How to Produce Better Content Ideas

how to produce better content ideas

by mark johnstone

how do you come up with ideas?

they just come to you, right?

not quite

there is a certain mystery to the ‘light bulb moment’

but to say ideas ‘just come to you’ is to overlook everything you do

beforehand that allows you to reach that point

the 4 things you need to know about ideas 10 steps to producing better ideas

this presentation is in 2 parts

but first, a little background…

3 years ago, I was an SEO Consultant at Distilled

https://www.distilled.net/about/people/mark-johnstone/

then I started the Creative team at Distilled

we’ve since grown the team to 10 people (only 9 in shot)

we make digital content to earn attention for our clients online

for example

755 likes 67 LRDs

http://www.rasmussen.edu/resources/what-career-should-i-choose/

755 likes 67 LRDs

LRDs = Linking Root Domains, i.e. the number of other websites that linked to this piece of content


755 likes 67 LRDs

we track more meaningful metrics than just likes and linking root domains, but for the purpose of this presentation, I will take these 2 metrics to

indicate whether or not the piece of content was compelling


25,000 likes 201 LRDs

http://www.concerthotels.com/ipod-visualized-as-vinyl


http://www.simplybusiness.co.uk/microsites/hungry-tech/


http://www.simplybusiness.co.uk/microsites/google-analytics-guide/


https://www.worldpayzinc.com/tech-wealth


http://www.concerthotels.com/100-years-of-rock/


(not provided)

under NDA(non-disclosure agreement)


http://www.thomson.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/infographic/interactive-music-map/index.html

and we’ve earned coverage in all of the following publications

but it hasn’t all been plain sailing

37 likes

http://www.thomson.co.uk/blog/infographic/superbowl/index.html#2011

37 likes

that’s me plus only 36 other people!!!


37 likes

trial and error is a great way to learn but it also sucks


37 likes

we’ve learned a lot along the way, and this presentation

aims to help give your content the best chance of success


the 4 things you need to know about ideas

an idea is a novel combination of previously unconnected elements in a way that adds value

what they are and how to find them what they look like and how to make them

the elements: the connections:

which means the 4 things you need to know are…

the elements: what they are

an example from the world of advertising

http://www.bwm.com.au/category/work/bigpond/

Daaad, why’d they

build the Great Wall of China?

it was to, erm, to keep the rabbits out... too many rabbits in China

(teacher – off screen) now, Daniel’s going to

give his talk on China



the ad agency identified a barrier to their objective

at the time, a lot of people didn’t see why they needed broadband


if your audience doesn’t care about what you have to say,

you need to find something they do care about

customer insight product truth competitor insight



parents want the best for their children and worry about them being left behind at school



broadband gives you faster access to a wealth of information



competitor messaging at the time was focused on coverage and price



resonant relevant different


here’s an example from our own work

the client provides insurance for small business owners

but nobody wants to talk about insurance

customer insight competitor insight product truth

a lot of small business owners still wanted to know what they should be doing with social media


the (content) competitors had guides which were too long, so unlikely to be read, and often left too many decisions up to the reader


insurance supports the interests of small business owners

we produced a series of visually concise guides for small business owners, which has been a very successful campaign

http://www.simplybusiness.co.uk/microsites/guide-to-social-media-success/

the elements: how to find them

the advertising industry uses focus groups to mine for insight

in one focus group, a woman spoke of eating ice cream in intimate settings with her partner. the rest of the group gave a knowing

giggle. that was the insight that launched an entire brand.

use the internet as your focus group

“love [your brand]” “hate [your brand]”

“love [your competitor]” “hate [your competitor]”

“love [category]” “hate [category]”

“love [your brand]” “hate [your brand]”

“love [your competitor]” “hate [your competitor]”

“love [category]” “hate [category]”

this is just one example. there are loads of ways you can use search and social media to find out how people feel. think creatively about it.

one important thing to note

it’s not about the product

it’s not about the product

Red Bull does not make content about caffeinated drinks. the content is about energy, adrenaline and pushing life to the limits.

