Category: content ideas

business communication, business writing, content, content ideas, writing advice, writing better

5 Best Practices for Repurposing Content for Business

1. Check your tags – When repurposing content, add hashtags to social media posts and vary the amount. More or fewer can influence the results. Tag people or companies who may be interested in your content or any you name in your post.

A woman sitting at a desk thinking.

2. Add images – A picture can stoke curiosity. Nielsen Norman Group studies indicate online photos should be informative. People tend to ignore decorative pictures and favor those with real people. Also, some social posts perform better with or without photos. Experiment.

3. Track links – Generally, those at the top of an article or newsletter, where people tend to look first, may perform better than ones in the middle or at the end. Also, it depends on the platform. LinkedIn posts with offsite links might not see as much exposure, so links in the body of a post there can get fewer impressions than those in a comment.

4. Test your headlines – If you resend an e-newsletter or recycle a post, try another headline. If possible, include an emoji. For blog posts, which are sometimes optimized for search engines, research keywords people search for and questions people ask to tweak your headline and help increase your visits or impressions.

5. Edit – Rewriting your content to improve it can increase the odds people will read it. A social media algorithm may prefer a well-written post over one with errors. Editing especially helps blog posts, which can benefit from more precise keywords and to follow Google algorithm trends, in-depth, research-based text.

Need help reposting or repurposing content? A content repurposing service can make over your business content to improve the results and help you gain the right leads.

BOOST YOUR ENGAGEMENT

How do you repurpose your content? Feel free to comment further below.

Quotes

“Rather than waste or eliminate items which you don’t currently use, discover a new way to improve and enjoy their value.” ~ Susan C. Young

“Content repurposing is about getting the maximum return from every single piece of content you create. Content repurposing can take many forms, and there are lots of different and creative ways you can repurpose your content, but every content creator must repurpose.” ~ Amy Woods

content, content ideas

5 Ways to Get Content Calendar Ideas

1. Use the time frame – What day is it? A little word association can boost your brainstorming for content calendar ideas. For instance, the word “refresh” might inspire ideas about making a new start. January and the springtime are appropriate occasions for that theme.

2. Check an almanac – Consider how important times connect to certain events. Does your industry follow traditions during the year? Do your patrons? If you’re stuck, an almanac can tell you what happened today in history and about upcoming holidays. Daysoftheyear.com offers trivia on little-known national days, weeks, and months. For example, for National Pizza Day (February 9th), you could offer facts about the pie.

3. Get informed – For timely content calendar ideas, consider what’s affecting your industry now. Trade association publications often feature the latest news. Otherwise, search Google Trends or scan hot topics on social media for ideas.

4. Go undercover – Visit forums related to your industry or topics you cover for ideas. Quora, Reddit, and similar forums include questions people have posted.

5. Listen – To see what lies ahead, find out about upcoming events at the water cooler or on Slack. Ask questions in meetings or at the dinner table. Make small talk at the grocery store or chat with neighbors.

Lack inspiration? Contact me for help creating your content calendar.

How do you compile your content calendar? Feel free to comment below.

Quotes

“One thing is certain: if you don’t keep an editorial/content calendar, the content doesn’t get done.” ~ Joe Pulizzi, Founder of Content Marketing Institute

“For every minute spent organizing, an hour is earned.” ~ Anonymous

Comments? Suggestions? Need help with your communications? Contact me.

content ideas

5 Ways to Get Writing Ideas

1. Target “pain points” – To find good writing ideas, if people don’t already ask you questions, poll your audience to see what they want to read. Check which social media and blog posts you’ve written have been popular. Hang out in forums, like Facebook Groups, where your target market meets regularly.

2. Time it – Slant your topic to the time of year you expect to publish. For example, for April, growth, rainy days, or other appropriately seasonal subjects can seed some good concepts.

3. Talk it out – Sometimes the best ideas come from a conversation. For instance, at an industry networking event, you can ask people about the problems they face in their work. It also helps take the focus off of you. This has helped me generate article ideas.

4. Do some digital digging – Search engines can be your best idea spinners. Whether you type a topic into Google and use some of the suggestions or find something interesting in the “answer box” at the top, you can strike gold quickly. And because they’re among the most often searched for subjects, they can improve your own search engine rankings. AnswerthePublic groups similar questions together to help you see what people search for.

5. “Borrow,” but don’t steal – Looking at what others have written can inspire you, such as borrowing a title from an article and writing your own.

How do you generate writing ideas?

For more suggestions, check out 8 Ways to Generate Great Content Ideas.

Quotes

“Hobbes: Do you have an idea for your story yet?
Calvin: No, I’m waiting for inspiration. You can’t just turn on creativity like a faucet. You have to be in the right mood.
Hobbes: What mood is that?
Calvin: Last-minute panic.” ~ Bill Watterson

Comments? Suggestions? Need help with your communications? Contact me.

Michelle Troutman
classywriting.com

content ideas, social media content, social media writing

5 Simple Ideas for Content to Post on Social Media

Are you stuck for great feed fodder? Especially if you’re pitching for regular content to post on social media in a pinch, it can be hard to find interesting, “post-worthy” material beyond company news and events. These ideas have worked for me, and I hope they’ll work for you.

1. “Trending” topics can make your social media feeds surge. Watch what’s happening on social media homepages and creatively tie those topics to your business or organization.  Holidays and seasonal events are often a great excuse for inspiring, popular posts, too.  Vertical Response offers a helpful content calendar, which applies not just to newsletters.

This calendar includes moon phases, worldwide holidays, and other important and not-so-important events — everything from Christmas to National Homemade Bread Day and Make Up Your Mind Day.

2. As I mentioned in my newsletter, images in your posts can boost impressions. If you’re stuck for free, public domain graphics, these sites have helped me find decent ones for my content:

3. Do you have favorite quotes? Enticing images featuring quotes, also known as “memes,” can lead to several shares. And you don’t need design skills to make them look spiffy. This site features some helpful links to free quote image creators, such as Pablo, which I’ve used successfully.

4. If you have an archive of blog posts and other online articles, post links to them, especially if you can tie them to trendy topics or events, or cut that content into tidbits for several posts. This method has helped me create social media posts when time is tight.

5. Did you enjoy an article in your Twitter feed or in your inbox? Share it. And, of course, posts by others you follow in your social media feeds, especially when you comment on them, can increase your engagement and your followers.

I hope these suggestions will make your search for content to post on social media painless. What are some of your tips? Have any better ideas? Feel free to share.

And if you need help with your writing, don’t hesitate to contact me.