How one can Generate Efficient Concepts

Many profitable advertising groups use content material brainstorming to generate concepts on what to create.

On this information, we’ll share the guidelines and methods you should use to run brainstorming periods successfully.

However let’s cowl the fundamentals first.

What Is Brainstorming?

Brainstorming is when a gaggle of individuals share spontaneous concepts as proposed options to an issue. It’s a course of designed to encourage creativity and collaboration.

For instance, in a content material brainstorm, individuals may verbally share weblog put up concepts whereas one particular person writes them down on a whiteboard.

Usually, the aim is to generate as many concepts as doable. And refine them later.

So, individuals are inspired to share no matter involves thoughts. And keep away from passing judgment on different individuals’s concepts.

What Is Content material Brainstorming?

Content material brainstorming is brainstorming to give you content material concepts—i.e., ideas for weblog posts, movies, infographics, and different sorts of content material.

It may be an environment friendly solution to produce distinctive, numerous, and plentiful concepts for a content material calendar.

As a result of it:

• Gathers concepts from a number of individuals
• Permits individuals to iterate on others’ concepts
• Liberates individuals from worry of judgment

And the extra content material concepts you might have, the simpler it is going to be to search out ones that work on your content material advertising technique.

9 Content material Brainstorming Concepts

Experiment with these contentbrainstormingideas to see what works finest on your group:

1. Use Semrush’s Matter Analysis Instrument

With Semrush’s Matter Analysis instrument, you will discover well-liked and trending subtopics in your area of interest. Which make nice launchpads on your content material brainstorm.

Enter a most important subject to base your search round.

Then, select your nation and click on “Get content material concepts.”

The instrument will current a wide range of subtopic concepts. 

Which you’ll be able to kind by:

• Quantity: The common variety of occasions the subtopic is Googled every month
• Problem: How exhausting it is going to be to rank extremely for the subtopic in Google, expressed as a share known as “Key phrase issue”
• Matter Effectivity: A measure of the subtopic’s general website positioning potential, based mostly on the subtopic’s quantity and issue

Swap the toggle to deal with trending subtopics, that are marked with a flame icon.

Should you want extra inspiration, click on “Present extra” on any subtopic.

You’ll see:

• Headlines: The highest 10 headlines for the principle key phrase, prioritized by which of them have probably the most backlinks (hyperlinks from different websites)
• Questions: An inventory of associated questions that you simply may need to reply in your content material
• Associated searches: Some related search queries that present up on Google

2. Create a Thoughts Map

A thoughts map is a visible illustration of linked concepts.

Right here’s an instance of what a thoughts map can appear to be (this one is from inside Key phrase Supervisor and based mostly on associated key phrases):

You begin within the middle along with your most important subject. Then, department off into associated subtopics and preserve branching off till you might have your remaining concepts.

This course of means that you can construct concepts one step at a time.

You are able to do thoughts mapping with a pen and paper. However we advocate utilizing a instrument like Miro. To make it straightforward to collaborate and create extra complicated diagrams.

3. Curate and Reference a Swipe File

A swipe file is a set of content material you may get inspiration from.

For instance, you may jot down catchy headlines to make use of as fashions you need to emulate. Or bookmark weblog posts that cowl matters you need to write about.

Regardless of how or the place you retailer it, preserve your inspirational content material organized so it’s straightforward to flick thru while you’re brainstorming matters.

Pocket is a superb instrument for saving articles, as a result of you’ll be able to add tags and spotlight key passages.

Notice {that a} swipe file is commonly curated naturally over time. As you see nice content material in your day-to-day life. 

However you’ll be able to search out inspiration purposefully. We’ll clarify how within the subsequent part.

4. Search Out Nice Content material Examples

content material advertising examples is without doubt one of the finest methods to get inspiration throughout a brainstorm.

Seek for helpful concepts and roundups on Google. With queries like this:

• “[your niche] content material examples”
• “[your topic] content material concepts”
• “[content format] advertising examples”

You can even get inspiration from:

• Case research on company and awards web sites (e.g., The Drum Awards)
• On-line design portfolios (e.g., samples shared on Behance and Dribbble)
• Blogs and social media profiles in your area of interest (e.g., a competitor’s Instagram account)

5. Ask Your Viewers for Concepts

You need to give your target market what they need—so why not ask them for concepts?

Simply add a message asking readers what they’d wish to see from you to your social media platforms or electronic mail publication. 

Like podcaster Natalie Brunell did right here: 

Then, flick thru the solutions throughout your content material brainstorm.

6. Carry out Key phrase Analysis

Key phrase analysis is the method of discovering what your target market searches for utilizing Google (or different search engines like google).

That is significantly useful when you’re brainstorming concepts to help your SEO (website positioning) technique. As a result of it tells you what content material in your area of interest is in demand.

To get began, go to Semrush’s Key phrase Magic Instrument.

Enter a time period to base your analysis round, then select your nation and click on “Search.”

The instrument will present an inventory of “Broad Match” key phrases that comprise your beginning time period(s) or a detailed variation.

Within the “Quantity” column, you’ll see what number of searches every key phrase usually will get every month.

We advocate that you simply filter for key phrases with informational search intent.

These are queries that folks use to search out data. So, they’re good for prompting content material concepts.

7. Strive the 6-3-5 Methodology

The 6-3-5 technique is a brainstorming approach that entails six individuals. However it may be tailored for different group sizes.

Right here’s the way it works:

Every participant receives a bit of paper (or on-line doc) with a problem on the prime—e.g., “Give you video concepts associated to distant working.” And so they get 5 minutes to silently add three concepts.

