We’re in an interesting position over here in ClearVoice blogland; week in and week out, we’re aiming to create useful and engaging content about how brands can create useful and engaging content. Some of your pain points are our pain points. We get it.
We especially know how challenging it is to consistently come up with compelling ideas for the company blog. In fact, 60 percent of B2B marketers surveyed for the 2016 Benchmarks, Budgets & Trends study from Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs said producing engaging content was a top challenge.
That’s where Content Studio — and this post — comes in.
We explained what Content Studio is and how to use it back in August. For this post, we used this tool to deliver real results based on the current content sharing landscape across 11 industries.
Here’s what that process looked like:
- We performed and saved more than 50 Content Studio searches
- Our content strategy team identified the most compelling results and used them as inspiration to create compelling content ideas
- And now you can use these ideas for your own blog
One hundred and two unique publishers are cited here, including leading newspapers, publications and personal blogs. All results were published in the past year.
Now let’s get down to results.
(Note: Click on a link to jump to a section.)
- Small business
- Enterprise business
- Career & interviewing
- Home & garden & crafts
- Parenting & mom blogging
- Health & fitness
- Education
- Finance
- Enterprise tech & IT
- Tech & gadgets
- Travel
Small business
Best Results:
- 3 Critical Reasons You Need Mobile Marketing For Your Small Business – business2community.com
- Mom-and-pop shops get Facebook’s e-commerce message – San Francisco Gate
This search unveils how the mobile takeover has expanded beyond enterprise businesses. Mom-and-pop shops now have to think about mobile e-commerce and customer service.
Best Results:
- 5 Reasons to Respond to Customer Reviews – business2community.com
- How Online Reviews Can Help Grow Your Small Business – freshbooks.com
This search brings you the latest in how businesses use customer reviews. The results advise you on how to respond to a review and how to use them for lead generation.
Best Results:
- Case study: Small business content marketing success – businessgrow.com
- A case study of a Black Friday retail campaign – smartinsights.com
Use “case study” searches to find data-driven analysis and long-form posts.
Best Results:
- What Your Small Business Should Do To Look Like A Social Media Pro – Forbes
- Why Your Small Business Must Start a Blog – entrepreneur.com
- This is The Best Infographic for Small Business Websites [50 Features] – shoutmeloud.com
A “title:(keyword)” search narrows results, so they’re relevant. Marketing resources for social media, blogging and website design are all discovered here.
Best Results:
- How to Run a Successful Small Business in Your First Year – co-opcreditunions.com
- 9 Things Every Small Business Owner Must Do The First 30 Days of 2016 – Smallbiztechnology.com
- US small business confidence hits new two-year low – CNBC
Here we’re able to combine a highly discussed topic — “surviving the first year in business” — with a timely element, such as the economy.
Enterprise business
Best Results:
- 10 Ways to Bridge the CMO-CIO Gap to Drive Business Growth – marketingprofs.com
- Why Should CIOs Invest in Network Virtualization with NSX? – vmware.com
Both of these articles present tips for CIOs to be successful, so an article with additional tips makes sense.
Best Results:
- [Case Study] How Stephen Built 4 Income Streams in 4 Months with a New Business – bloggingyourpassion.com
- How to 2x a Seven Figure Business in 3 Months: Long Tail Pro Case Study – wiredinvestors.com
Another example of how a “case study” search quickly identifies in-depth sources.
Best Results:
- Post Holdings Recently Held Talks to Combine With ConAgra’s Lamb Weston – Wall Street Journal
- Top Merger and Acquisition Tips for In-House Lawyers – findlaw.com
If you’re looking to discuss mergers, Content Studio brings you news stories about the impactful mergers and acquisitions as well as actionable tips for those involved.
- How to Turn Big Data into Insights and Action – data-informed.com
- Wharton M.B.A.s Get More Training in Data and Decision-Making – Wall Street Journal
- 10 ways big data, analytics, and sensors are helping behind the scenes – techrepublic.com
Content Studio gives you insights from all types of publications. Here there’s a WSJ article and a blog post from Data Informed which focuses on big data and analytics.
Best Results:
- Study: Firms with More Women in the C-Suite Are More Profitable – Harvard Business Review
- A 10-Year Study Reveals What Great Executives Know and Do – Harvard Business Review
- Employees Leave Good Bosses Nearly as Often as Bad Ones – Harvard Business Review
A site search scans a website for the most-shared content. These studies will provide a bounty of information on successful executives.
