen of the Night cactus, or a Twitter feud. You post a topical, silly, or fascinating video, and it disappears forever after twenty-four hours. Not anymore! Now you can choose to archive Stories, preserving them forever in your profile. Just go to your Insights to find them all. Note: only account owners will be able to see archived Stories.

• Highlighting: Basically, these are curated collections of your archived Stories. Archiving Stories just keeps them in the back end of the app. If you want users to be able to see these Stories again or if you want to organize them into channels, you can create a Highlight channel. Each Highlight contains Stories grouped by theme. Technically, you can decide to group your highlights by any way you see fit (“Stories Featuring a Mike,” “Stories Featuring Mike’s Right Thumb,” e.g.), but theme is your safest bet.

Posts

• Descriptions: It is almost ludicrous how many Instagram users waste the opportunity for content marketing. Including hashtags and mentions in descriptions will help users–i.e., potential customers–find you.  

• Filtering Comments: Trolls happen, so do bots, spammers, and lonely Russian singles who would love to chat with you. All of these miscreants will create new accounts as fast as you can block them. Thankfully, you can filter comments on Instagram! Filter according to keywords, phrases, or hashtags. This filter works on the “set it and forget it” principle: these comments are removed automatically.

• Hashtagging: Sometimes 30 tags just won’t cut it. What’s an enterprising user to do? You can repost content using all-new hashtags! Just delete the comment with the old hashtags and post a comment with fresh hashtags.

Overall

• Instagram Tutorials: Instagram wants to help you have the best possible experience on its platform. Topics range from improving your profile to building a community. Find these in the Business Settings on the app.

• Utilizing hashtags to build communities: Social media is all about connection, and Instagram is no different. Communities center around common hashtags. These hashtags range from hobbies (#NaNoWriMo#inktober), to interests (#caturday#yogaeverydamnday), to social causes (#PuberMe#bodypositive).

When clients ask us what they’re doing wrong, we often respond that the problem is what they’re not doing. A tool can’t benefit you if you don’t use it to its full potential. Instagram has many more innovative and attractive features at your disposal — all you have to do is use them!

Do you want to get the most out of your social media marketing strategy? That’s why we’re here! We can help you streamline your social media channels, create a cohesive message, and attract your ideal customer. Contact us today for your free consultation!

 

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5 Big Brand Social Media Secrets For Small Businesses

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25Apr

Earlier this week we published a blog showcasing five of today’s biggest brands and their unique approaches to social media marketing. We closely looked at how their creativity improved their relationships with their customers in the process. Today, we are going to further dive into how huge brands, ones that we all know and love, find success on social.

But before we dive into these strategies, you should know something. When we say a “big-brand approach” to social media, it is worth noting that even the smallest LLC can accomplish this kind of online traction. It’s all about strategy and positioning your brand as a viable resource online.

So how can a small business that is just finding its footing on the web increase its visibility? After all, big brands such as Burger King or Hulu already have an international reputation to utilize. How could someone like Mari Events in Allentown, PA hope to go viral? It happens every day, and here’s how.

If you want to generate big brand levels of engagement, you need a big brand approach– despite your size. Try these five suggestions and see where it takes your brand.

1. Make good original content. Go on any social media account of a major brand and you will see a steady stream of original content. High-quality pictures, videos, and copy pack a powerful punch. Do not underestimate your followers – they know good content when they see it. Make sure yours stands tall on the web. 

2. Spend money to make money. Here’s the hard truth – you are going to need to invest into some social media advertising, whether it is on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. The good news is that you can quickly see its impact on engagement as promoted and advertised content has the potential to reach a large number of prospective customers.

3. Come in with an attitude. What’s the voice of your brand? Whatever it is, keep it consistent. In our previous blog, we spoke about Wendy’s sarcastic, witty, and brazen voice on Twitter which not only attracts millions of followers, but it put its brand in a unique light against its several competitors. While your business may not want to adopt such a spitfire dialogue, you should create a unique approach that is all your own.

4. Understand what the people want. Take a step back and see what people respond to the most. Is it videos? Maybe Q&As? Maybe your audience is a sucker for memes? Whatever your audience responds the best to, develop it and you’ll continue to grow a following. 

5. Have a soul. While all brands have the common goal of making money and creating engagement, a bit of humanity can go a lot further than a promotional post ever could. Showcase an employee, contribute to a charity, show support for the people that make your brand great.

Social media is an amazing opportunity for brands to present themselves in a professional and attractive light. If you are trying to go for the gold and reach big brand levels, try these five strategies.

We can give the big-brand treatment to your brand. Contact us today to get started! 

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5 Big Brand Marketing Strategies That Broke the Internet

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23Apr

Social media itself is an innovative and cutting-edge approach to customer service. With Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and the other amazing social media platforms, you can build relationships and connect with customers like never before. But if you add an expert team behind your strategy, it’s a business owner’s dream.

The best part? You will be able to see very quickly if your strategy works or not. Some top brands, such as the ones we will discuss below, raised the bar in terms of social media customer engagement.