Individuals then swap sheets and add three extra concepts. And repeat till they’ve contributed to each problem.

It’ll take simply over half an hour to generate 108 concepts (six individuals x three concepts x six rounds). On the finish, you’ll be able to focus on your outcomes and collect any further concepts.

This technique permits everybody within the group to contribute and construct on one another’s concepts. Whereas offering area for impartial thought.

8. Immediate Concepts with Random Phrases

Use a random phrase generator instrument to offer you phrases or phrases to make use of as prompts. Then, problem your group to brainstorm content material concepts or headlines round them.

This can be a nice solution to encourage out-of-the-box pondering. And whilst you may not use all of the preliminary concepts, they will spark fascinating ideas and discussions.

For instance, listed here are three randomly generated phrases and content material concepts they impressed:

• Remorse: Why You Received’t Remorse Going Freelance: 5 Mother and father Share Their Tales
• Frequent: The Frequent Denominators of Profitable Distant Groups
• Maintain: How one can Put Work on Maintain When You Have a House Workplace

9. Adapt Concepts with the SCAMPER Framework

SCAMPER is a set of methods for producing new concepts from current concepts. 

So, it will possibly provide help to put a brand new twist on an current piece of content material. Or extract extra worth from concepts you’ve already brainstormed. 

Let’s break the acronym down:

Let’s say we now have a productiveness information for distant employees.

We might:

• Substitute the prevailing inventory photos with unique infographics
• Mix the article with a weekly electronic mail publication that delivers bite-sized productiveness hacks
• Adapt the article to focus particularly on distant employees with younger youngsters
• Amplify the human side of the article by incorporating success tales
• Put it to a different use by repurposing it right into a downloadable e book
• Eradicate commonplace recommendation to create a information that focuses on novel suggestions
• Reverse the concept by sharing productiveness myths fairly than productiveness hacks

Greatest Practices for Content material Brainstorming

To get probably the most out of your content material brainstorming session, observe these finest practices:

Create Efficient Prompts to Information Your Efforts

First, it is advisable outline the aim of your brainstorming session. You possibly can then create a number of prompts to direct individuals’ pondering.

Keep away from obscure prompts just like the one under. These may cause individuals to change into overwhelmed and unfocused. 

❌ Brainstorm content material concepts

Equally, keep away from being too particular. Prompts like this may stifle creativity:

❌ Brainstorm infographic concepts that debate the ergonomic advantages of adjustable workplace chairs with lumbar help, focused particularly at freelance graphic designers working in dwelling workplaces

As a substitute, attempt to land someplace within the center. Solely introduce constraints in the event that they’re vital for the aim. Or to offer your individuals some route.

For instance, it’s useful to deal with the related platform(s) when you’re doing social media brainstorming. 

✅ Brainstorm video concepts that may permit us to have interaction freelancers on TikTok

Set Floor Guidelines

Along with sharing the aim with individuals, make it clear what’s anticipated of them throughout the brainstorming session.

Listed below are some guidelines you may need to undertake:

• Share any concepts that come to thoughts, even when they appear outlandish or impractical
• Keep away from evaluating or critiquing different individuals’s concepts
• Use different individuals’s concepts to spark your personal creativity
• Keep away from distractions (e.g., preserve laptops closed)

It’s additionally finest to determine a time constraint for every brainstorming session or exercise. 

Strive working in five-minute bursts with quick breaks in between. This could assist your individuals keep centered.

Begin with an Ice-Breaker Exercise

Ice-breaker actions may help individuals really feel extra comfy earlier than the brainstorming course of begins. Particularly in the event that they’re working with an unfamiliar group of individuals.

These actions may also get individuals right into a inventive mindset.

For instance, you may:

• Play a trivia quiz on Sporcle
• Watch and discussing a related video 
• Take turns including sentences to construct a narrative

Observe Efficient Report-Maintaining

Visibly document concepts throughout the content material brainstorming session so individuals can use them to spark concepts of their very own. And they also’re not forgotten later.

You can ask one particular person to take notes. However they may battle to seize every thing mentioned. And get little alternative to contribute their ideas.

As a substitute, ask everybody to jot down their very own concepts: 

• Should you’re brainstorming in particular person, you may use sticky notes and put up them on the wall
• Should you’re brainstorming on-line, you should use a cloud-based doc or digital whiteboard

However let individuals know that you simply’ll polish the notes later. 

That method, everybody can deal with pondering. Slightly than note-keeping.

Strive Completely different Brainstorming Strategies

Experiment with a few of the totally different brainstorming methods we talked about to see what works finest on your group.

Whereas some entrepreneurs choose a standard method, others will profit from utilizing sure instruments and constructions.

Plus, totally different ideation strategies preserve issues contemporary. And encourage individuals to suppose in new methods. So, they’re nice for sparking creativity.

What to Do After Brainstorming

As soon as your content material brainstorm is full, compile your group’s notes in a single doc.

You possibly can then begin to polish and prioritize content material concepts. Contemplating components like:

• website positioning potential: How many individuals are looking for this subject and the way excessive may you rank in search outcomes?
• Audience: Does the subject align along with your target market’s wants and preferences?
• Sources: Do you might have the abilities, instruments, and time required to create the content material?
• Advertising and marketing objectives: How a lot will this content material help gross sales, lead technology, and many others.?
• Relevance: Does the subject align along with your model identification? And is it related proper now?

To streamline the method, accumulate content material concepts and information with Semrush’s Matter Analysis instrument.

This put up was up to date in 2024. Excerpts from the unique article by James Brockbank might stay.