Career & interviewing
Best Results:
- 6 Types of Stories You Should Have on Hand for Job Interviews – themuse.com
- 4 Nosy Interview Questions You’re Allowed to Ask (Because the Answers Matter) – themuse.com
Another example of using site search to easily identify the best resources on an industry-leading publication.
Best Results:
- 3 Ways to Sell Yourself in Your Executive Resume – recruiter.com
- 5 Important Skills You’ll See on Every Great Resume – Huffington Post
- What are the best skills to have on a resume? – Quora
Here’s a great example of getting the best out of different publications: Quora, HuffPost and Recruiting.com all have very different content objectives. Reviewing all sources helps you separate biased vs. unbiased information.
Best Results:
- Fresh graduates face challenging job search ahead – todayonline.com
- The Most Lucrative Careers For Millennials – thezoereport.com
Content Studio can help you find both sides of the story. Here are examples of lucrative careers vs. a report about the challenges millennials face in the job market.
Best Results:
- Tony Robbins shares the best career advice he’s ever been given – businessinsider.com
- Tom Hanks Just Revealed the Single Word That Led to His Great Success – inc.com
Here’s an example of a generic search providing useful results. Use it to come up with a new angle, such as career tips from successful people, celebrities, etc.
Best Results:
- 10 of The Hardest Interview Questions & How to Answer Them – theundercoverrecruiter.com
- 10 of the Toughest Apple Interview Questions in Tech — and How to Answer Them – entreprenuer.com
- 70 top banking interview questions and how to answer them – efinancialcareers.com
Content Studio Powered Concept: The Toughest Job Interviews in America and How to Crush Them
Home & garden & crafts
Best Results:
- DIY Decor Projects Worth Tackling in 2016 – popsugar.com
- 10 DIY Furniture & Decor Projects You Can Make for Your Wedding (Then Use at Home Later) – Apartment Therapy – apartmenttherapy.com
There’s an unlimited amount of DIY project lists out there. Content Studio helps you identify which ones are the best and which audiences you can target, such has newlyweds.
Best Results:
- Raised Beds – How to build raised garden beds for $35 – queenbeecoupons.com
- How to Make a Stone Birdhouse – empressofdirt.com
- An Insanely Chic (and Simple!) Garden Trellis DIY – onekingslane.com
Take the best information from the best results to support your content. For example, a raised garden bed, birdhouse and garden trellis completes a chic garden.
Best Results:
- 16 Struggles Only DIYers Will Truly Understand – buzzfeed.com
- 16 Totally Doable DIY Projects That All Solve More Than One Problem – buzzfeed.com
Best Result:
- 16 Totally Doable DIY Projects That All Solve More Than One Problem – nobiggie.net
- 50 Things to Make with a Pallet – instructables.com
- 35+ Very Cool Things To Make With A Paper Bag – happyhooligans.com
As with Google search, using “*” tells Content Studio, “input relevant words here.” This is a great way to develop new ideas.
Best Results:
- Lavender Sage All-purpose Spray Cleaner – helloglow.com
- Natural Homemade All-Purpose Cleaner (That Works!) – wellnessmama.com
- Diy Naturally Antibacterial All-purpose Cleaner – helloglow.com
Searches with quality results but not quantity can be improved by using “OR” and adding a similar term.
Parenting & mom blogging
Best Results:
- 10 times Ryan Reynolds used Twitter jokes to teach valuable, yet dark, parenting lessons. – upworthy.com
- 5 great parenting lessons from presidential dads – Washington Post
- Parenting lessons from Sir Elton and Dave: ‘If you want that Picasso, you’re going to have to earn it’ – The Guardian
A similar approach to #14. Discussing famous people is a good idea in our celebrity-obsessed society.
Best Results:
- How game theory can help you do a better job of parenting – aeon.co
- CMU associate prof’s book plugs game theory into parenting – Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Here’s the reasoning behind this one: If multiple publications discuss how game theory can help parents, other psychology factors are worth discussing as well.
Best Results:
- A Celebrity Baby Blog: ‘Parenting at its Finest’ – blackcelebkids.com
- 16 Celebrity Exes Who Do Co-Parenting Right – thestir.cafemom.com
Searching for multiple words in a title is effective when you have a basic idea in your head and want to make sure there’s enough information out there to run with it.
Best Results:
- Table hammocks, a snakes and ladders place mat and a cardboard slide: Clever parenting hacks that will change your life – Daily Mail
- 4 parenting tricks from the French, who are great at raising kids – businessinsider.com
- These Are the 10 Game-Changing Hacks For Dads (video) – popsugar
Hacks, tricks and tips are all great searches for finding highly shared listicles.
