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Some Reels are keepers. In this article, I'll run through how to download a Reel from Instagram depending on what kind of account you're downloading from, what device you're using, and how often you need to do it. Being able to download is super helpful since you can...
Mar 19, 2025
You need content marketing ideas regularly, and generating them is no small feat. Creative block is real, and keeping track of trends can be absolutely overwhelming. SEO changes happen constantly. Part of your audience might be turning to SearchGPT instead of traditional search engines.
But nothing beats an insightful idea that’s well-executed and well-distributed. Below, I’ve listed plenty of starting points and tips that can turn your brand’s best features into a content marketing strategy that truly engages your audience.
Content collaboration tools like Planable can help you make the most of your fresh ideas by streamlining the process and leaving more room for creativity.
The key is to become a diligent archivist of your own great taste as a marketer and general appreciator of culture. Most of the things you see online and even in real life can serve as inspiration if you view them through a content marketing lens and gather them in a way that’s easy to browse later.
To build an effective content marketing strategy, start with the basics below. And here’s another hot tip: get familiar, on purpose, with pop culture criticism, some of which you might already be enjoying. Read movie reviews, watch music deconstructions on YouTube, or listen to podcasts about your favorite books.
Understanding what makes art good will give you a stronger grasp of what makes content good. It’ll help you pitch your ideas and get a feel for how the same concept can move through various formats while keeping its essence.
Knowing who you’re talking to is step one in getting all content marketing efforts off the ground. Whether you’re building a strategy from scratch or looking to add new formats to the mix, the green light comes when you figure out how relevant a piece of content will be to a specific group of prospective customers.
Conduct internal research and leverage the info your team already has. Then, turn outwards and go for demographic plus psychographic data (fears, pain points, values, etc.). Create buyer personas, figure out what types of quality content they already enjoy, and dive deep into some keyword research. Look out for gaps your brand can fill.
Once you have a clear view of your target audience, you can develop a content strategy framework that’s built on their preferences, start to finish, and really delivers.
Choose a batch of content marketing KPIs that are relevant to your niche, keep an eye on them, and update your list as needed. They tell you which content ideas perform best, plus whether each initiative is delivering on larger goals. And where your budget should be allocated!
All in all, good monitoring lets you optimize on the fly (without overhauling your whole approach) and make the most of your resources.
Staying on top of search engine optimization changes is a top priority for content marketers, as is keeping up with trends in general. It helps you optimize content, reroute your efforts when needed, and reach more potential customers.
But look at trends from different angles: consider how social media platforms drop or adopt features, but also how the tech we use to access them keeps evolving. Track how memes and challenges flutter in and out of our collective consciousness, but also keep an eye on trends that prove to be surprisingly long-lived, plus those that are making a comeback.
Prioritize voices that do more than list trends. People who treat trends with a bit of depth and put them in context are invaluable: they’ll help you decide which are relevant to your brand and which are better observed from afar. Marketing newsletters and trusty blogs like the Social Media Examiner are great places to start.
I suggest making a masterdoc of content marketers that routinely inspire you and brands that behave as if they have effective content marketing ideas on tap. Don’t just follow their social media accounts! Important updates often get lost in the algorithm.
Expertly executed content can kickstart fresh concepts and illuminate unexplored facets of your brand DNA. The more connected you are to what experts are doing, the more building blocks you can gather for your own strategy. And when you need to ideate, you never really start from scratch.
The most popular content marketing ideas can always be given new twists. Here’s how I do it: I keep a list of ideas and formats (such as the one below), a list of brand messages (plus various insights and nuggets), and a list of random inspiring tidbits I squirrel away while roaming online.
Then, I combine one element from each and create all sorts of surprising variations, the best of which become concepts for content series. Try it! It’s connecting the dots in a literal sense, and it absolutely works.
I mean, this is rule no. #1 when you create content. It’s perfectly okay (and even recommended) to make things that are platform-specific, but it’s likely that a lot of your content can be tweaked and made to fit a different format. Crafty repurposing plus a good content distribution strategy help you maximize the impact of each piece and reach new audiences.
Consider these social media posts from National Geographic. Each account has its own vibe, but you’ll also find plenty of content that has been cross-posted with minimal tweaks.
