In yesterday’s post we talked about how we can use social media to promote our blog posts. During the process we started establishing a presence on the social media platforms where our target audience hangs out. Then start interacting on those pages and in those circles and groups. Not only will this help you to build a platform that you can then use to promote your own content, you’re also getting to know your target audience better. And best of all, you can get almost endless content ideas from your social media interactions.
Some of the content ideas will come as you’re interacting and answering questions. Those are great opportunities for quick content ideas similar to the idea I shared a while back about taking email questions and turning them into blog posts. The same works here and you can either copy and paste the question and your answer, or even take a screenshot and then elaborate a bit in your post.
That technique alone is great, but don’t stop there. As I’m interacting on social media, I always keep either a notebook and pen close by or a document open to take notes. Or if I on the go I just email myself the idea. I have created a folder in my email with blog post ideas. As I read through posts and discussions, a lot of ideas for future blog posts come up and I make a note of them. Start creating lists like this yourself and you’ll never run out of ideas for things to blog about.
If you want to take it a step further, start drafts for each of these blog post ideas and make a quick note of what you want to cover, or write up a rough outline for the post. Save it as a draft and it will be waiting for you in your blogging dashboard when you’re ready to flesh it out, pretty it up, and publish the post.
The more you interact with your target audience on social media, the better you get to know them and the better you can serve them with your blogging content. That in turn will result in larger email subscriber numbers, more visitors to your blog overall, and hopefully a larger income from your blog as well.
Don’t discount the information and research you can do on social media sites. It’s a treasure trove of information and content ideas. Social media is all about interacting, communication and being inspired by great photos and ideas.
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I agree, interacting with readers and using questions is a great way to create relevant content.
En lieu of a paper notebook, I collect my ideas in the Evernote app.
Thanks for the great advice!
I definitely plan to start using social media as a tool to research for content ideas. Keeping a notebook or document of my ideas is also a great way to ensure I’m never out of material. Thanks again! 🙂
I love my notebooks and won’t ever give them up. I love documenting so much I even created a writing practice specifically for the purpose of gleaning content gold from everyday moments.
I appreciate the wisdom of your sharing here. THANK YOU!
You know, i do that with blog posts, but now will try to keep it in mind for social media posts too. Thanks!