There is lots of content on the market. And guess what? 99% of it’s horrible.
Then, there may be that 1% of content – the actually good to completely phenomenal stuff.
Sometimes, that’s sizzling information, just like the current Google Search leak, however there are additionally items of content which can be so highly effective, helpful and memorable that only a single piece can propel a enterprise ahead.
Your job as an SEO and content marketer is to strive to catch lightning in a bottle. Easier mentioned than completed.
The answer to this drawback is to generate distinctive ideas. Again, simpler mentioned than completed.
One device that may assistance is the Value Proposition Framework (VPF). The VPF may help you perceive your buyer segments’ minds and generate ideas which can be centered on serving to them make their lives simpler, resolve their issues and obtain their objectives.
However, even with this value-orientated strategy, it might really feel like all the pieces has already been completed and is commonly completed to a very good commonplace.
This ends in reams of revealed content that carry nothing new. This could also be OK if you happen to drive visitors by different means, however it’ll by no means get you to the highest of Mount Google.
This is the place SCAMPER is available in
SCAMPER helps you study your content ecosystem from numerous views to develop radically new ideas.
SCAMPER is one other stylish marketing acronym for:
Substitute
Combine
Adapt
Modify
Put-to-another-use
Eliminate
Rearrange/Reverse
Each side challenges your present strategy and encourages you to suppose in another way. This is highly effective as a lone-gun content author however much more so when used to stimulate dialogue with a crew of conspirators.
SCAMPER was initially designed to encourage creativity and problem-solving, however it may also be a robust device for aiding in SEO planning and growing a very distinctive SEO technique.
Why SCAMPER, and why now?
As of this writing, Google has simply supplied some steerage for struggling websites, as summarized on this piece by Danny Goodwin.
The key takeaways are:
Continue creating high-quality content – do what you suppose is greatest for your readers.
Diversify your visitors sources and promote your content throughout a number of channels.
Build an engaged viewers that comes to you straight or by way of e mail and social media.
We can summarize that additional:
Create high-quality content and advertise to your viewers by way of social media and e mail (duh).
While a lot SEO chatter is at present centered on the massive Google SEO leak, the massive win in SEO or any marketing is to ship worth to your prospects that join with your product providing. Content, in its many incarnations, continues to be the perfect way to do this.
The solely wrinkle right here, seemingly additional confirmed by the leak, is that you simply simply have to take advantage of that content by selling it all over the place. It wants to be promoted so folks (together with Google) know and have interaction with it.
Any critical SEO skilled will inform you that regardless of what Google could have mentioned traditionally, you’ll be able to’t simply construct it and count on it to come. You have at all times had to create and promote one thing nice, so nothing new right here. However, it does assist us validate some features of the strategy.
The true objective behind these efforts needs to be to create one thing that blows your viewers’s socks off – one thing so good that it nearly promotes itself. Build it, advertise, then it’ll rank and they may come (simply be sure to have a well-optimized web site so the foundations are ticked off).
SCAMPER is a device to assist you to suppose exterior the (sand)field and create one thing actually distinctive and completely different that can stand out from the gang – and that’s half the battle!
The SCAMPER methodology defined
The SCAMPER methodology was put collectively by Bob Eberle from a collection of questions devised by Alex Osborn (the creator of brainstorming).
SCAMPER was initially designed to assist create new merchandise, however it might equally be utilized to content marketing and even your general marketing technique.
The seven parts of the SCAMPER mnemonic break down as follows:
Substitute: Replace part of the product, course of or idea with one thing else. This might contain substituting supplies, elements, folks or approaches.
Combine: Merge two or extra parts to create one thing new. This might contain combining capabilities, options or ideas to type a brand new product or thought (very similar to Blue Ocean Strategy).
Adapt: Adjust or modify to serve a brand new objective or to enhance. This entails taking a look at current options and discovering methods to adapt them to the present drawback.
Modify (or amplify/minify): Change the scale, form or different attributes. This might imply enlarging, decreasing, exaggerating or altering sure options to create a special end result. (I significantly like making issues smaller on this time and attention-challenged world!)
Put to one other use: Find new makes use of for an current product or course of. This entails excited about how the present answer might be utilized to a special drawback or context.
Eliminate: Remove pointless or cumbersome elements of the product or course of. This simplifies and streamlines by eliminating elements, steps or options.
Rearrange (or reverse): Change the order or structure of elements in a product or course of. This might imply reordering steps, reversing roles or approaching the issue in another way.
That is the overall thought of SCAMPER and how it’s utilized to artistic problem-solving. In the remainder of this text, we’ll take a look at how to use SCAMPER to create useful, people-first content that your prospects and Google love.
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Using SCAMPER for SEO and content marketing
To use SCAMPER to combine substitution, mixture and adaptation to your content marketing, merely obtain the template beneath and work by way of the questions.
Remember, these questions are only a guideline. I strongly advise doing this in a bunch and brainstorming to develop as many bizarre and fantastic ideas as doable. Then, talk about and critique these ideas; those which can be nonetheless standing on the finish would be the alternatives to pursue.