Best Results:
- 4 Reasons Why Co-Parenting Post Divorce Matters More Than Ever – Huffington Post
- 5 Co-Parenting Tips for Newly Divorced Parents – goodtherapy.com
Here we found the phrase “co-parenting” from a more generic search term. Now you can conceptualize a post around that.
Best Results:
- One in three special-needs children faces insensitive treatment: Survey – todayonline.com
- Parenting an intellectually disabled child: life forever on duty – stuff.co.nz
You should make content that speaks to both small and large target audiences. Here’s an idea that fits a niche.
Health & fitness
Best Results:
- 16 Health And Fitness Myths You Should Definitely Stop Believing – buzzfeed.com
- The 3 absolute worst health and fitness goals you must avoid. – precisionnutrition.com
As mentioned, a title search is one of the best ways to quickly access relevant results.
Best Results:
- These Are the Best Exercises for Anxiety and Depression – Huffington Post
- Really, Really Short Workouts – New York Times
As mentioned in No. 19, using “*” is a great way to develop new ideas.
Best Results:
- Celebrity Diet Tips: The Exact Meals & Workouts From Britney Spears, Demi Lovato & More – hollywoodlife.com
- Even Ronda Rousey ‘Got Her Butt Kicked’ by Celebrity Trainer Ky Evans’ ‘Extremely Intense’ Pilates Workout – People
As you can tell, celebrity themes work across industries.
Best Results:
- Can Summer Grilling Cause Cancer? 10 Tips to Reduce Toxic Exposures – drfranklipman.com
- CDC: 104,000 quit smoking due to ‘Tips from Former Smokers’ campaign – Atlanta Business Chronicle
Content Studio can help you formulate entire campaigns around weighty topics, such as cancer.
Best Results:
- Fitbit Charge Hr Vs Garmin Vívosmart Hr – androidauthority.com
- Gear Fit 2 Review – Can Samsung Get Fitness Tracking Right? – androidauthority.com
- We Tried Fitbit’s New Smartphone-Friendly Fitness Trackers – buzzfeed.com
Using “vs.” in a search or title search helps you find comparison articles.
Education
Best Results:
- Gamification, personalization and continued education are trending in edtech – Tech Crunch
- The Psychology Of Gamification In Education: Why Rewards Matter For Learner Engagement. – paradisosolutions.com
Best Results:
- Google updates Classroom with new tools for students, parents and teachers – Tech Crunch
- Children with special needs given the tools to succeed with Windows 10 – Microsoft
Here Content Studio is able to connect two themes you wouldn’t normally associate together: tech companies and education.
Best Results:
- MOOCs: Course Completion is the Wrong Measure of Course Success – class-central.com
- How Do Online Learners Overcome Challenges in MOOCs? [New Publication] – techknowtools.wordpress.com/
Content Studio can help you tackle two audiences at once — these same results could be used for a teacher-oriented concept.
Best Results:
- Free Lesson Plans – scholastic.com
- DIY Math Camp – whatdowedoallday.com
- Amazon Unveils Online Education Service for Teachers
In addition to blog and article content, great resources such as lesson plan templates are crawled as well.
Finance
Best Results:
- 10 Overlooked Tax Deductions That Will Save You Money – personalcapital.com
- Don’t Miss Out on the 21 Most Overlooked Tax Deductions – popsugar.com
Opening articles and skimming them can lead you to new ideas. Both of these articles detail job hunting costs, which inspired this new concept:
Best Results:
- A Smarter Plan to Make Retirement Savings Last – New York Times
- A 3-step retirement savings plan for 20-somethings – money.cnn.com
New search ideas will come naturally as you vet results. Here we see the obvious but helpful connection between “savings plan” and “retirement.”
Best Results:
- Affirm acquires budgeting app Sweep to expand into personal finance – Tech Crunch
- His Finance Tech App Won Half a Million Dollars for Its Simple Brilliance – blackenterprise.com
- Penny raises $1.2M in seed funding for its personal finance bot – Tech Crunch
App articles are overdone, but “app” as a search term can lead to compelling stories about innovation and disruption.
Best Results:
- Budgeting Software Showdown: Mint vs. You Need a Budget – lifehacker.com
- The Online Budget Battle: Mint vs. You Need a Budget (YNAB) – makeuseof.com
Using “vs.” in a search or title search helps you find comparison articles.