Also, the Facebook post:
Positioning your brand as a source of valuable information makes it memorable and builds trust. Sharing relevant news is great, but take a little time to go deeper and contextualize developments for your target audience. Thought leadership in your niche can be established steadily, one insightful comment at a time, and by compressing complex info into its absolute essence.
Bird & Wild is a fairtrade organic coffee brand that roasts beans grown in the shade, not the sun, and doesn’t disturb bird migration routes. A new scientific paper came out, showing how shade-grown coffee is more environmentally sustainable. The most important takeaways were gathered into a blog post that makes a strong, scientifically-backed case for this brand.
Getting involved with current trends and challenges can bring your brand to new customers but also put your service or product in a new light for existing fans. You don’t always have to be positive, though! Especially if dealing with harmful trends like fast fashion.
Eyeing trends critically means knowing when to step in with positivity, when to sit one out, and when you have something meaningful to contribute. The slow fashion brand Maison Cleo contrasts its own practices with the problematic approach of brands like Shein. It makes a strong argument.
No matter how out-there your content ideas get, zooming in on your products needs to be a habit. Explain how they work, focus on a single feature, or simply let them shine and speak for themselves. This keeps your brand top-of-mind and helps you retain customers.
This post from Collina Strada is so minimalistic that the caption is a single emoji. But the product design does all the work, and people are here for it.
Content hubs are pure gold for establishing thought leadership and letting keywords with high search volume work in your favor. Publishing content with an educational twist positions your brand as an expert.
Famed eyewear brand Warby Parker built a content hub where you can find tips for eye health, help in choosing glasses vs. contacts, how-to guides, and even info on those weird squiggly lines floating at the edge of your vision.
Webinars nurture relationships with your target audience on a deeper level than short-form content. They boost your reach but also generate leads and conversions.
Canva has a nice balance between product-focused events and webinars created for specific audience segments. This one is for marketers; they also cater to folks working in education and often zoom in on specific skills.
Your brand can benefit from guest blogging in both directions. One of your representatives can guest on someone else’s well-known blog and contribute valuable content that builds brand expertise. Or, you can invite professionals that use your product/service to guest on yours.
Both approaches bring in extra exposure by connecting you to a collaborator’s audience, but they also foster goodwill and strong relationships in your specific niche. This post on the Wacom blog is a great example of evergreen, high-quality content that can be repurposed several times over for multiple channels.
Seasonal marketing helps you boost sales during periods when consumer behavior leans more heavily toward making purchases, but it also helps you build an emotional connection. Your marketing calendar should include important dates that match your brand universe; once you have them pinned down, consider how much space should be dedicated to each (a single post or a campaign, a sale, and a new content series?).
This cute and useful post from pet care brand Beco Pets is part of a series, which makes total sense. The way caring for a furry friend changes with the seasons is always a fruitful subject.
To make sure you’re not working while you should be enjoying some festive hot chocolate, schedule social media posts ahead of time.
Creating content with industry experts provides huge value to your audience since it’s about more than access to the right people. It’s about getting to ask the exact questions that will unlock insights valuable to your specific target audience. This, in turn, builds a solid knowledge base and continuous goodwill.
The people at TopRank Marketing make a strong case for their expertise in quality B2B content. They routinely interview key players in the marketing world, and you can count on them to bring insightful questions to the table.
This is one of the strongest types of content when it comes to making an unbeatable case for a purchase. For potential customers who have been traveling through your marketing funnel and are at the bottom stage, case studies are an excellent exercise in visualizing in detail what it would be like to interact with your product or service.
Many brands go for long-form video, but the same argument can be made via a skimmable blog post like this one from Activision Blizzard that sums up a collaboration with Prada.
A well-written, well-structured newsletter is a great way to deliver valuable insights and stay top-of-mind for your email subscribers without depending on the fickleness of social media algorithms.
Here’s a great primer on how to write a newsletter. Pair it with subscriptions to counterparts from various niches (those adjacent to your own and a few from further off; you never know where sparks can come from). This example from Bloomscape is a soothing, inspiring read.
