Planning future content for your brand or your client’s blog, social media or PR campaign is never easy, but the pandemic certainly presents new challenges we’ve never encountered before. From school, to public health guidelines and business re-openings, so much is up in the air right now, making it harder to come up with relevant content ideas.
Fortunately, the team at Fifth Story is here to help. We’ve been busy analyzing historical data for earned content and projecting upcoming trends to help our clients create engaging article and radio content the media will be excited about this fall.
Here are our top five best bets for topics this season:
1. New normal support
While many of us have developed a variety of coping strategies, many areas of our lives could still use some help to best face the new normal. Parents will love creative ideas to keep the kids busy indoors when the weather is poor. Families will appreciate ways to host safe gatherings of close friends and relatives once it becomes too cold to sit outside. Office workers will welcome ideas to work from home in comfort, from leisure clothes that look sharp in video calls to décor tips to stay productive.
The media will also need content that helps us celebrate seasonal activities and holidays safely. Think content around day trips for apple picking or visiting a pumpkin patch, keeping Halloween COVID-19 safe and hosting a physically distant thanksgiving.
2. Home improvement
Nesting at home is major trend for 2020 that won’t be going away anytime soon. As people continue physical distancing and avoid crowds and public indoor places, they’ll keep upgrading their living spaces. This summer, stores saw a spike in sales of pools, barbecues and swing sets, and in the fall we’ll see similar seasonal investments in the home, such as outdoor fire pits, fireplaces and basement renos. And like every other year, homeowners will need to prepare for the upcoming winter, so content around that is also a smart move.
3. Back to routine
Some kids are going back to school in person, some are going to be learning from home. But whatever classes look like this school year, families will need routines in place for the new normal after a tumultuous summer. Help the media fill the need for this type of content with tips and advice around creating a productive morning routine, encouraging the kids to do their homework, structuring your day around working from home and outdoor activities for the kids, and managing cancelled or virtual extra-curricular activities like choir and sports. Plus, with some remote workers returning to the office, auto and commuting content may also be in demand.
4. Food and recipes
Cooking at home is still the priority for most families, with 51% of Canadians expecting to spend less money at restaurants and 37% expecting to spend less money ordering takeout during the recovery period, according to Statistics Canada.
After cooking most meals at home for the past few months, this means we all need some recipes and food inspiration. Get creative with motivating content that helps consumers improve nutrition, learn to meal prep and freeze dishes so they don’t have to cook every day, and find new comfort food recipe ideas like stews and soups.
5. Health boost
The potential second wave of COVID-19 and flu season are expected to hit us at the same time, so how can we best prepare our bodies? This fall, media audiences will be looking for tips and insights to boost the immune system, new exercise ideas for when outdoor runners and cyclists will need to head inside, and how to keep stress levels low amid constant bad news. Also, many people put off medical appointments at the beginning of the pandemic and will be looking for ways to safely access the healthcare they need.
Still having trouble coming up with content ideas for autumn? Reach out to your account director or contact us directly at info@fifthstory.com.