The Best Content Topics for the End of the Year
The holiday season is finally upon us, which means we’re heading into the final stretch of the year. As the year comes to an end, most of us might be wondering what kind of topics we should cover for our blogs, columns, e-books, podcasts, and other educational resources.
Some of us might be saying, “Haven’t we covered it all this year? Shouldn’t we focus on next year’s content calendar and brainstorm topics that align with our upcoming initiatives?”
To answer that question, yes, we should prepare for next year and create content calendars that provide a solid roadmap for the new year. However, it’s also important to remember one key thing: there are still great topics to cover during these last months of the year.
If some of us are unsure what we should write or speak about at the end of the year because we think we’ve said everything for the year, here are four topic ideas that we can use to continue populating our platforms with unique, engaging content.
1. What (Insert Target Audience) Should Remember During the Holiday Season
Let’s be real. The holiday season lends to a wealth of great topic ideas, regardless of whether we own a B2B or B2C company. If our target audience participates in the holiday season — emphasis on if — then we should take advantage of the holidays by creating timely and relevant topics.
For instance, if we oversee a wellness company, we should develop content that explains how to handle stress, achieve nutrition and fitness goals, and maintain self-care routines during the busy holiday season.
If we’re more in the B2B realm, and we lead a cybersecurity company, for example, then we should create content on how to protect our credit card information and identity when we go out for Black Friday and stare at our screens on Cyber Monday.
Regardless of our company’s mission or industry, we should find creative ways to utilize the holidays. If we know our target audience enjoys this time of the year, then we should create content that feeds into our buyer's excitement.
2. Year in Review: 5 Things That Shaped (Insert Industry) In (Insert Year)
There’s nothing better than a great article or video clip that provides an overview of a particular industry during a specific year. It’s no secret — a lot can happen in 12 months. Most of our industries are constantly innovating and changing, and we should capitalize on that fact by providing a year-in-review.
We all love to reflect. Why not create content that gives us and our target audience a chance to do that? Personally, I’d be stoked to read or listen to a yearly recap about several industries including:
Cannabis
Artificial Intelligence
Virtual Reality
Blockchain
Proptech
Fitness Tech
Fintech
Cybersecurity
These markets are impacted by new regulations, innovations, or major events every year. And if our brand is in one of these industries, it’d be nice to give our target audience a brief (but insightful) recap on everything that transpired so that we’re all up-to-date as we head into the new year.
3. X Trends That Will Impact (Insert Industry) In (Insert Year)
We all love to think ahead just as much as we love to reflect. Most of us like to continually consider what’s next, what we should do tomorrow, what we can prepare, and what we need to expect.
And while it’s not good to always live in the future, we should use this habit as a positive thing by creating content that centers around trends that will impact our industry in the following year. If we’re business owners, we probably know or at least have a good idea of what to expect in the following year.
We work in our industries every day. It won't be hard to brainstorm at least a few trends that our peers or target audience can expect to unfold. Maybe new regulations will roll out in our industry? Perhaps an innovation with be announced?
Whatever it is, let’s express our thoughts and showcase them in a creative way. A good trend piece never fails, especially when it offers unique insight.
4. The Future of (Insert Industry) In (Insert Year)
If we still want to focus on the upcoming year, there’s another angle we can take if we don’t want to concentrate solely on trends. That other angle centers around the future of our industries, aka predictions. Now, let’s get something straight. Predictions and trends are not the same.
Trends are likely incidents that we can count on happening because of the observations we’ve made or the data we’ve analyzed. Predictions, however, are based on our personal opinions. Don’t get this wrong — our predictions should still be educated guesses, not outlandish claims. But overall, predictions give us a little more wiggle room to get creative.
That said, if any of us believe some great things could happen in our industries in the following year, we should take create content around it. This strategy is one of the best ways to present ourselves as thought leaders. If we can provide unique predictions that make sense, our target audience and peers will think we have a good eye for what’s to come next.
Finish the year strong
The end of the year is a great time to get creative with our content. There are still a lot of topics we can focus on to wrap up the end of the year, and we shouldn't gloss over those. If we want to engage our target audience during these last months of the year, let's do it by capitalizing on the holiday season, reflecting, and considering the future.