It might take a little creative brainstorming, but we’re here to tell you that there’s always something else to blog about. Here at Hue & Tone, we work with a number of residential building and design pros – including kitchen designers, cabinet reps, general contractors, realtors, and lighting companies – and hear concern from these folks in particular that they have nothing to talk about on their blog. 

Content creation is a common concern – and worries range from being stumped in the initial brainstorming session to long-term stress about running out of things to post about. No matter what industry you’re in, we promise that there’s plenty to post about! 

But don’t just take our word for it, let us demonstrate and help you brainstorm some new ideas. We’re going to start by focusing on generating ideas for our kitchen and bath creatives – but if you’re stumped, we’re here to help! Drop us a comment at the bottom of this post if you want to see us do a brainstorming session for your industry. 

Building + Design Practices

1. Designing a family (and kid) friendly kitchen: What tips can you provide to make the kitchen a more inclusive space for the whole family? 

2. Stain, paint, or replace? What time, budget, and design factors should someone consider when they’re making a decision about a cabinet upgrade? 

3. How to set a remodeling budget: What should clients consider when outlining everything they want in their new dream kitchen? What expenses might they not be thinking about? How much wiggle room should they leave to account for fluctuating expenses and ensure they don’t blow the budget? Pose and answer all these questions for prospective clients to start building trust before you even begin working together.

4. Choosing the right appliances: Introduce people to your favorite appliance brands and let us know what products you would recommend for a variety of budgets. 

5. Biggest renovation mistakes to avoid: What missteps do you see most often? Which design decisions have you been brought back in to correct? 

6. Checklist for your bathroom renovation: Create a free downloadable that homeowners can use to get everything organized for a bathroom renovation. 

7. Finding the right designer: We all have an idea of who our ideal clients is – use this knowledge to write a post explaining who you love to work with. In turn, this will help homeowners determine if you’re the design pro they’re looking for!   

8. Granite vs Quartz: Walk us through the pro and cons of each popular countertop material. Are there less common materials (like butcher block) that a homeowner should consider?

Trends

9. Building Sustainably: What’s the latest in renewable building technology? What should clients consider when aiming for a more sustainable and eco-friendly design? 

10. What do you see as the latest trend in smart technology? What’s the next big thing? Our client, Dream Kitchen Builders, does a great job making these predictions – check out their blog here.

11. How to create a timeless look: Instead of talking about what’s trendy, talk about what will never go out of style. This could be a design feature, paint colors, or fixtures. 

12. Where to splurge vs where to save: Would you suggest spending big money on fixtures or appliances? Cabinets or countertops? Lay out your top tips and suggestions in a post! 

Inspiration 

13. What trends do you see emerging in flooring? Don’t just tell us – show us examples of the latest tile, vinyl, and wood trends. Incorporating visual blogs cuts down on the writing you have to do and can convert to great social media content. 

14. Advise on selecting just the right shade: Picking paint colors is no easy decision, so give clients some guidance on what shades work best. Bonus points for breaking swatch options down by color, mood, or room.

15. Lighting trends: Curate lists of great lighting fixtures for bathrooms, kitchens, hallways, outdoors, and more. 

16. Out of the box design details: Have a wallpaper, light fixture, or unique detail that you’ve been dying to incorporate in a design? Compile these into a blog post and see if you can snag a prospective client that shares your unique design sensibilities. 

17. Small space inspiration: Show and tell us how homeowners can increase the functionality and appearance of a small space. 

Evergreen ideas 

18. Recent jobs: Don’t forget to show off your own work on your blog! Share pictures, quotes, and the story behind your latest renovation or design jobs. This will help prospects get a better idea of your style and how you like to work. 

19. Business updates: Forming a new partnership? Working with a big name client? Attending a kitchen & bath tradeshow? Share updates about your business on the blog to give people an inside look at what’s going on behind the scenes. These posts help build a relationship and your credibility. 

20.  Fun (but related) bonus content: Don’t just stop at designing the kitchen and bathroom – expand your blog topics to include relevant information like hosting tips, recipes, and home organization.  

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Hue & Tone Creative

If you’re stumped during the brainstorming process, we’re here to help. From your very first blog post to learning the latest social platform, we’ll help you with your marketing so you can get back to doing what you do best: running your business. Contact us today to learn more.

Your content is at the core of everything you do. Every part of your business relies on strongly written content – everything from your website and welcome emails to business cards and online ads. 

But how do you know if your content is connecting with potential and future customers? We’ve put together a list of 5 key signs that you need to revamp your content or bring in some outside help to revive it. 

