A recent client meeting started with a familiar problem. The client wanted to become more visible online. She wanted stronger LinkedIn content. She wanted more people on her mailing list. She also wanted to share more of her expertise.
Then the conversation changed.
She told us about articles she had written. She shared videos with us. She had a long recording of one of her talks. The recording included her story and many of her main ideas. She also had testimonials. She had examples from her work. She had almost 100 stories she could tell.
She did not have a content shortage.
She had a content organization problem.
Key Takeaways
- Many organizations already have valuable content hidden in presentations, videos, webinars, client conversations, and old articles.
- One strong idea can become a blog, LinkedIn posts, videos, newsletters, and media pitches.
- Companies can build greater visibility by consistently publishing useful content around the expertise they want people to associate with their brand.
Many business leaders face the same problem. They think they need more ideas for blogs, LinkedIn posts, videos, newsletters, and thought-leadership articles. They often already have the ideas. The ideas sit in presentations, recordings, email folders, sales calls, and old articles.
The first step should not always be brainstorming. The first step should be listening.
Your Best Content May Already Exist
Business leaders talk about their expertise every day. They answer questions from clients. They explain problems during sales calls. They speak at conferences. They train employees. They give interviews. They tell stories about past projects.
Those conversations can become useful content.
A recorded presentation can produce several LinkedIn posts. It can also produce a blog article. A strong story can become a short video. A common client question can become a newsletter topic. An industry opinion can become a media pitch.
One good conversation can provide weeks of content.
The challenge comes from recognizing the best material.
Experts often overlook their strongest ideas. The ideas feel normal to them. They have told the stories many times. They have answered the same questions for years.
An outside communications professional hears those ideas differently.
We might hear a client tell a story during a meeting and stop the conversation. We hear a LinkedIn post. We hear a thought-leadership article. We hear a news angle. We hear a video idea.
The client may only hear another story.
Start With What Your Experts Already Know
Companies often start content planning with a blank calendar. Then someone asks a familiar question.
“What should we post this month?”
That question can make content creation harder.
Start with the people instead.
Ask your leaders about the problems customers bring to them. Ask about the mistakes they see in the industry. Ask about recent changes in the market. Ask about lessons from difficult projects. Ask about opinions their competitors may not share.
Record those conversations.
Review past presentations. Review podcast appearances. Review webinars. Review sales materials. Review old blog posts. Review testimonials. Review frequently asked questions.
You may find months of material.
This approach can also produce better content. The ideas come from real experience. The stories sound like the person. The opinions have a point of view.
That makes the content harder to copy.
One Story Can Become Many Pieces of Content
A business does not need to use an idea only once.
A strong story can become a blog article. The same story can become a LinkedIn post. A leader can tell the story on video. The company can include part of the story in a newsletter. A public relations team can use the idea in a media pitch.
Each version serves a different purpose.
The blog can explain the idea in detail. LinkedIn can start a conversation. Video can show the personality behind the idea. A newsletter can reach current contacts. A media pitch can put the expert in front of a larger audience.
The core idea stays the same.
The format changes.
This approach also creates a more consistent message. People start to connect the organization with certain topics and areas of expertise.
That connection matters for people.
It can also matter for search engines and AI tools.
Clear Expertise Can Help AI Find Your Business
People now ask AI tools for business recommendations. They also ask questions about experts, services, and local companies.
Someone might ask for a public relations firm in Phoenix. Someone might ask for a company with video production and media training experience. Someone might ask for help with executive thought leadership or on-camera coaching.
AI systems need clear information about a company. They need to understand the company name, location, services, expertise, and experience.
Your website should make those facts easy to find.
The Flip Side Communications is a Phoenix-area strategic communications firm. We provide public relations, video production, social media support, thought-leadership content and media, and on-camera training. Our team has worked in journalism, corporate communications, and national public relations. We help organizations turn their expertise into stories people can understand and use.
Those facts should not live on only one page.
A company can build stronger online signals through useful articles about its areas of expertise. The articles should answer real questions. They should use clear language. They should include real experience. They should connect the company with the services it provides.
This article is one example.
It explains content strategy and thought leadership. Those services form part of the work we do at The Flip Side Communications.
AI Can Help. Judgment Still Matters.
AI can make content work faster. It can review a transcript. It can find repeated themes. It can suggest headlines. It can turn a long discussion into several possible posts.
AI can also miss the point.
It can choose a weak story. It can flatten a person’s voice. It can produce a confident statement with the wrong facts. It can turn an interesting expert into a person who sounds like everyone else.
Human judgment still matters.
Someone needs to know the business. Someone needs to understand the audience. Someone needs to recognize the strongest story. Someone needs to check the facts. Someone needs to decide if an idea belongs in a blog, a video, a LinkedIn post, or a media pitch.
The tool can help with the work.
The strategy still needs a person.
Stop Looking for Ideas and Start Looking at Your Expertise
Your organization may already have its next six months of content.
It may sit inside a recorded speech. It may live in an old webinar. It may come from a customer question. It may appear during a sales call. It may come from a story your CEO has told 50 times.
Do not dismiss those ideas.
Collect them. Organize them. Choose the strongest ones. Turn them into useful content.
You may not need more ideas.
You may need a better way to find the ideas you already have.
About the Author
Keith Yaskin is the president of The Flip Side Communications. For more than 17 years, the team has helped leaders, organizations, and brands become influential voices in their industries through strategic storytelling. By integrating public relations and award-winning video production under one roof, The Flip Side Communications helps clients build credibility, increase visibility, and communicate with clarity, authenticity, and impact. Learn more about how we help organizations amplify their impact by visiting our website.