And look, I know I bang on about lists a lot, but it’s for good reason. Newsletter planning is easier if you keep a list of types of newsletter sections you’ve seen that felt clever or particularly illuminating. You have a treasure chest to rifle through every time you make your own.
Algorithms have been prioritizing video content for years, so it makes sense for it to take center stage in your strategy. It drives growth and helps you reach more prospective customers.
Depending on your mix of platforms, you can start by polishing your YouTube content strategy or picking some new TikTok video ideas. After that, you know the drill – tweak and repurpose for other places, but also round everything out with platform-specific content.
Series like this one from Vans can be endlessly cut down and repackaged.
Another unbeatable classic — an ebook can foster trust, expand your brand universe, and work great as a lead magnet. Plus, it can generate website traffic for years at a time.
This guide to internal communications from Slack is pretty brand-centric, but you can decide to lean more or less into the salesy side depending on your choice of topic and how often you put out ebooks.
The more complex a subject, the more useful it is to pare it down to its absolute essence and turn it into an infographic. Most people engage better when there’s a visual aid and a clear flow between elements.
But infographics can also spruce up information that would otherwise come off as a little dull. This super-simple example from the Gardener’s Supply Company serves as a neat reminder of garden tasks that can be accomplished in February.
Not a lot of marketing teams have the capacity to produce podcasts, and that’s okay. But if they’re in your budget, they’re worth considering. They present info in an accessible, easy-to-consume format by building a consistent presence in your audience’s life. The way they can be naturally paired with daily activities sets them apart from visual-first formats.
You likely know Atlas Obscura as the website that indexes strange, unique places to visit from around the world. But they partnered with Talkhouse to make a podcast on the cultural influence of Puerto Rico, and it’s truly a great listen.
Original research can absolutely become hero content. Brands that routinely work it into their strategies bring in more media mentions, leads, and social shares. Traffic gets a boost as well.
The folks at BigCommerce have a consistent publishing schedule when it comes to reports, and they’re full of valuable data. This paper goes deep on shopping habits and ways to streamline the experience for better returns.
Everybody wins if your brand can be a one-stop shop for a product/service and learning how to use it well. When someone learns a new skill thanks to your online courses, the goodwill you create is invaluable.
This crochet course from Yarnspirations is a boon for absolute beginners. It covers everything from choosing yarn to finishing techniques like tassels and pompoms. Thorough and neatly illustrated via YouTube embeds.
You never really run out of content marketing ideas if you prioritize boosting a worthy cause. Research a list of organizations that are doing good work in your niche or in your area. You can start small, maybe with a few blog posts or Reels that detail their impact, your company’s contribution, and a way for people to pitch in.
In time, you can build closer partnerships. Clothing brand Lucy & Yak works with three chosen charities. They also donate products for fundraisers and create special collections with profits going to organizations like Surfers Against Sewage.
It takes a little tinkering to get livestreams just right, but once you do, they become a reliable tool for boosting engagement, no matter the platform. Live content gets boosted in people’s feeds whether you’re on YouTube, Instagram, or elsewhere. Customers get to ask you questions in real time and you get a feel for what their pain points and preoccupations look like, in a way that’s more vivid compared to reading research.
This Fortnite stream on the Lego YouTube channel was focused on an in-game content drop. According to the comments, a good time was had by all.
UGC will always provide a welcome counterbalance to your brand visuals. It creates trust by presenting your product from a variety of angles, so you cultivate authenticity and engagement. Both increase your conversion rate.
A little careful curation can do a lot. Always look for fresh ways of repurposing and organizing UGC! Plenty of brands repost it or gather it on their websites, but furniture brand Article added a little extra twist. Filters at the top of the page organize photos by object, room, or style. Inspired.
Content marketing isn’t just about churning out posts — it’s about keeping things fresh, engaging, and valuable. Whether you’re tapping into user-generated content, hopping on trends, or repurposing old gems, the key is to stay creative and connect with your audience in a way that feels authentic. So, mix it up, experiment, and most importantly — have fun with it!
Irina is a freelance senior copywriter & content writer with an advertising agency background. If she’s not rummaging for good synonyms, she’s probably watching a sitcom or listening to radio dramas with plucky amateur detectives. She loves collage, doing crosswords on paper and shazamming the birds outside her window.
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