Content Brainstorming
Brainstorming. The word either makes your soul dance with delight or . . . not. When it comes to brainstorming, many people think about uncomfortably shouting ideas around a too small table in a crowded meeting room. And, while, sometimes that is what it is – it doesn’t always have to be.
Whether you’re creating content solo or in a team environment, you can begin on paper and bring everyone’s ideas together – peacefully, comfortably and cohesively.
Begin with your Yearly Content Planner. This is a year-long overview of the topics, themes and promotions you want to address this year. Break each topic grouping into a large content piece. Perhaps you want to write an e-book or film a video series – this is your BIG idea.
From the big idea, you should be able to generate smaller presentations of the same material. Maybe you edit your video into several :30 videos, generate several blogs and create an infographic.
Now from the smaller ideas, you’ll put together even smaller presentations of the same material. You could create 5 shareable images from one of your blogs that highlight the key points in each piece.
The idea here is that you’re pushing yourself to repurpose the original “big” content in as many different ways as possible. This expands your reach and ups the potential of your material getting into the hands of people who really need the information you’re sharing. Essentially, you’ll get more juice from the squeeze.
Think of it this way – when you’re trying to justify buying a shirt that you love, but that really isn’t in your budget, you think about all the different ways you can wear it with the clothes you already own. This brings your cost per wear down to a more palatable number.
Likewise, when you think about all the ways you can use the video footage from your training series, it makes the cost of a videographer and editing much easier to swallow.
Time and money are valuable things, so you don’t want to waste either when it comes to creating a content strategy for your business. That’s why taking the time to think through your messaging before you begin is essential for content wins.
And, once you have plenty of ideas for content creation, it’s time to put them on your editorial calendar and assign ownership to team members. (More on that later.)
For now, grab a notebook or use my Content Brainstorm Sheet to help you get started. Just remember that you’re not limited by the number of boxes and circles I included in the image. This sheet is simply a visual representation of the thought structure. Your job is to create as many ideas as possible.
Happy Dreaming!
