So you’re increasing the amount you’re posting online. That’s great! But where do you find content for your posts?
It’s going to grow your presence and the engagement you’re receiving. This is key to ‘humanising’ yourself online so people instantly get a feel for ‘you’. As they say: “People do business with people”. That’s a lot easier when your connections are getting a glimpse into your thoughts, feelings and opinions on a daily basis through your posting.
But posting 5 days a week…every week…that’s a lot of content. If you’re having a day where you’re feeling particularly uninspired, writer’s block will make it difficult to come up with something to say. This is where a wealth of online content comes in.
Need a little inspiration? The internet is bursting at the seams with content that can either light a spark as to what you’d like to discuss or even provide a frame of reference for a point you’d like to make. Sometimes, you may just want to post a little comic relief.
But – how do you sift through the crap?
Below I’m going to curate a list of the websites I use to find content. I would like to note that you should always provide credit where you can, particularly if you’re using content from an individual or small creator (tagging them may even lead to more engagement for the both of you!).
Videos
Reddit is described as a ‘social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website’. It’s basically made up of lots of ‘subreddits’ dedicated to particular hobbies or interests. That crap I mentioned earlier? There’s a lot of it here. That’s why it’s best to find subreddits that work the best for what you’re interested in. Otherwise, you could be scrolling for hours looking for the perfect video for your post. (Be wary, this site does feature NSFW content but there are settings to ensure this is hidden if you’re browsing in the office).
- Digg
Digg is a great site that functions as the ‘best bits’ from the internet that week. Whilst it features different types of multimedia, it has a great Videos page that features the videos currently going viral. Certified engagement grabbing material! The only downside is that there really is a mix of all types of subject matter on here so it can be difficult to pin something down if you know exactly what themes you’re looking for.
- YouTube & Twitter
Some obvious names here – but reliable classics! With a great search capacity and an ability to refine results, you can really find specific content here. If you find a channel or account that continually posts great content it’s easy to Follow or Subscribe so you always have a handy place to look when you’re feeling stuck.
Images
- Pexels & Unsplash
Pexels and Unsplash are two websites that host 100,000s of copyright-free images for you to use. Got a theme for your post? Type in some keywords and you scroll away. As an amateur photographer, I try to go for the images I think are the most aesthetically pleasing. But, if you like a straightforward, stock image style then they cater to that too. Give it a try!
Whilst you may know of personal content that’s posted on Instagram, there are also accounts on there that post viral images intended to be shared, artists who post their latest creations and even celebs posting funny images for their followers to see. It all depends on what tone you’re going for. Again, this app offers a great search function on its Explore page (also a content goldmine) through the use of relevant #hashtags. Be sure to credit the user who took or created the original image.
- Organic Content
Saw something funny on the way to work? Snapped a selfie over the weekend? There’s nothing wrong with posting pictures you’ve taken yourself. It makes you more personable and gives your connections more of an insight into you. Your plants…your cat…that’s what you’ll find on my LinkedIn anyway. Even scrolling back through your camera roll might spark an idea or a memory that you’d like to share.
Articles
Looking for news articles to share is pretty self-explanatory. Everybody understands the concept of using a reliable source. You may want to avoid bias, you may not. This is entirely your choice so long as you’re prepared for the engagement you’ll receive (positive or negative). Big institutions like Forbes or Business Insider are great for a variety of relevant, content. Personally, I will even share stories from websites like National Geographic for really interesting, worldly related content. Plus, they post really cute animal pictures.
There are, of course, far more sources out there to track down content for your posts than I’ve mentioned here. It’s all about having an explore around the internet until you find sites that host the right kind of content for you. Having things prepared in the form of a content war chest that you can rely on will really come in handy on those days when you just can’t think of anything to post.
Happy Treasure Hunting!