1.  Your traffic isn’t converting

Plenty of people are landing on your website, but your conversion rates are way below what you’d expect them to be. There are a whole load of factors that could be contributing to this, but content tends to be one of them – along with page design, graphics, and mobile compatibility. 

Across industries, the average landing page conversion rate was 2.35%, yet the top 25% are converting at 5.31% or higher. Ideally, you want to break into the top 10% — these are the landing pages with conversion rates of 11.45% or higher. 

Ask yourself -- does your content do your product or service justice? Does it clearly explain what you’re about? Does it speak to your audience in a way they want to be spoken to? Is it accurate and engaging? Does it give people a reason to choose you over your competitors? If you just answered with a stream of no’s, there’s plenty of room for improvement.

If you’re not sure how your content is being received, consider sending out a survey or asking a few key customers for their thoughts. Sometimes an outside perspective is needed!

2.  Your website it stale

When’s the last time you added a piece of content to your site? So long ago you can’t remember? Well, therein lies your problem.

Google likes to see fresh content, and places greater value on up-to-date, newsworthy articles. In a nutshell, if you don’t have fresh content, this means you could be impeding your efforts to gain organic traffic. A simple way to overcome this is by adding a blog section (and actually posting on it!) which will help improve your SEO (find out more about that here).

In addition to a blog, consider setting a calendar reminder that goes off every 6 months to prompt you to review and update the content on your static web pages.

3.  Social media struggles

If you’re constantly grasping for ideas of what to post on social media, it’s probably because you don’t have anything to shout about, and the reason you don’t have anything to shout about is probably because you haven’t published anything new – or, worse, you’re out of touch with your audience.

Regular, relevant content will bring your social media streams to life, give you something to talk about, get your audience engaging with you, and drive traffic to your website.

4.  People aren’t talking about you

If you want people to talk about you, you need to give them something to talk about. Producing great content will get people sharing it on social media, encourage other websites to link to your material, and can help get your audience engaged in new ways. 

The end result? Brand awareness, word of mouth advertising, more inbound links (which will benefit your SEO efforts) and inevitably more leads.

5.  No internal linking opportunities

Internal linking aids your website’s navigation, help you define the architecture and hierarchy of your site, and plays a part in building your website authority. 

When it comes down to it, the more relevant content you have, the more opportunities you have to add internal links. For example, we sent you to this article about SEO earlier in our blog post – but because we have so much relevant content we also could have linked you to this article or this article… or even this one! See? Relevant content builds linking opportunities. 

When it comes down to it, having a bank of relevant content not only makes your marketing more effective – it also makes things easier on you in the long run. Having a deep well of articles and posts to send people to gives you more to promote – as well as the behind-the-scenes SEO benefits of establishing authority. 

If you’re stuck on what to post about, we’ll leave you with this blog series for a little further reading. 

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HUE & TONE: TRIAD BASED MARKETING SOLUTIONS

Completely stumped on what kind of content to post? Not even sure who your customers are? Or maybe you're just not sure how to reach them? We can help you answer all these questions -- and help you plan and enact solutions for all your marketing woes. Shoot us an email or give us a call.

Millions tune in to watch shows like Grey’s Anatomy, events like Super Bowl LII, and cult favorites such as Star Wars. Why? Because the content is so darn good.

Content, as stated by the Oxford English Dictionary, is information made available by a website or other electronic medium. People know good when they see it and recognize good content when they read it. Which is why crafting strong content is so important on the information-overloaded web.

“The force is strong with this one.” –Darth Vader, Star Wars: Episode IV

“What makes for strong content?” you may be asking. It starts with knowing your audience. The subjects you discuss as well as how you choose to tackle them are dictated by those seeking your infinite wisdom and wares. Exploring topics that are helpful to your customers, followers and clients make for good content because it’s relevant. Ask yourself, “what can I do to serve the needs of my unique base”? And create from there.
 

“Always pass on what you have learned.” –Yoda, Star Wars: Episode VI

You can’t teach what you don’t know. Integrate your company’s core competencies (those things you do exceptionally and distinguishes you from competitors) into your content. Kim K posts tons of information regarding make-up and fashion help. Oprah’s website is packed with inspirational tidbits and plenty on healthy eating. Your content could detail how to start a non-profit, demonstrate yoga techniques, or show the masses How to Curate Their Instagram Feeds. Basically, write what you know.
 

