Striving to be a thought leader and gaining social proof is sometimes easier said than done.  At the core of these strategies is content.  Not a great deal of content mind you, because you can establish a role as a thought leader without having thousands of pieces being circulated;  no this is about quality content.

That’s where many business owners get hung up when they’re trying to build their reputation, brand and customer outreach online.  While the barrier can take varying forms the most common brings about one very ugly question:

“What do I talk about when I have nothing to say?”

It’s not easy to find topics when you feel like you’re not privy to cutting edge market research, new technology or breaking news on a daily basis.  In the older days of marketing, most companies were expected to open their mouth only when they had something groundbreaking to discuss – otherwise it was “stay silent unless spoken to”.

The days of that kind of marketing and PR are long gone.  If you want to stay relevant and give your customers a reason to do business with you then you need to take the reins on your branding and reputation management.  You need to create the topics and make them relevant rather than rely on news to land in your lap.

Short on topics to discuss?  Here’s how you can get started:

Talk to your Customers

We know, you talk to your customers on a daily basis but are you actually talking with them or at them?  Take the time to arm yourself as well as your staff with video or audio recording devices so you can capture customer interaction.  Hitting a networking event?  Take a camera with you.  During these engagement periods, ask questions and listen to your customers.  Find out what they struggle with in relation to your product and service.  Let them tell you what they need to hear.

Provide a way to DIY

Most products and services that business owners sell are a solution to a problem of some kind.  They’re made to solve that problem or at the very least simplify another task for someone else.  With that in mind, there’s often other ways that a temporary solution can be reached.  Talk about alternative solutions and provide some level of education.  If you’re a contractor, consider some of the most common DIY projects that people tackle without hiring a contractor and provide safety or budget planning tips.  Put education at the heart of it and brainstorm some topics.

This is great if you’ve ever been tired of people asking you the same question over and over.

Plug into Industry or Market Communities

If there are forums or places where your customers gather (like message boards for a particular trade magazine) you can jump in and look through common topics of discussion.  See what people find to be the most interesting and share your own perspective on it.

Look at Competitor Blogs or Trade Magazine Articles

You can look on already-published content for topic ideas.  Don’t swipe the content word for word but examine the subject matter and see if you can provide some other unique perspective.  Put your own twist on it.  If you feel like inspiring some engagement from the original author your could provide a link to your post and differing (or objecting) perspective.  You might start a conversation (or some controversy) and people love both.

The next post will cover information on drawing from your passions, leveraging social media, how to wring content from your target audience and more.  Check out Part 2 here.