Taking "Inspiration" From Others

By Adam  |  19 Aug 2015 12:00:00

To do content marketing, social media marketing or, indeed, any kind of marketing, you're going to need at least a small splash of creativity. You can't be bland and corporate when it comes to marketing because if you are you won't catch anybody's attention. But what if you're the least creative person imaginable? What if you hate getting dressed in the morning, because choosing which clothes to put on is too much of a creative decision? Well, worry not! Of course, everybody is different and not everyone is especially creative. In this blog post I hope to offer some advice.

Do you ever try to think of ideas for your marketing, only to find that they won't come? Well, if that sounds all too familiar, have you ever thought about looking at the social media feeds and blogs of your competitors? In the world of business, there's honestly no shame in taking inspiration from the actions of others. Maybe they're doing a special kind of promotion; why don't you do the same? Maybe they covered a certain subject on their blog; how about writing your own piece on that subject? Are they always sharing funny pictures on social media? Well, you may as well do the same! I can see why you might feel bad about copying their ideas, but keep in mind that this is marketing. Customers are not spending money on your marketing and you are only using your marketing strategies to bring them to your product and, as your product will have its own unique appeal, you needn't feel bad.

In the end, if you still feel uneasy about it, it's kind of a standard practice and if you're not really able to come up with ideas of your own, what other choice do you have? Plus, did you know that the stories in all of Shakespeare's plays (if not based on historical events) were taken from the writing of others? So, if Shakespeare can steal some ideas for his plays which have earned him the reputation as the best writer in history, I am sure you can borrow other people's ideas for a few content marketing blog posts!