"There is NO substitute for WORK." –Vince Lombardi, Green Bay Packers Coach (1959-1967)

Content is often copied from one site and reposted on another. This should only occur when express permission has been provided by the content’s owner. It should also be an option rarely elected. For one, originality is rewarded by Google search rankings and secondly, you can’t contribute much to the virtual conversation if you’re only saying what has already been said. Don’t have the time to create original content? Partner with a professional content provider. Unlike reposting published pieces, working with a content generating service is a savvy alternative that provides you with unique postings for your site.
 

"Pretty good is not enough, I wanna be great." –Christina Yang, Grey’s Anatomy

Your content choices and execution should be in alignment with your brand image. If you’re known for being reliable, posting consistently and on time is a way to demonstrate that trait. Presenting thought-provoking and engaging topics showcases you as the thought-leader that you are. Great at design? Be sure that your content is presented in the showiest of packages that displays your exceptional stylistic talents. If you’re great, your content should be great. Post that which you are.
 

"Knowing is better than wondering." –Meredith Grey, Grey’s Anatomy

What content have you produced that garnered the most engagement and views? There’s an analytic for that.  Refer to your site’s pageview data and determine what your readers prefer. This helps to cultivate similar content that speaks to the needs and wants of your followers. Do your research and give the people what they want.

Keep in mind, your web content may not make a colossal mark or be permanently enshrined in greatness like Star Wars. Instead, it might convert a visitor into a lead or even a client. She may be persuaded to subscribe to your newsletter. He could be moved to try your service. And that is much better and even, dare I say, compelling.

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WEB DESIGN, CONTENT CREATION, and SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGEMENT 

No matter what you're looking for help with, Hue & Tone Creative can help take your website -- and the content on it -- to the next level. If you'd like to see what we can do, be sure to take a look at our design portfolio, scope out more of our blog posts, and take a look at the services we offer.

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"A content calendar is a shareable resource that marketing teams can use to plan all content marketing activity. The benefit of using the calendar format, rather than just a long list of content to be published, is that you can visualize how your content is distributed throughout the year." - Convince and Convert 

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When you’re swamped with meetings, deadlines, and daily work hiccups, squeezing in the time to create content to promote your business can be a hassle.

Creating a content calendar will save you time, provide consistency, and help you manage your communication channels. Chances are, if you’re not pre-planning your social posts and blogs in advance, you’re constantly struggling to find last minute material... usually resulting in rushed and irrelevant content.

Avoid stress and get organized with our 6 step process:  

Step 1: Brainstorm with no distractions

Need some fresh posting ideas? Checkout our What to Post series for, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.

Sit down with a pen and paper and set a timer for 30 minutes. In that time, write down a list of every blog/podcast/content idea that pops into your head. Making sure that you have no distractions is key. When the timer goes off, start divvying up what's appropriate for blog and social media.  

If you're a little low on ideas, you may need to do this process a few times. 

Once you’re done brainstorming, go on a fact-finding mission to study what other businesses and experts do. Then, add any new ideas you have to your master list. From here you can start refining things and decide what works best and what to toss. 
 

Step 2: See what worked

Sidebar: Perform an audit to determine how impactful your social presence is.

Before you start planning, take some time to revisit past posts. Which posts have the most likes and engagement? Which blogs and newsletters have been the most successful?

Once you’ve analyzed what your clients respond best to, you can tailor future content to fit their needs.

Step 3: Determine how often you should post

Tip: Plan content for holidays, anniversaries, product launches, or important events in advance. 

If don’t have a plan in place for how often you want to post on your blog and each social network, you run into the problem of inconsistency. If you’re posting on Facebook 10 times on a Monday, 3 times on a Wednesday, and 6 times on a Friday, your followers will probably get confused, annoyed, or simply unfollow you because they're overwhelmed.

Give your audience a routine so that they know when and how often you’re going to post (especially important with a blog, podcast, or email list). 

These are just general guidelines, so feel free to adjust to the frequency that works best for your business and audience.

Step 4: Create a resource library for social and blog images

Take time to compile a long list of post ideas and sources for material. Having a database of quotes, photos, statistics, relevant websites, and content ideas at your disposal will help you organize all of your content ahead of time. And, in the case that you need some last minute content, you already have quality content at your fingertips! 
 

Step 5: Select a tool

There are several great content planning calendars to choose from and many of them are free.

Sprout Social

Basecamp

CoSchedule

Asana

Google Docs/Sheets

Excel

Buffer

Requeue

We personally prefer to plan our content with Google Sheets, and then schedule things out from there on a weekly basis in Hootsuite. But, if you already have a tool you're comfortable with, try to fit your content planning tools into your existing work flow.
 