As social media marketers ourselves, our team at The Go! Agency loves these brands’ approach to social media:

1. Wendy’s. The fast food chain has become notorious for sending out hilarious Tweets, often times addressing their biggest competitor, McDonald’s. But what’s really impressive about Wendy’s online marketing is how their audience engages, and the brand follows up with their comments. Below is a great tweet that shows how Wendy’s made a customer’s day while maintaining tone and message. It may downplay one of their own rules, but as you can see my the number of retweets, comments, and likes, it was well worth it.

2. Netflix. Netflix will often create trending campaigns that are funny and relatable. These usually tend to align with trending titles that are on their streaming service like Stranger Things or a Disney title, but they have also been known to tap into subject matter that their audience really relates to. And they do it well. A great example is their Netflix cheating campaign, where they “raised awareness” of the epidemic of partners watching episodes of TV shows without their partner– a heinous offense. Not only did it hit home for a lot of their audience, it was just tongue-in-cheek enough for it to go viral for quite some time.

3. DoSomething.org. Clocking in with an astounding 811,000 Twitter followers, DoSomething.org has achieved something that not many businesses have been able to– create real conversations with the members of their audience. DoSomething.org helps activists stand up for causes they believe in. You can see in the snapshot below that they not only respond to the members of their growing community, they continue the conversation and encourage responses.

4. Apple. Apple is a little odd when it comes to social media. If you’ve ever visited their Twitter account they have never Tweeted– EVER. They will change their cover photo to the latest product imagery, but they never say a word . It’s a very odd strategy. But where they DO shine is on @AppleSupport, where they have a dedicated channel just for customer support. They respond ultra-fast and offer tips and tricks for all their devices. 

Apple Twitter

5. Funko. Funko is the maker of vinyl collectibles and pop culture memorabilia. 

If they didn’t utilize social media, however, they wouldn’t be able to reach the online success they have. There are two facets to their social media success– contests and Q&As. 

Multiple times a day, @OriginalFunko will post contests on their Facebook and Twitter. The prize is usually one or two of their collectible Pop! figures. The only thing people have to do to enter is follow the page and RT or comment. Then, they ask the contest winners to post a pic of their prize when they receive it in the mail, and the conversation continues.

Speaking of conversations, Funko shares weekly #AskFunko sessions, in which their huge fan base can tweet questions to them. Despite getting hit with thousands of questions, the Seattle-based team does their best to answer as many as possible for at least 30 minutes straight. 

These five brands are proud of their marketing strategies, and rightfully so. Each one has created communities that reach the thousands and their brand awareness is through the roof. Do yourself a favor and check out their Facebook and Twitter accounts and get ready to be inspired!

Did you know that our team at The Go! Agency, has years of experience in creating effective social media marketing strategies for our clients? 

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4 Steps To Improve Twitter Customer Communication

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18Apr

We all know about Twitter by now. Public figures and celebrities are always using this amazing platform to sound out messages, for better or for worse, to the masses. But millions of brands are using Twitter to reach out to their customers through social media marketing. The best way to do this? Offer innovative customer service solutions.

A major part of any social media marketing strategy is to employ a successful customer service strategy by using the platforms billions of people prefer. One of the most popular platforms for customer service has become Twitter. In fact over 58% of small businesses are on Twitter and use it for customer service.

Here are the best ways to use Twitter for better customer communication:

1. Offer open communication

Twitter is a great way to deliver top-notch customer service in a quick and convenient fashion. If someone sends a message or mentions your brand, you need to respond and quickly. Some businesses even have a specific Twitter account just for “support” communication, which is a great service to offer your customers because they’ll know exactly where to go when they have questions. We highly recommend this method, as it will also categorize customer service and content marketing tweets separately.

2. Response

If someone tweets at your brand, you better prepare a professional response and send it out quickly. It’s important to show that you care about your customers. The best part about this is that, when paired with a customer-support-exclusive Twitter account, the answers to common questions and concerns can be publicly displayed in your feed. Of course, many people will go the “private message” route. These messages should receive a professional, friendly, and fast response as well.

3. Start the conversation

Another important way to open up Twitter to better customer service is to open the floor to open communication. Let’s face it — Twitter is all about people talking. Turn your Twitter page into a social gathering by giving people a reason to begin a conversation. Ask your audience what their favorite product is, ask for feedback about a new service, or even offer a Q&A session. 

4. Go Live 

As predicted, live video continues to rock social media and Twitter is no exception. When it comes to customer service, there’s nothing better than instant answers, and live video gives your customers just that. By providing answers in real time, you’re not only helping the person who asked the question, but you could also be answering questions that other people have. We’ve used this method here at The Go! Agency and have started many rewarding conversations with customers this way.

Twitter is easy to learn, but it takes time to master. With over 320 million people flying around the platform, your ideal audience is already there, waiting for your awesome customer service stupport.

