One of our main tasks at GBW is to find the questions target readers are asking online.
We work with our clients to identify questions they get from clients.
But we also look to other places where these questions are being asked.
We do that because we find that by answering industry-level questions that we’re able to create the most relevant and most useful blog posts.
We look to forums, blogs, blog comment sections, industry publications and more for these questions.
But another tool we use is Twitter
Twitter For Content Ideas
Twitter for business is often thought of as a way to share content.
This is definitely a good use, but for business owners and content creators, Twitter is also great for staying in-the-know with your target audience. If you follow what your target customers are talking about and what industry influencers are talking about on Twitter you can figure out the type of content your customers want.
You can follow your clients and industry influencers to get ideas, but you can also take it one step further.
Industry Influencer Mentions On Twitter
Here is what you do:
Find an industry influencer on Twitter.
Click on one of their tweets.
Look at the questions people ask them.
That’s it.
Here is one example from Dharmesh Shah. The first response is a question about how one can do what Dharmesh described in the Twitter post. That’s the perfect opportunity to write a blog post on the topic. And now you know that people want to see the answer.
Here is one with Rand Fishkin. He’s talking about Tinder. Someone asks him about a related app. Rand even replied. But that’s insight into what could make for another interesting industry post about both apps or one of the apps. You know people are interested.
Here’s another one with Rand. One reply mentions an interview. Chances are it’s spam, but sometimes people ask about related topics, which this one kind of is. Those are opportunities to see if it’s a popular topic and one that you can write about.
More Ways To Mine Twitter
Also search for the Twitter handle of influencers (“@influencerhandle)
This allows you to see the people that mention them. If they’re an influencer they won’t have time to respond to all the mentions and questions, but you can do that by identifying the most common questions and answering them with a blog post or with a social media post.
And you might be surprised at how popular hashtags still are.
Try searching for a few hashtags or even keywords in your industry. Throw in a question mark in your search like (marketing ?). You’ll see Twitter posts like this one. That’s a great opportunity for a post.
Twitter and social media are full of content ideas. There is no reason to be out of content ideas for your blog or for your other content efforts. Look to the common questions your customers are asking and answer those questions. It’s the easiest and most effective content strategy.