Where to Find Content for Your Blog, White Papers, Webinars and Other B2B Marketing Initiatives

“I would like to publish a blog, update my company’s online resource center or try another form of content marketing, but I don’t have anything interesting to share. Nothing new and exciting is happening right now.”

Have thoughts like this ever held you back from launching a new marketing initiative?

If so, you’re not alone. One of the biggest content marketing challenges is coming up with good content to share – whether you’re just getting started in content marketing or are running out of ideas to meet an aggressive publication schedule. The B2B Content Marketing: 2012 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends Report revealed that 41% of B2B marketers are concerned about producing the type of content that engages prospects and customers while another 20% are concerned about how to produce enough content.

However, I always question marketers who believe that they have nothing good to share. If your company has nothing interesting to say, how have you remained in business for so long?

You probably have all kinds of interesting stories and ideas buried within your company, which means it’s just a matter of knowing where to find content. Here are three in-house sources that can help you identify amazing content:

• Your sales team and customer service representatives. As a marketer, you probably spend a lot of time in your office or running from meeting to meeting. That’s why it’s important to connect with your sales team and customer service representatives – as they are the ones who speak with your customers and leads on a daily basis. They will know about your audience’s biggest needs, concerns and questions. You can use this information to form the basis for blog posts, white papers, webinars and other educational content. Your customer service team will also know which customers are your biggest fans, so you can contact them for case studies and video testimonials.

• Your social media team. Much like your sales and customer service teams, your social media experts also interact with your target audience on a daily basis. If you don’t know what will engage your audience, your social media team can conduct quick surveys to find out more about your audience’s biggest concerns. Your social media team should also have a wealth of analytics on your content, which will help you learn what your audience is sharing, clicking on, reading and ignoring.

• Your product development team. Your product development team can be another excellent source of content ideas. When a new version of your product is coming out, you’ll need a wealth of content to support it – from new case studies to white papers to webinars. Speaking with your product development team can help you identify gaps in your content so you know where to focus your efforts.

This is the third post in a series about B2B content marketing fears. Be sure to check out the other posts on how to get content marketing buy-in and competitors stealing your content.

What about you? Where do you find ideas for interesting content? Feel free to share your comments below.