Content Strategist
Not all topics are created equal.
Some have the power to captivate audiences, drive engagement, and significantly impact your business goals. But how do you separate these high-impact gems from the sea of mediocre ideas?
In this article, I’ll share some techniques for finding ideas and prioritizing content topics for maximum impact.
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Think about how much time you spend creating content.
Now imagine if every piece actually moved the needle for your business.
That's what prioritization does.
It helps you pick topics that'll grab your audience's attention and drive real results. You're focused on what matters – content that brings in leads, boosts conversions, and keeps your customers coming back for more.
Figuring out what content is high-impact versus low-impact isn't rocket science, but it does require some strategic thinking.
High-impact content is the stuff that really moves the needle for your business (as I mentioned above). It's the content that your audience can't get enough of, that solves their biggest problems, and that keeps them coming back for more. On the flip side, low-impact content might be interesting, but it doesn't do much to drive your business goals forward.
So how do you tell the difference?
Start by looking at your data. What content is getting the most engagement? Which topics are driving the most leads or sales? That's usually a good indicator of high-impact content.
But don't stop there.
Talk to your customers, research industry trends, and monitor your competitors' activities. High-impact content often addresses pain points that your audience is actively seeking solutions to.
Nonetheless… what's high-impact for one business might be low-impact for another. It all depends on your specific audience and goals. That's why you need to really understand your target market and what they're looking for. Once you've got that down, you'll start to see patterns emerge in what resonates with them.
What an interesting term, isn’t it? 😀
These are the topics that don't just make a splash when you first publish them - they keep on making waves long after.
Smart strategists know that these high-impact topics are gold because they keep on giving, sparking conversations, inspiring other content creators, and keeping your brand in the spotlight.
Let’s think about this for a second – some topics just seem to take on a life of their own. They get shared, discussed, and debated. People create response videos, write their own blog posts expanding on your ideas, or start heated discussions in the comments.
Before you know it, your original piece has spawned a whole ecosystem of content, all linking back to you as the source. That's the power of cascading influence.
The challenge is that these topics aren't always obvious at first glance. Sometimes, a seemingly simple idea strikes a chord and takes off.
Other times, a controversial take gets people talking.
The key is to keep your finger on the pulse of your industry and your audience, always looking for those topics that have the potential to spark ongoing conversations and content creation.
Finding gold at the crossroads might look like combining AI trends with cybersecurity challenges, or merging remote work solutions with data privacy concerns. Maybe connecting sustainability practices with cloud computing efficiency.
These intersections are where the magic happens.
They create unique angles that grab attention because they're fresh, relevant, and often solve multiple problems at once.
This approach works wonders because it positions your company as an innovative thought leader.
You're not just rehashing the same old topics everyone else is talking about. Instead, you're offering fresh perspectives that can genuinely help other businesses navigate complex challenges.
Challenging mainstream ideas is where content strategists really flex their thought leadership muscles. It's about taking a step back and asking, "But what if we're all wrong?"
True thought leadership means having the guts to say something different, backed by solid evidence and experience. When you challenge mainstream ideas effectively, you position yourself and your company as innovative thinkers who aren't afraid to push boundaries. This kind of content often sparks heated discussions, gets shared widely, and can even shift industry perspectives over time.
But (and there’s a big “but”) challenging mainstream ideas isn't about being controversial just to get attention. You need to offer genuine insights that make people stop and reconsider their assumptions. When done right, this approach can establish your brand as a go-to source for fresh, forward-thinking content.
This is NOT copying others, it’s finding inspiration in unlikely places and adapting it to your unique context.
I do this a lot. I browse through magazines like Paris Review or Aeon and I “borrow” content ideas. Imagine taking the edge-of-your-seat storytelling from true crime podcasts and applying it to your case studies. Or picture using the visual appeal of travel blogs to showcase your product features. These unexpected twists can make your content pop in a sea of sameness.
Here's a pro tip: some of the best insights are hiding right under your nose. Your sales team, for instance, is a goldmine of customer insights. They're chatting with prospects daily, hearing their struggles, dreams, and objections firsthand.
The curiosity gap is that irresistible itch we all get when we know there's something we don't know.
It's the reason you can't help but click on that "You won't believe what happened next" headline, even though you know it's probably clickbait.
Our brains are wired to seek out information. When we sense a gap in our knowledge, it creates a kind of mental tension that we're driven to resolve. It's why cliffhangers in TV shows work so well and why you'll stay up way too late reading "just one more chapter" of a good book.
But here's where it gets interesting for us content creators: to satisfy the curiosity gap means identifying the questions your audience is dying to have answered, the problems they're grappling with, or the insights they crave but haven't found yet.
Identifying high-impact content topics is just the first step in creating a killer content strategy.
Once you've pinpointed these golden opportunities, the next challenge is turning them into well-structured content.
This is where content briefing comes into play…
Yahini offers you the strategic advice you need to create a content strategy from the ground up. Its AI has been trained by seasoned content strategists, providing you with expert-level content briefs right at your fingertips.
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