We live in a time when content needs to be constant. And let’s be honest; this quickly leads to burnout and lousy content.

We want to avoid that while still producing enough quality content that keeps us and our audience happy. But what happens when the water of content ideas turns into a drought?

I’ve worked both in social media and the blogging world and have constantly had to keep up with new and exciting content. And it’s hard!

Over the years, I’ve found some excellent spaces to get inspired and create unique blog ideas. I’ve learned that it’s about paying attention to what everyone else is doing in your industry and beyond and putting your spin on it.

Here are all the places I find inspiration. You can use them for content ideas for Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, Pinterest, your blog, emails, and wherever else on the internet you find yourself.

Profiles and Influencers You Like

When looking for content ideas for social media, one of the first places I turn to is those I already follow. If I follow an influencer on Instagram, they’re doing something I like. Look at the posts of some of your favourite creators and mark which ones are your favourite.

Why do you like them?

Note what it is about their posts and reels you like, and see how you can spin them.

For instance, I saw some people I follow using this trend. In the trend, you would have a quiet, scenic video in the background with a static quote over the top.

Also, pay attention to any blogs you click on yourself and why. Stash away any for future blog post ideas.

Competitors

Likewise, you’ll want to look at your competitors and see what they’re up to. You can directly see the numbers on social media and note which of their posts are working (and which aren’t).

It’s important that you don’t copy their ideas but use them as a springboard to talk about certain topics and trends you might not have posted about yet.

For one of my clients, we considered implementing blog posts in a FAQ style. Each blog post would have a question as a title, and the whole post would seek to answer it.

Leading with questions was a huge change up from our current blog strategy. When we looked at a competitor’s website and saw they were doing something similar, it reaffirmed that this was a good direction to try with our blog ideas.

Facebook Pages and Groups

I don’t know if you still go on Facebook, but I do every day! It remains an excellent place to get blog post ideas and social media posts.

I have joined certain groups. For instance, I’m in a Calgary gardening group. In it, I see the plants and topics that people are most interested in and can catch trends as they’re happening in others gardens.

Besides groups, lots of suggested stuff comes up on my timeline. Because the algorithm knows I’m interested in gardening and plants, it will show me related content. Whenever I see something I like, I take a screenshot or save it to my phone.

I’ve turned many memes into entirely different topics. For instance, I repurposed this meme about plants into a post for a client who sells garage doors.

Think creatively about how different posts you see you can turn into your unique take.

Quora for Question Content Ideas

Have you ever taken a deep dive into Quora? This website is brimming with ideas. A question and answer site, you can see the exact questions and topics people are wondering about.

Search for your industry and peep around with the common questions people have. Then, you can answer them directly! Turn the question into a full blog post, social media post, TikTok, or even a long-form YouTube video.

Answer the Public

I first saw Latasha James suggest this tool, and I’m so glad she did! Answer the Public is a tool by Neil Patel that allows you to put in one keyword at a time. From there, it will come up with TONS of questions that people are searching for related to that keyword.

You’re allowed one free search per day, and just from that one search, you’ll have more than enough social media and blog post ideas. It also allows you to filter based on location to niche down or up your scope.

Here’s a sample of my search where I inputted the keyword content ideas.

Reddit

Reddit has something for everyone. You can follow city pages for local content, fan fic pages, random facts, tv shows, tech support, and every other niche concept under the sun.

If you’re new to Reddit, start by searching on Google for the topic you’re interested in, followed by Reddit. There’s probably a Reddit thread you can follow! You don’t need an account to view content, but you need one to comment and make posts yourself.

When I worked for an agency as a social media manager, I had an automotive shop as a client. Knowing NOTHING about cars, it was tricky for me to find content. I used Reddit a lot to keep up with trends and cool cars to feature as content for their page.

Reddit is a gold mine for unique content ideas for social media.

Keyword Research

If you’re looking for blog ideas, you’re probably familiar with keyword research. Keywords are the terms people search for on Google, and including them in your content makes it more likely to appear in searches.

Keywords also extend to social media. Think of each social media site as a mini search platform! Keeping keywords in your content and profile makes it more probably to show up to the right people.

When doing keyword research, I always look at all the possibilities. For example, I inputted the keyword content ideas for this post into my go-to keyword tool, Keywords Everywhere. Here are some of the long-form keywords it came up with.

The results are too much to include in this post, and I could table any of these keywords into its own blog post or social media post.

Pinterest

For me, Pinterest is far from dead. I use it as a search engine to look for blog post ideas personally and when writing content for clients.

When writing camping content for a client, I wanted to find something that would work for some round-up posts. I could see all the other kinds of content people were posting and came up with a few ideas, including dollar-store camping hacks and easy camping breakfast ideas.

Headline Generator

Titles have always been one of the most challenging things for me because of their importance. Without a good title, people won’t click. Most of the battle is piquing their interest enough to decide to click.

One tool I sometimes use is a headline generator. The one from Content Row is what I use, though the titles usually make no sense. But it’s a good jumping point for other content ideas!

For example, I inputted the keyword plants and these are the results I got.

While it may make little sense, I can get some good ideas for this. For instance, The Truth About the __ Industry, could be a spicy article to delve deep into your industry and your honest thoughts.

I use a headline generator for topical and unique blog ideas and newsletter titles.

Keep Notes of Content Ideas

The notes app on your phone, a word doc on your computer, a post-it note by your bed, a day planner—whatever it looks like, keep notes always. Whenever I have an idea or see something I like, I always stash it away for later.

For example, I keep a list of newsletter headlines I like. Or I save audio and posts on Instagram anytime I like them. I also have a meme folder for quick reference when I need content.

Even when you’re not searching for content, keep it written down for when you are creating content.

Get More Help With Content Ideas

That wraps it up! Please let me know if you have other websites or tools for finding content ideas for YouTube, Instagram, a blog, and more. I’m always looking to build up my arsenal.

Don’t hesitate to contact me if you’re feeling burnout and uninspired. I can help you produce refreshing content that sounds just like you so you have more time to get inspired and do the side of the business you love.