It’s not about the product

you need to think laterally about your brand

It’s not about the product

but what does that mean?

a quick example

Dove soap

dove

soap simplicity

Italy song

opera

split ends

flowers

iris

lily

scent

bubbles

lather

flying

bird

hair care

presentation

finish

hair

olive branch

peace

pond

strands power

tangled

Dove soap

dove

soap simplicity

Italy song

opera

split ends

flowers

iris

lily

scent

bubbles

lather

flying

bird

hair care

presentation

finish

hair

olive branch

peace

pond

strands power

tangled

map out associations with your product and brand

Dove soap

dove

soap simplicity

Italy song

opera

split ends

flowers

iris

lily

scent

bubbles

lather

flying

bird

hair care

presentation

finish

hair

olive branch

peace

pond

strands power

tangled

you should separate creative and analytical mode. creative mode is fast and intuitive.

analytical mode is slow and deliberate. if you try to do both at the same time, it can lead to writer’s block.

Dove soap

dove

soap simplicity

Italy song

opera

split ends

flowers

iris

lily

scent

bubbles

lather

flying

bird

hair care

presentation

finish

hair

olive branch

peace

pond

strands power

tangled

at the time, I had no idea where to go next from ‘simplicity’.

rather than get stuck, I just hopped onto a new thread and kept moving.

Dove soap

dove

soap simplicity

Italy song

opera

split ends

flowers

iris

lily

scent

bubbles

lather

flying

bird

hair care

presentation

finish

hair

olive branch

peace

pond

strands power

tangled

you don’t want your content tied too closely to your product, but you don’t want the link to be tenuous.

don’t worry about this while you’re free-associating.

you want to keep creative mode and analytical mode separate, remember.

Dove soap

dove

soap simplicity

Italy song

opera

split ends

flowers

iris

lily

scent

bubbles

lather

flying

bird

hair care

presentation

finish

hair

olive branch

peace

pond

strands power

tangled

wait, how did we go from soap to hair? isn’t that wrong? when you’re doing this, don’t think in terms of right and wrong.

you can come back and edit later.

Dove soap

dove

soap simplicity

Italy song

opera

split ends

flowers

iris

lily

scent

bubbles

lather

flying

bird

hair care

presentation

finish

hair

olive branch

peace

pond

strands power

tangled

possible opportunity? women in business is a hot topic

Dove soap

dove

soap simplicity

Italy song

opera

split ends

flowers

iris

lily

scent

bubbles

lather

flying

bird

hair care

presentation

finish

hair

olive branch

peace

pond

strands power

tangled

consciously, I wasn’t sure why I made this leap, but it’s these unexpected connections that could lead somewhere

“of course, I’ve always taken a lot of notes…

I mean you never know what the things going to be, do you?

a little detail, somewhere down the line, makes you say [gasps]…

…cracks the case wide open.”

Rust, True Detective

stories are often misleading about the path actually taken

expand the number of elements you gather to give yourself the best chance of making a connection

the connections: what they look like

if I asked you to reassemble this car, could you do it?

what if you had taken a car apart before?

what if you had taken 10,20, or 100 cars apart?

what if you had taken 10,20, or 100 cars apart?

it would significantly improve your chances of putting it together, right? that’s why it’s valuable to understand how great content

(e.g. advertising) is constructed.

we’ve all seen this ad, but what were the insights that led to it?


a lot of customers were actually girls buying for their partner


the leading competitor focused on the unlikely guy getting the girl, but the customer (the girl) doesn’t want the unlikely guy, she wants A MAN!


