Are you ever at a loss for what to write or post about? It can be tough coming up with new content marketing ideas, especially if you’re running a small business. But don’t worry – we’ve got you covered here with some topic ideas research tips! This post is to help you come up with fresh content ideas that will engage your audience and keep them coming back for more. How do we not run out of content ideas? Agency Partner Interactive is spilling all of its secrets! 

• Filter Through Quora 

Launched in 2010 by 2 former Facebook employees, Quora was designed for the express purpose of serving as a hub for asking questions and getting crowd-sourced answers. What better research approach than to go right to where those questions are being asked! You can search by keywords related to the industry you’re writing for, filter for when questions were asked to find the most current site queries, and even see which questions have the most views or followers to inform your topic research. 

• Check Your Chatbot 

Chatbots are on a site to assist and answer questions for visitors, so why not make the most of the info they collect? These conversation logs can give you so much insight into what specifically your potential customer may be wanting answered or may want to know more about. This can help you personalize and customize your content to exactly what your site visitors are looking for!  

• Try Out Some Keyword Research Tools 

If you’re a small business, long-tail keyword research is your best friend. Targeting these queries will help you most with reaching your niche market to eventually build up you ranking towards the short-tail keywords that the big businesses dominate. Use sites like Answer the Public and SEM Rush to do your research by entering your bits of industry terminology to find out what further terms you can zero in on for both topic inspiration and optimizing your ranking.  

Hot Tip: A new site we at API like is TopicMojo.com. 

• See what Google Autocompletes Have for You 

By Google’s own admission, typing a term into Google triggers the site to not only search for what you’re initially looking for but also to populate info about related searches and keyword suggestions. Search for things and terms related to your industry, and then mine what all else Google has to offer for it. Some of these results will be location-oriented; if your business is a local one, this is a perfect way to source inspiration for further topics that people are also popularly looking for. 

• Analyze What Works for Your Competitors 

Sometimes you just need a little push out of your writer’s block, and looking at what gets results for your competition can do just that. Of course, put your own spin on any good topics you spot on their blog or in their monthly newsletter that you think might also work for you. Think about their videos that clearly have an exceptional view rate or their posts that have more comments than other posts… What are common threads between them? Now, you likely won’t be privy to their behind-the-scenes analytics, but there are user-facing stats to look for that let you know if a content type or subject is working for them. Maybe your own spin on it could work for you, too! 

• Ask Your Audience What They Want 

Why not go straight to the source and put out a social media survey directly asking what your customers and site visitors want to see more of or know more about? It can be a great opportunity for engagement alongside the topic research. 

• Revisit Your Old Content 

Work smarter, not harder, you know? Sometimes your old content topics are just waiting for you to take a fresh look at them for another angle into them. Maybe the market or industry or your business or audience has changed some since the first time you explored the subject – it’s time for your current content to reflect that! What performed well the first time you shared it? Could it be given a deeper dive this time around? 

Content marketing can be a struggle, but it doesn’t have to be. By using the tips we’ve shared in this post, you can never again run out of content topic ideas. And if you need help putting these principles into action or want someone else to take care of your content for you, don’t hesitate to reach out to Agency Partner. We’d be happy to help you create a successful content marketing strategy that cohesively drives traffic and converts leads!