Are you a content marketing writer looking for an edge or an added bit of inspiration?

Savvy content marketing writers can beef up their skills by taking a few cues from bubble wrap.

Let’s pop right in there and see what this whimsical packing material can teach us about writing great content.

The Best Content Marketing Writers Think Outside the Box

Great content isn’t about cranking out articles. It takes ingenuity.

Bubble wrap was born when engineers from New Jersey put together two shower curtains. Believe it or not, they were trying to create wallpaper. Instead, they created the most irresistible packing material the world has ever seen.

Truly skilled content marketing writers are able to put a spin on their content or create a unique hook that draws the audience in. When it comes to ingenuity, there’s no better example than bubble wrap.

Some people seem to have been born with loads of ingenuity. The rest of us will have to work a little harder to come up with great ideas. But that doesn’t mean we’re out of luck.

Coming up with great ideas can sometimes be a matter of simply taking the right steps.

Don’t Be Antisocial

Bubble wrap would likely not exist if it weren’t for multiple individuals putting their heads together to create it. Writers need the same kind of collaboration at times. Like it or not, social media is where conversations are happening today. Keeping an eye on your favorite social media platforms is a great way to spark ideas for new content.

Look over the posts and comments on pages of popular brands. It’s also a good idea to take a peek over the fence, and see what your competitors are up to. Check out their most popular topics and find a way to put a new twist on them.

FACEBOOK GROUPS

Facebook isn’t just for finding funny cat videos or sharing a picture of what you ate for lunch. Facebook groups are a great platform for sharing ideas with people who have similar passions and interests.

A Massive Audience– Facebook has over 2.6 billion active monthly users worldwide.

A Recipe for New Perspectives– People join Facebook groups because they’re looking to engage and share. A massive audience combined with folks who are hungry for collaboration is a recipe for new perspectives and ingenious ideas.

Rapid Feedback-If you’re reading this, the odds are good you routinely search for new ideas to level up your company and your skills as a content marketing writer. Asking questions and conducting formal poles are just a few of the ways you can get great feedback through Facebook groups.

Social media sleuthing may take a while at first. But once you develop a network of sources, you’ll be able to quickly come up with new and interesting ideas to take your content marketing campaigns to the next level.

Medium Is a Hidden Gem for Content Marketing Writers

Medium.com is one of the Internet’s hidden gems. Think of it as social media for those who want to put ‘pen to paper’ and create a piece of content they’re proud to share.

Because Medium is a platform for those who are driven to share something of value, it’s a great way to uncover unique perspectives from those who have similar passions, interests, and expertise.

The same things that make Medium a fantastic catalyst for new ideas make it a great way for you to get interested eyeballs on your content.

If you’re interested in publishing on Medium, here are some awesome tips from HubSpot to get you started.

A Picture Might Be Worth More Than a Thousand Words

Infographics can be a great marketing tool. They’re eye-catching, and they get the point across quickly. But, there’s only so much you can communicate with a picture. If you’re a marketer who is willing to dive in and flesh out the details, infographics may be a great source for new ideas.

Using these entertaining images to pump up your creativity is as simple as doing a Google image search. Go to Google, click images, then search for whatever topic is on your mind. Be sure to include the phrase infographic in your search. Look for one that catches your attention or seems particularly popular.

Be Engaging and Informative

Why is bubble wrap the most beloved packing material of all time? Simple, it’s fun and it does a great job. There’s something undeniably fun about popping those little bubbles. However, we would think about bubble wrap very differently if it didn’t do a great job of protecting our precious cargo.

Content marketing writers need to take the same approach when they start creating a new piece of content.

We search for content because we want to learn something or be entertained. Every content marketing writer should aim for crafting content that’s informative and engaging.

It can be difficult to create informative and engaging content without sounding like you’re reading from an encyclopedia or feeling like you’re filling your content with fluff. These tips will help you get the hang of being informative and engaging.

• Start using stories. Mixing stories with a few facts, along with quality links and input from other experts, is a simple, powerful, and straightforward way to make your content informative.
• Use the rule of three. Presenting information in groups of three makes it easier for the audience to grasp the point you’re trying to make.
• Write like you talk. Writing the way you speak in everyday conversations is a fantastic approach to making any piece of content more engaging and accessible. It may feel wrong at first. Just remember, you’re not writing a term paper.

Define Your Purpose and Be Open to New Ideas

This is probably the single most important and overlooked content writing tip. It’s also the rule that bit me in the backside while I was writing this blog.

Every single piece of content you create needs to have a clearly defined purpose. Your purpose can be anything you think is worthwhile.

You can put out a blog post to generate some buzz for a new product. You can write an article that answers a question your customers have been asking. Or you can just put something out there because you think your customers will appreciate it.

Whatever your purpose is, define it before you start. Otherwise, you may wind up putting in a lot of time and getting nowhere. That also happens to be the reason I had to rewrite this blog three times.

I was excited about the connection I saw between bubble wrap and becoming a great content marketing writer. But I didn’t slow down enough to establish a clear goal.

Wrapping it all Up

• Don’t be afraid to try a new path or pivot from your current goal if you come up with a new idea that seems fruitful. After all, if those New Jersey engineers hadn’t been open to exploring new possibilities decades ago, bubble wrap may not be around today.
• At the end of the day, creating great content comes down to presenting valuable information in an appealing format.
• Look for ways to put a new twist on ideas and present the information in a warm accessible way. If you do these two things well, you will be on your way to creating a very successful content marketing campaign