Old Spice was something your Dad wore. but what do you associate with your Dad? he comes from a time when men were men!

wolf in wolf’s clothing


this was the headline on a billboard I saw in London recently


how would you deconstruct this ad?

competitor insight product truth customer insight

BMW’s main competitor is Mercedes, who make high-performance cars, typically with an elegant or stately image (a wolf in sheep’s clothing?)


the new BMW M3 is a very muscular high-performance car (a wolf in wolf’s clothing)


but what do you suppose was the customer insight that led to this idea?


hint: huge billboards of this ad were placed on the main roads to the financial district in London

got it?

they all want to be this guy (or a lot of them do)

the connections: how to make them

ever wracked your brains trying to remember someone’s name, only to have it pop into your mind when you’re having a shower?

http://www.amazon.com/Technique-Producing-Ideas-James-Young/dp/1477428690

there is a natural process for making connections that we can use to our advantage

http://www.amazon.com/Technique-Producing-Ideas-James-Young/dp/1477428690

information saturation incubation

illumination verification

information

we’ve already discussed gathering lots of information

saturation

saturation

you need to actively force connections. doing this physically is faster, and it gets the elements outside your head,

freeing you up to focus on the connections between them.

saturation

you will hit a wall. push through it. you’ll get a second wind.

when you hit another wall, it may be appropriate to stop.

incubation

incubation

you need to actively disengage. go and do something that fully absorbs your attention.

incubation

I experienced this recently when I got absorbed in a conversation in the pub. it genuinely wasn’t the beer that led to the breakthrough (sadly).

illumination illumination


we can’t wait around for the light bulb moment,

but we can jump start the process


after a period of incubation and preferably a night’s sleep…


write the question you’re trying to solve at the top of the page,

and as quickly as you can, write down 20-30 answers


first thing in the morning can be a great time to do this


writing deliberately bad answers can be a good trick if you get stuck

verification

verification

you need to verify your ideas. the easiest way to do this is to tell people and watch their reaction.

verification

we were thinking of doing a grammar quiz. we emailed our colleagues for input. it turned into the longest email thread in our company’s history. we figured we were onto something.

verification

note: we didn’t say ‘we’re doing a grammar quiz, what do you think?’

verification

if you’re met with confusion or indifference, that means one of 2 things. you don’t have an idea or you haven’t articulated it in the right way.

you have to judge which it is.

start small

product truth customer insight competitor insight

our client sold a large range of products for going back to school. when we thought of going back to school, we thought of exams, and different

subjects like English, which led us to grammar.


content about grammatical errors like this piece from the Oatmeal, can do extremely well online.

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/misspelling


we thought about a quiz, so checked what had been done. the Guardian & Telegraph both had popular quizzes, but they weren’t brilliantly executed.

http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/teacher-blog/quiz/2013/feb/04/grammar-punctuation-quiz-test

46,000 likes

(grammar quiz - not provided)

under NDA(non-disclosure agreement)

but, isn’t it all just luck?

yes, but only in the sense that the more you practise (and prepare), the luckier you get

and yes, ideas are serendipitous, but you can manufacture serendipity

and, yes, sometimes you just get lucky!

http://techcrunch.com/2014/02/25/the-age-of-acquisitions/

we were working on this content when Facebook acquired Whatsapp


we quickly included the new dataset and launched it


we secured a front page exclusive with TechCrunch


remember the grammar quiz we spoke about? we launched that on national grammar day without even realising!


10 steps to producing better ideas

1. learn about the thinking behind the ads

http://www.amazon.com/Truth-Lies-Advertising-Account-Planning/dp/0471189626

2. mine the web for insight

Dove soap

dove

soap simplicity

Italy song

opera

split ends

flowers

iris

lily

scent

bubbles

lather

bird

hair care

presentation

finish

hair

olive branch

peace

pond

strands

3. think laterally about your brand

4. try to force connections

http://www.amazon.com/Gamestorming-Playbook-Innovators-Rulebreakers-Changemakers/dp/0596804172

5. actively disengage

6. jump start the light bulb

7. verify your ideas

http://www.amazon.com/Made-Stick-Ideas-Survive-Others/dp/1400064287

information

saturation

incubation

illumination

verification

8. iterate

9. start small

the idea of a grammar quiz is not nearly as profound as some of the advertising ideas we discussed

10. practise

practise taking ideas apart and putting together your own

10. practise

brainstorming once a month and saying you’re not creative

is like going to the gym once a month and wondering why you don’t have a six pack

if you practise, practise, practise, you’ll give yourself a much better chance of success

create your own luck

good luck!

p.s. you should read these books

@epicgraphic

Marketing

How to Produce Better Content Ideas