Most people in marketing, design, or production will tell you that ideation is a critical tool in the creative process. In our post “Mastering Creative Content to Fuel Innovative and Successful Campaigns,” we highlighted how content ideation accelerates your campaign toward high engagement and quality. 

It is one thing to say that content ideation matters. But how can you utilize the ideation process to improve your campaign?

Let’s review our top tips for optimizing your campaign through content ideation, so you can unleash your creativity!

How do you ideate?

There are three phases in the ideation process: brainstorming, research, and development. Content ideation, however, is not a linear process. You should follow these steps multiple times until your idea and content are at their best. Let's start with brainstorming.

Brainstorm

When you brainstorm, you come up with as many ideas as you can for your project. Brainstorming gets your creative juices flowing, so it should be fun! You can use sticky notes or a whiteboard to visualize your ideas. There are also great tools online, such as random word generators, that can expand your vocabulary on the topic. You can even play word association games to gain new perspectives!

Brainstorming should also follow a structure. If you set timers or outline specific goals, it will be both fun and effective! Another way to add structure to your brainstorm is content frameworks. These templates organize your ideas and goals into a clear structure. You can utilize different frameworks, such as STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) for storytelling or AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) for persuasion. 

In the end, brainstorming opens your mind to all the possibilities for your campaign content. Now that you have some ideas, you’re ready for step two of the ideation process!

Research 

The first step of your research should focus on industry trends. Using Google Search, Google Trends, or forums like Reddit, you can discover what people care about. Moreover, this is a great way to understand the top-performing content related to your product or brand. Through this research, you’ll access valuable information from your target audience, as well as insight into content from your competitors. It’s a win-win!

In addition to understanding industry trends, your research should focus on user pain points and needs. The more clarity you have on your audience’s goals, the more you can refine your content to their wants. This is a powerful way to tailor your campaign to your audience, which will lead to more engagement. 

Finally, research is a valuable opportunity to find gaps in relevant content. When you see where competitors fall short, or when you discover uncharted territory, you’ll identify the areas where your content will shine. With this knowledge, your campaign is guaranteed to stand out from the crowd!

Develop 

Now you’re ready to put your knowledge to good use. The development stage is when you evaluate your content against your research findings. By analyzing your ideas, you can determine the actions you can take to refine your content. This is a great time to apply brainstorming techniques too! As you solidify the goals of your content, you can emphasize ideas that meet those needs.

The development stage combines creativity with brainpower. Research suggests that you can increase your brain’s ability to think of new, better ideas when you alternate the ideation tasks you perform (Meslec et al., 2020). So, while developing your ideas, don’t be afraid to switch up the environment or game plan. This is the time to embrace change because your content will be better for it!

How does content ideation improve your campaign?

Content ideation is the number one tool to enhance your creativity. Going through each step of the process strengthens your ideas and, most importantly, your content. The more you refine your content, the more you ensure brand consistency, team collaboration, and campaign relatability. These all work together to drive audience engagement and campaign success.

When you follow best practices for content ideation, you develop your strongest ideas every time. Your brainstorm will evolve into a relatable, innovative, and unique piece of content that people will love. You can be sure that your brand’s voice will stand out every time.  

So, what are you waiting for? Take these tools into your next brainstorming session. We can’t wait to see how you transform a great idea into the next best campaign!

References 

Meslec, N., Graff, D., & Clark, M. A. (2020). Increasing team ideation by sequencing the task type and content. Design Studies, 70, 100947. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.destud.2020.100947