Where to Look for B2B Content Ideas

Producing enough B2B content is one of the biggest problems content marketers face today. In my last post, I talked about how to make the most of your existing content through reuse and repurposing.  But there are times when you still need to create new content. In this post, I’ll talk about ways to come up with content ideas.

• Mine your buyer-persona research. When done correctly, buyer-persona research is a goldmine of ideas for content topics. It will tell you the key business concerns your customers face. You can turn a discussion of these concerns and the solution into an eBook, white paper, article, or thought-leadership piece for use early in the buying process. Buyer-persona research can also tell you what the buying process is for your particular product, what information buyers need, and their concerns at each phase. You can then create content to address each of these issues. You’ll also learn about misconceptions buyers may have about your product area or product in particular. You’ll certainly want to create content to counteract those beliefs.
• Create an editorial calendar. Publications always have an editorial calendar. This is basically a listing of all the topics their readers and advertisers care about. Publications use the calendar to make sure they systematically cover all their bases. When the time comes to develop a particular issue, the publication will decide on the particular angle they'll pursue on that topic. This angle might have to do with emerging trends or new products or new outlooks. Marketers should have an editorial calendar that aligns with the areas in which their company creates value. If you’re a technology marketer, your calendar should reflect every area in which you offer solutions. Like a publication, you can look for news, trends, or other value you can add to the topic.
• Internal training and sales videos. The videos used to train the customer-service team on your product details may only need a quick edit to become a useful video blog post. Find out what materials the sales team can’t live without and turn them into an educational article.
• Comments on your blog posts. If you post a blog entry on a social-media discussion forum and request feedback, you may get some good ideas from the comments that you can incorporate into a refreshed version of your post.   
• Tips from Professional Services or Customer Support. Both of these groups have their fingers on the pulse of common customer concerns. Common questions and answers make great newsletter articles or blog posts.
• FAQs to the sales force. Regularly poll your sales reps for common questions. These often make great eBook, article, blog-post, or white-paper topics.
• Industry and world news. Keep up with news and trends in your industry and in the world at large. Think of ways your product or service might address these trends, or how these trends might support the need for your product. If you offer a cloud solution, a research statistic on increasing adoption can help alleviate buyer concerns about adopting your technology.
• Customers. Customer-success stories are always a great source of content.
• Read, read, read. I’ve been writing blog posts and columns in magazines for many years. My favorite way to get ideas is to read widely. I look at everything from newspapers to books to discussions on LinkedIn to other blogs. I find that looking at other people’s ideas is the best way to spur new ideas of my own.

What are your favorite ways to find ideas for B2B content?