Enterprise tech & IT
Best Results:
- Oracle buys enterprise cloud services company NetSuite for $9.3B – Tech Crunch
- Citrix to Introduce a Cloud Service that Delivers Secure Apps from Azure to any Device – citrix.com
- The second cloud wave is upon us, ready or not – infoworld.com
Filtering by published date is a powerful tool for staying up to date with trends and industry developments.
Best Results:
- What is the blockchain, and is it really about to change the world? – extremetech.com
- IBM Set to Launch One of the Largest Blockchain Implementations to Date – Wall Street Journal
- Blockchain to become ‘beating heart’ of financial system – finextra.com
Reviewing top results on Content Studio is a great way to understand subject material, thus making you a better content strategist.
Best Results:
- A Close Look at Eclipse Che – thenewstack.io
- Five Things You Need To Know About Microservices – appaccelerator.com
This search and the one below are examples of keywords you might see mentioned in other articles. Use them to uncover a specific aspect of a given topic.
Best Results:
- How to speed enterprise app development and meet digital transformation demands – information-age.com
- Are Low-Code Platforms Fast and Scalable? – bitpipe.com
Here’s a good example of a search that requires technical industry knowledge. Luckily, our content strategy team stacks up knowledge from nearly every industry.
Best Results:
- Predictive analytics: science or magic wand? – information-age.com
- Why Marketers Should Embrace Predictive Analytics – cmswire.com
Marketplace Tip: When you’re dispatching a complex assignment such as this to the ClearVoice Marketplace, give writers multiple resources and explain what you like about each. This will establish the level of research and detail involved.
Travel
Best Results:
- 10 Travel Destinations That Test Your Physical Strength And Courage – lifehack.org
- Active Vacation Idea: Climbing Africa’s Highest Mountain (pt 1) – blogs.plos.org
The “past month/past 6 months” filters not only help you find trends, but they can also provide you with resources for when planning posts for the upcoming year.
Best Results:
- Ultralight Packing List: I Traveled for 3 Weeks with a 12L Handbag – herpackinglist.com
- 10 Genius Hacks for Packing Your Carry-On Suitcase – momspark.net
This is a great example of how to use resources and messaging to target a specific audience — solo female travelers in this case.
Best Results:
- How Luxury Travel Is Changing the Fashion Industry – skift.com
- Op-Ed | Is Fashion Ready for the Experience Economy? – businessoffashion.com
Here we connected two themes, “luxury travel” and “fashion.” You might miss this connection had you not seen the search results.
Best Results:
- How To Travel Bora Bora On A Budget: It’s Possible! – neverendingfootsteps.com
- How to Track Travel Expenses and Actually Stay On Budget – herpackinglist.com
As you can see, “how to” searches are one of the favorite plays in our content strategy playbook.
Best Results:
- Top Destinations for LGBT Travel in 2016 Revealed – travelandleisure.com
- How Gay Travel Is Different (And Why It Matters) – nomadicmatt.com
The power of Content Studio is evident by the ability to identify content ideas in different niches for different demographics, such as LGBT-friendly travel.
Tech & gadgets
Best Results:
- 97% of smartphones in India run Android – androidauthority.com
- Galaxy S7 Edge is the world’s top-selling Android smartphone so far in 2016 – androidauthority.com
There are lots of variations you can do with “Samsung” and “Apple” — but even the most basic entry still provides good resources.
Best Results:
- 10 best iPhone VR apps and games – techradar.com
- Android 7.0 Nougat review: an Android version for Android fans – androidauthority.com
For something like VR (virtual reality), use the Past Month filter to find up-to-date insights.
Best Results:
- New ‘Pilot’ Earpiece Translates Languages for You in Real Time – highsnobsociety.com
- 6 Medical Specialties with the Biggest Potential in the Future – medicalfuturist.com
- What’s next for wearable tech – thenextweb.com
A plethora of terms can be paired with “future” effectively, especially in the tech category.
Best Results:
- New technology could add product placement to old TV programmes – The Guardian
- When TV Ads Go Subliminal With a Vengeance, We’ll Be to Blame – New York Times
This search could be applied to TV technology — like the latest and greatest in TV manufacturing — but compelling articles about TV advertising stole the show.
There you have it — 53 solid ideas for blog content generated by Content Studio and the brilliant minds of ClearVoice’s own content strategists. To learn more about our software and how it can make your blog better, take a test drive.
Special thanks to the intrepid ClearVoice content strategists:
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Ryan Black
-
Michael Brewer
-
Heather Brick
-
Melody Valdez
