5 Ways to Find Content Inspiration on Social Media

No matter how skilled a writer you are, the same scene plays out all the time: When it comes to writing the content for an email or planning a social media post, a minor panic sets in. Where will this content come from?

Before you stress out about this scenario, take a step back and realize that the answer is already right in front of you, on social media. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and even Google+ can be used as source material for your content needs.

Here are 5 easy ways to take some of the perspiration out of inspiration by using social media to get your creative content juices flowing:

1. Twitter, especially, is like the old water cooler in the office -- people will gather to talk about the subjects that are most important to them at that time, whether they be the weather, a sporting event, the economy, what they're eating, or something else. Monitor that channel and others using a tool such as NutshellMail, HootSuite, or TweetDeck to see what people are talking about, and use that information to create relevant and engaging content. Being topical and tying your content to those top-of-mind subjects can be very effective.

2. Every day, people are asking millions of questions on Twitter, about all kinds of topics, and you almost certainly have some of the answers they seek. You can create keyword searches (using the tools mentioned above) to monitor Twitter for specific words or phrases that are relevant to your business or organization.

3. You can also use tools such as Google Alerts and Twitter Search to monitor or search for keywords or subjects you are interested in, that you won't need to monitor for regularly. You may find that inspiration you need from another blogger or tweeter.

4. Ask! Tweet or post to Facebook a daily or weekly open-ended question that's relevant to your product, service, or organization, and then use the answers creatively to generate content. Or, you can use a tool like Facebook Questions to poll your fans about a hot topic and use the results as the starting point for a blog post, email article, follow-up social media post, or perhaps you might decide to just share the answers as is.

5. You don't know everything, and letting people know this can actually be very effective in generating content ideas. You might start a blog post that's something along the lines of "50 Ways to Use Our Product," only write a few, and ask your readers for their suggestions. The point is to recognize the resourcefulness, intelligence, and insight of your customers, and encourage them to offer it, feature it, and share it.

Source: ctctsocial@constantcontact.com

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5 Ways to Find Content Inspiration on Social Media