Step 6 : Plan everything out

While planning is great, don't miss out on trending tops and current events. If a post you have planned doesn't work don't be afraid to change things up!

Now that you’ve brainstormed and found out what works for you, spend time planning out your content on an actual calendar. Figure out how far you want to plan - we suggest planning at least two or three months out, all the way up to a year. 

Plan out big pieces of content like blogs, infographics, podcasts, and emails first. Once you've got that in place you can work your social content for the week around these big content offerings. Don't catch yourself getting bogged down planning out every social post -- you can always just put a general outline of content you’d like to post on the calnedar (quotes, stats, blog throwbacks, tips, etc.)

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Greensboro Marketing Firm: Hue & Tone Creative

Stumped on how to make the most of your inbound marketing plan? We can help you plan the traffic driving blogs, social, and email campaigns your brand deserves. 

With 467 million members in more than 200 countries, LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network. Business leaders, C-level execs, job seekers, and decision makers alike all utilize the platform – and they’re all waiting to hear from your business.

Using LinkedIn for business can help you attract talent, increase your supplier base, generate new leads, and help you show off your brand’s personality. From sales to HR to operations, LinkedIn can benefit every branch of your business.

Ready to step up your LinkedIn posting game? We’ve compiled a list of content ideas to help you get noticed: 

• Milestones: New products, new employees, and work anniversaries are the perfect content for LinkedIn! 
• Job Openings: This one almost goes without saying, but if you have a job opening be sure to spread the word on LinkedIn.
• Original Content: Distribute your blog posts through LinkedIn to help drive traffic to your site.
• Opinions: Does your business have a philosophy that sets you apart? Share it! Just be sure to keep the political opinions for Facebook (or, ideally, off of social media altogether).
• Industry specific tips: How have you gotten ahead? What works or doesn’t work for your business? Forge a connection by sharing your personal experience (this is great for B2B).
• SlideShare: Presenting at a conference? Hosting a round table? Presenting your process to a client? Share your presentations and show people a behind-the-scenes look at what it would be like to work with you.
• Videos: Share promo videos, tutorials of your product, and behind-the-scenes video!  Leveraging video is the way of the future. 
• Events: Talk up events you’ve recently attended or are planning to go to. And, be sure to post pictures from the event! It’s a great way to connect with others attendees you might not have gotten to chat with in person.
• Content from industry sources: See an article that interests you? Go ahead and share it if you can loosely tie it to your work!
• Podcasts: Promote an industry podcast that has given you good insight.
• Make a playlist: Make a Spotify playlist to coincide with the release of a new product.
• Start a LinkedIn Group: Posting on your own page isn’t the only way to get active on LinkedIn – starting a group (or participating in an existing one) is a great way to connect with people one-on-one.

YOU TRY IT:

Push yourself to come up with a set number of posting ideas SPECIFIC TO YOUR BUSIneSS (we suggest at least 50 ideas TO Start). You can look back at this list any time you're stumped for content! And, it's a great jumping off point for creating a content calendar. 

Now that that's out of the way, we suggest creating a list of content tailored to your industry. We've got a few more specific ideas started for you: 

Accountants: Changes in tax code for the upcoming year, downloadable resources (think spending trackers, tip sheets, etc.),  personal saving tips, differences between 401ks + IRAs, steps for setting up your own corporation, important date reminders/deadlines.

Nonprofits: Images from community events and fundraisers, volunteer opportunities, volunteer spotlights, statistics, infographics, donation impact breakdown, recent trends, inspirational quotes, profiles of people your organization has helped.

Hospitality/hotels:  videos of the property, 360 room views, specials, seasonal activities in the area, local festivals, travel tips, nearby restaurants, staff profiles, new property openings, awards/accolades.

Real Estate Agents: Virtual tours, before & after images of homes you sold, housing stock data, neighborhood information/profiles, new home owner checklist, first time buyer financing information, weekly open house schedules, tips for finding the right agent/mortgage broker, moving checklist, property inspection steps, new listings.

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Social Media Services for Greensboro and beyond: Hue & Tone

If you’re struggling to come up with original content ideas perhaps it’s time to bring in a little help. Hue & Tone Creative can help you create visually appealing, original content for every social media platform.  If you’re interested in boosting your web traffic, raising brand awareness, and reaching new customers give us a call today to learn more about our social media management options.