Where to Find Content Ideas for Social Media
So many times, I hear from clients that they don’t know “what to post” when we start working together. Whether it’s for blog content, or for social media, it can be hard creating content week in and week out. It’s something that I struggle with deeply. Constantly. Because more than just consistency, quality matters just as much if not more. And of course, as a social media manager/solopreneur, I often get stuck in the client work and neglect my own content marketing efforts.
Whether you’re a monthly/quarterly planner or a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants content planner, you need to have a source (or sources) for content ideas to post on social media. A lot of people also ask if content needs to always be original or if it can also be curated, in short - it can be both.
Original content has its own challenges of being more time-consuming to create and can be expensive - especially for business owners who don’t necessarily always have time to create carousels or edit reels or small businesses who maybe don’t have as much going on in terms of promotional content.
This is where that curated content can be valuable. Quality, shareable content is the cornerstone of every social media strategy - if you’re curating content make sure you stick to the interesting, high-quality pieces that your audience will care about.
Here are some nooks on the interwebs to find content ideas regularly if you feel like you’re grasping at straws.
Where to find content ideas
When it comes to utilizing these, set up google alerts for your business, competitors, and maybe even keywords that you want to be known for. Reddit is great to find where your customers might be and monitor what they discuss, and from email newsletters, sign up for the ones your customers are reading, or by other companies that your ideal audience might be also utilizing. These tools are all great places to start for content inspiration to find new ideas for social media OR blog content - or both!
Other sources that may help you with content ideas
User-Generated Content
User-generated content is original, brand-specific content generated by customers and published on social media. It could look like images, reels, reviews, testimonials, guest blogs, or even a guest podcast. Nearly four-fifths of consumers say UGC influences purchasing decisions so it’s a fantastic opportunity for you to tap into people who already love you! If you don’t know where to get started, be clear about what you’re looking for. You can also offer a prize (contests are a great way to do this!) to make it worth their while (product, experience, voucher, etc…).
Old Content
I’m a BIG fan of repurposing content. Have some FAQs? Turn them into a “What you need to know about X” post. Turn those points from a reel into a carousel post. The main points of a blog post? Turn them into a reel. If you have a sizable library of content, there no reason NOT to repurpose your content. If you don’t you’re just recreating the content wheel (that gets exhausting and leads to burnout!)
Other People’s Content
Unless you’re a unique, one-of-a-kind business, chances are there are others in your niche/industry creating content. The best example I saw was how social media managers tend to digest and pick out the highlights of every Instagram update (thanks, Adam Mosseri), so that you (the user!) don’t have to know what’s changing. By leveraging industry-relevant content (think surveys! Industry reports! Data sets!) you get to post helpful content and your audience gets helpful information without reading through a 50-page PDF. Utilize newsletters that you sign up for that are industry relevant, track your competitors and garner ideas from trending topics that are helpful to your specific audience.
Now that you have all the ideas - organize your content by downloading our free content planner.