Get started on Twitter today by contacting us! Our team of social media experts is here to help your business soar. Click here to learn more:  http://ow.ly/PPeb30jtS06

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4 Ways To Add A Human Element To Social Media Marketing

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16Apr

Here’s one of the biggest secrets of the social media marketing world — people like to speak with other people. The human element of our work is what makes it stand out from any other form of content marketing. Brands can connect with customers and build lasting, long-term relationships like never before. But how do you add a healthy dose of humanity to your content strategy?

We recently spoke with Todd, the marketing manager of a fast-growing app company. While being firmly set in the tech world, Todd had a hard time grasping social media marketing , especially when we told him the content he had been publishing lacked a bit of the human touch. These are the suggestions we offered Todd:

1. A casual tone. Yes, you want your brand to come off as professional. However, you also want your brand to have an approachable position. Your copy should be written in a way that your followers feel comfortable enough to interact with it. Ask questions, invite comments, and have some enthusiasm in your content.

2. Showcase your favorite people. Do you have great customer stories to share? Send them out and do so often! Share testimonials, reviews, and customer feedback. This will make your customers smile because it shows how much you listen to your audience.

3. Offer a “behind the scenes” look. What better way to make your organization look more human than to show the humans that run it? Speak with your employees and share their story on social media. Explore your office with Facebook Live broadcasts. Host Q&As with various different members of your staff and address your audience head-on. It’s a proven method to get people talking! 

4. Chatbots. Wait, chatbots? Yes! Chatbots may seem to be the opposite of human, but if you have a well-developed chatbot, the experience will capture your brand’s tone, message, and mission ; all while seeming conversational. You can capture a human tone through your responses and push the envelope on customer service in the process.

It’s important to show the human side of your business on social media. If you try to approach this type of marketing without considering the, well, social side, you will fail to generate the right level of engagement. The good news is that if you follow the above steps, your brand will have an approachable and effective content strategy.

Click here to learn how we can help your brand perfect its tone on social media! http://ow.ly/ngnZ30jtNvO 

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Coming Up With New Content Ideas

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17May

Coming up with new content ideas for your website can start to get tough after a while. Once you’ve ticked off the obvious topics in your industry, you may find it a bit of a struggle to come up with new ideas.

It doesn’t seem to get any easier either. The more you write, the less there is to write about.

The upside is that this creative chasm can challenge you to come up with more engaging content that isn’t on every other website in your industry. The downside is that coming up with ideas takes a little more work.

Below are a few exercises and routines we follow to keep ourselves inspired. To lessen the work of idea creation.

1.  Start With An Image

Whenever we make a piece of content, we also make an image afterward. Whether it’s a blog post or a social media update, once the copy is done, we move on to the picture.

But who says the copy has to come first?

Sitting down to create an image without any copy to restrict you is a great way to find some inspiration. Once the image is done, you can allow that to inspire your copy.

Ask yourself, “What type of article would this image be good for?”

2. Read

A good writer is also a good reader.

We write about marketing, so we also read a lot about marketing. News articles, emails, blogs, social media posts, and books. Reading the views of others in our industry keeps us in the conversation and aware of current trends.

But we also dip outside of marketing too. Marketing, like many other industries, is something that can be relevant to many other things.

Whenever we find out about a new idea or a new trend, we wonder, “Can this be applied to marketing?” This can often lead to inspiration for content.

Could the last book you read apply to your industry in some way? Does a trend in the news also point to something in your own industry?
If the answer is yes, you’ve got something to write about.

3. Take your time and forget about inspiration

Inspiration is the strangest thing. The more you try to grasp it, the further it seems to be.

One exercise we often do on team building days is we ask our Go! Agents to come up with an interesting fact about themselves.

Most of the time nobody can think of anything. They’re stumped. But all of our staff are creative and interesting people, so why is it so hard for them to come up with something?

The issue is, nobody likes to be put on the spot. When you force yourself to come up with an idea that’s exactly what you’re doing. The hardest way to come up with an idea is to think, “Idea, idea, idea!”

Our best ideas happen when we’re not trying to come up with them at all. When we’re driving home, taking a shower or just before we go to bed.

It’s good practice to carry a notepad with you so you can collect ideas. Even when your deadline is weeks away.

As counter-productive as it seems, not thinking about coming up with an idea makes ideas appear on their own.

4. Revisit Old Content

After my last tip, I’ve either got you nodding your head, or I’ve completely lost you. You might be frantically screaming at your monitor, “I NEED AN IDEA RIGHT NOW!”
Maybe you have a deadline in 2 hours and you haven’t even started your piece yet. Worst of all you can’t seem to find any idea at all.When this happens to us, we always find it’s good to revisit our old content. Often this helps to remind us of old ideas.

But at the same time, creating content that is a direct response or follow-up to old content can be a winner.

One thing we like to do is find our most popular older content and write another post that expands on it. If lots of people loved your post about skincare tips, chances are they’re hungry for more!

The best thing about this is you’re giving your audience more of what they want. So your content is defined by others instead of yourself.

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