Starved for Content Ideas? Here’s How Original Research Can Keep You Blogging for Months

Wondering how you’re going to keep your

content calendar full for the rest of the year? Thousands of business owners

struggle when it comes to coming up with content ideas, and a simple strategy

can help them: conduct a study or survey.

Original research provides tons of benefits

for businesses seeking content marketing performance gains. They can accompany

the release of the study with a recap series, for instance. After that, they

can dive in-depth into some of the findings for unique takes or insightful

real-world applications of the data. At the same time, they can introduce their

study to online outlets that get mega traffic with guest posts.

The beauty of conducting original research is

that you don’t even have to do all of the content writing yourself! In addition

to the content topic possibilities listed above, there’s also a good chance

that someone might cite your data or share your report on their own blog.

Well-performed research that answers important questions in your field can

receive references and citations for months. You may even get quoted as an

expert as a result of your own analysis!

The possibilities are practically endless, and

they all start from a single research idea. Here’s how to get your own research

project off the ground—and how to spin it into content gold for months to come.

Start With a Burning Research Question

Research tells us something about the world we

didn’t know yet. In other words, research answers a question through the data

it gathers.

For that reason, all great studies have to

start with a great research question. You can quantify something no one’s ever

quantified before, such as the costs of never washing your car revealed through

the corresponding damage to paint and mechanical components.

Or, you can give a more specific answer to a

question that’s already been tackled. A lot of research involves bringing

findings up to date, for example. You can also examine how a research question

might be answered within a specific geographical location or within a specific

demographic. Sure, you might know that a majority of Americans love hamburgers,

but how do people in your hometown feel about grilled versus griddle-fired

burgers? And would they take a bite out of a veggie burger if given the

opportunity?

When devising a research question, keep in

mind that it can’t just be something you find interesting. It should also

satisfy a number of other criteria, such as:

●Would my target audience find this

interesting and informative?

●Does my research align with my

business goals or my unique brand story?

●Will this research answer a

question that hasn’t been covered yet?

With these criteria in mind, try to approach

your research question from the perspective of the unique niche your business

occupies. The more parallels the research has with your brand personality and

how you approach your business, the better.

Learn Research Best Practices

Research can be hard, especially when it comes

time to compile your results! You want your data to tell a story somehow, but

you can’t get to that story if your research structure is a mess.

Start by determining what sort of research

you’ll conduct. It can be a:

●Simple survey

●In-depth survey that includes

qualitative responses

●Review of existing research that

combines two or more “knowns” to explain an unknown

●Manual data gathering from raw

data sources

●Field research with data gathering

at the source of information

Those study types are listed roughly in order

of complexity and effort required. But don’t underestimate how even the

simplest of surveys can turn into a difficult process when you neglect to

follow best practices!

First, approach your data in layers. The

“layers” of your data refer to different qualities of that data.

For instance, suppose you wanted to conduct a

study of the types of restaurants in your hometown. “Chain/franchise

restaurants vs. independent restaurants” serves as one layer. “Quick service

vs. sit down” can act as another layer. You can also organize the restaurants

by location, such as “downtown vs. just off the interstate”.

All of these qualities provide details that

can be used later in your analysis. You can make observations like “chain

restaurants are more common along busy stretches of road except in downtown.”

Or, you can be able to say that “the ratio of chain restaurants to independent

businesses has shrunk 50 percent in the past year.” Findings like these tell a story,

but you need your data to be organized first.

When conducting surveys

, you can make

this process easier by including a demographics portion in the beginning of the

survey. You can then use this information to discover trends among responses,

such as “twice as many business owners worry about energy prices compared to

non-business owners.”

Come Up with a Hypothesis That Uses Research Layers to Answer Questions

Research isn’t just about gathering data; it’s

about using that data to prove or disprove assumptions called hypotheses

Accordingly, you want to go ahead and come up

with a few hypothesis ideas before you start assembling your data. Go ahead and

predict your results based on your gut instincts or what you consider common

knowledge. If your research aims to debunk a commonly believed fact, you can

operate on the hypothesis that the fact will be wrong.

If you’re completely at a loss for hypotheses,

you can predict that there will be no trends whatsoever among your data.

Use Your Hypotheses to Come Up With Pertinent Survey Questions or Data Sources

Your hypotheses guide your research in very

concrete ways. If you’re conducting a survey, a hypothesis will help you

determine questions to ask that can directly answer it.

For example, let’s say that your hypothesis is

that “people are willing to spend more money at a local establishment compared

to a franchise.” To prove or disprove that hypothesis, you can ask things like:

●How often have you visited a

franchise business in the past month?

●On average, what do you spend

within the following ranges: $5-$10, $10-$15, etc.

●Do you try to support local

businesses on purpose?

●Which of the following reasons

encourage you to support local businesses? I know the owner, I want the money

to go back to the community, etc.

Assign Categories Early on Within Your Analysis

After gathering all the data you need, it’s

time to process that data into something people can digest at a glance. One of

the easiest ways to do so is to lump datasets into different categories.

Going back to the local vs. franchise

question, maybe you think that people who have lived in the town all their

lives are more likely to make a choice compared to newcomers. Or, maybe you

think that people who make a certain amount in their yearly salary are more apt

to make a certain decision?

Consider these assumptions as secondary

hypotheses, and test them out as you compile your data. If your hypothesis is

wrong, try approaching data from a new angle.

Of course, you should also leave yourself open

to discovery! Sometimes just dropping data into bar graphs is enough to have

findings jump out at you all on their own.

Use Your Findings to Brainstorm Different Uses for Your Study

Completing your study is just the beginning of

a new phase: publishing your results and using those results for related

content.

Examples of ways to use your results include:

●A summary press release

●An in-depth report

●Sharable inforgraphics or slide

shows

●Blogs discussing specific trends

you’ve seen

●Editorial-style blogs combining

your research findings with your own thoughts and other commentary

●Promotional materials that use

your findings to make a point

●Guest posts presenting you as a

subject authority where you get to assert your findings with data to back it up

●E-books

Sort these ideas into priorities, including

your “yeses,” “nos” and “maybes.” Then, work your way down the list!