Digital Marketing Content Tips for Coming Up With Good Ideas Quickly
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... |
Do you find it hard to generate ideas? When you go to create content, does it feel like it’s too difficult to just create? That’s understandable. Content is king, yes, but the king demands greatly of his subjects. As someone who’s a professional of digital marketing in Los Angeles, I know what a struggle it can be. This is a new method I’ve been exploring which has been helpful.
As with any advice you get from me (or anyone else) , take what works for you and ignore the rest. Always, I’ve found what works best is taking something that someone else told me and adjusting it to meet my specific needs.
First Write Out All Your Ideas (and Especially the Bad Ones)
My goal in the past when I went to create content was to make great content quickly. I wanted to create great stuff right now. Now, my goal is different: I want my brain to only have to do one task at one time. That’s the best way I’ve found to create real, genuinely good content.
So, initially, when it’s time to do something new for a client, I’ll write my first ideas down on a Google Doc. I just jot down my ideas. I don’t know if they’re good or bad. I don’t particularly care, not at this first, initial juncture. Judging the ideas or what I’ve put down on paper doesn’t do me any good.
Why? Because that isn’t the content itself. That is just the first step. I’m merely assembling my tools. If I were a painter, (to use an analogy), then this initial step wouldn’t be painting: it would be preparation. I’m just laying out all of the paint, the brushes, and more. This is just putting my materials in one place.
Nothing wrong can be said. There’s nothing that can be uttered during this phase that is incorrect. The only possible exception is: “I shouldn’t have said that.” If you’re doing this stage with another person, make sure that everyone involved feels comfortable enough to express themselves freely, to contribute.
Break It Down
If you’re most people, even the best digital marketers/content creators and so forth, a lot of what you wrote down is going to be cliche. That’s OK. That’s perfectly understandable. Indeed, that’s most of what the first of our ideas are.
When I say “cliche,” I mean “the stuff that sounds like everything else you’ve heard before.” Cliche is, in marketing, not necessarily the worst thing. After all, if you’re like me, you create content for many clients who have established brands, who need good, creative content that does not, to use another cliche, “reinvent the wheel.” They want something that’s new but like that which has come before.
Instead of just running with cliche, examine it. Look at it. See if there’s a way you can “break it down” to make better, more compelling content. After all, every cliche became a cliche for a reason. Find the truth in it and you can create a better caliber of content.
A Digital Marketing in Los Angeles Example
Case in point: a client of mine is a great personal injury attorney. What’s the phrase most commonly associated with injury attorneys? I would answer that question (and I would not be alone in this) by saying that the attorney is: “fighting for you.”
Doesn’t it seem like a strong majority of attorneys say exactly that? They’re “fighting for you.” If you look online for personal injury lawyer content, my guess is that you’ve seen a lot of “fighting for you.”
So, instead of just creating content that says “we’re fighting for you,” examine that phase. Why is it so popular? Why do so many attorneys say that they’re “fighting for you?”
Off the top of my head, I believe attorneys do that because when you’ve been hurt in an accident, so many are working against you, standing against you. Insurance adjusters, the other insurance company, their attorneys, and so forth – they’re not on your side, so find someone who is.
Additionally, it could be because no one wants an attorney who is simply going to tell them what they’ll get and how they hope to make it happen. That’s passive, limiting, and can feel weak. They aren’t giving you a better chance at more compensation.
See, those are just two ideas off of the top of my head from “fighting.” Instead of just going with “fighting for you,” I looked at why that might be popular. You can do that for your company, too.
Twist It
Another way to take your cliches and make them better: ask some version of “what would the opposite of this be? How would that work in marketing?”
For the purposes of this exercise, let’s stick with an attorney who is “fighting for you.” What’s the opposite of fighting? Hugging? That’s not something we want from an attorney. Comforting? Yes, a good idea can project warmth as well as competency. Supporting? Now we’re on to something.
What are all of the ways an attorney can “support” someone? Using my client as an example, they can provide free case evaluation, connect the client to medical professionals who also work on contingency, they can answer any questions that the client might have, they can prepare them for what’s coming, always keeping them informed, and so forth.
I got all of that by “supporting.” All I did was to think of what the opposite of my initial thought, the cliche “fighting” was. Do you see how this would work in your industry?
A Digital Marketing Company in Los Angeles That Can Help
That’s just one of the ideas that I help to create content around here. There are many, many others. Of course, our agency doesn’t just consist of writers and podcast hosts like me. We’ve got all kinds of web developers, designers, SEO experts, Google Ads specialists, and so, so many others.
To see how we can help you, schedule a free consultation with us through this site or by calling.