To assist make this simpler, I’ve created a easy SCAMPER SEO Template you should utilize right here:
Step 1: Topics
You can begin with a listing of articles, key phrases or ideas. To generate ideas, you should utilize an ideation device just like the Value Proposition Canvas or just conduct key phrase analysis.
Step 2: Landscape evaluation
Then, when you’ve your key phrases or matters, you want to search these key phrases and matters and evaluation what’s on the market. There could also be clear patterns, or you could discover it useful to do an SEO SWOT evaluation to assist you to perceive the strengths and weaknesses of what’s at present rating.
I’d sometimes suggest trying on the first 10 parts on Page 1, as it will have been referred to as, however the SERPs are much more dynamic now, so simply evaluation the primary 10 hyperlinks and/or options and go from there.
Step 3: SCAMPER
We can now run by way of SCAMPER and use the questions to assist us develop new ideas for making our content completely different, so it stands out and provides additional worth.
Substitute
Many features might be substituted to create one thing new. It may very well be the language or angle lined or extra sensible parts like video, photographs, gifs, downloads, instruments, and so on.
Example: Substitute a collection of written directions with animated GIFs.
Guide questions:
What key phrases or matters can we substitute to entice a special viewers?
Can we substitute the format (e.g., weblog publish, video, podcast) to have interaction our viewers better?
What instruments or sources can we change to enhance content high quality or effectivity?
Can we substitute case research from one business with examples from one other?
Combine
You can typically create one thing completely new by merging current parts – the intersection of those two creates uniqueness and worth.
Example: Combine an infographic with an in depth weblog publish.
Guide questions:
Can we mix two or extra fashionable weblog matters right into a complete information?
How can we merge multimedia parts (e.g., video, infographics) with written content to improve engagement?
What if we mix user-generated content with our skilled insights?
Can we combine business experiences and professional interviews right into a single content piece?
Adapt
Adaptation in content creation means repurposing content for various contexts, mediums or audiences.
For instance, turning a well-liked weblog publish right into a podcast episode or creating an infographic from a case examine. This strategy maximizes the worth of your content and broadens your viewers.
Example: Create a YouTube video masking the identical subject as your hottest blogs (keep in mind, good ideas are the laborious half, so make them work in all codecs).
Guide questions:
How can we adapt trending matters to match our model’s voice and message?
Can we repurpose a profitable content format from one other business for our viewers?
What content ideas from rivals can we adapt to better swimsuit our viewers’s wants?
How can we modify our content to be extra culturally related or well timed?
Modify
Modifying your content means updating it with new stats, developments or use instances to enhance its high quality and relevance.
This retains your content present and helpful and boosts your popularity as a dependable, top-quality supply.
Example: Modify a listicle right into a complete information or add detailed statistics to illustrate your case better.
Guide questions:
How can we modify the construction of our content to enhance readability and SEO?
What small adjustments can we make to our content to better match consumer intent?
Can we modify the tone or fashion to be extra partaking or authoritative?
How can we improve our content with further knowledge, analysis or case research?
Put to one other use
Repurpose current content in new methods to attain completely different audiences.
Example: Turn a webinar right into a collection of weblog posts. Turn a weblog publish right into a collection of Instagram posts.
Guide questions:
How can we repurpose previous weblog posts into new codecs (e.g., ebooks, webinars)?
Can we flip our continuously requested questions right into a collection of weblog posts?
How can we use our inner knowledge to create compelling case research or experiences?
Can we use buyer testimonials and critiques in our content?
Eliminate
Remove pointless parts to streamline your content and make it simpler.
Example: Eliminate jargon and overly advanced explanations. Focus on distilling the important thing factors to give essentially the most worth within the least time!
Guide questions:
What pointless jargon or advanced language can we take away to simplify our content?
Can any sections of our content be reduce with out dropping worth?
How can we streamline our content to deal with key messages?
What multimedia parts are slowing down our web page load occasions and might be eliminated?
Rearrange/reverse
Change the order of your content or reverse the same old strategy to achieve new insights.
Example: Start with the conclusion and then clarify the way you arrived there.
Guide questions:
Can we current our conclusions or key factors first to seize speedy curiosity?
How would our content look if we reversed the same old order (e.g., begin with the tip)?
Can we rearrange our content to comply with a special narrative construction?
What if we strategy our content from a newbie’s perspective slightly than an professional?
Some ideas earlier than you SCAMPER off
SEO will not be getting any simpler or cheaper to execute successfully.
While Google can’t actually inform the distinction between good and nice content, your customers can, and these consumer alerts assist Google decide what ought to rank extremely.
The SCAMPER methodology presents a structured but versatile strategy to brainstorming and growing new content ideas which can be each artistic and efficient for SEO.
By systematically making use of Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to Another Use, Eliminate and Rearrange/Reverse to your content technique, you’ll be able to persistently generate recent, partaking and SEO-friendly content.
Remember to combine key phrase analysis and SEO greatest practices at every stage to maximize the impression of your content in search.
SCAMPER content marketing template
You made it this far, so you could as properly obtain the template:
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