Content marketers need new ideas every month for articles, videos, and podcasts that will keep their websites and social media profiles busy and engaged.
Content marketing is the act of creating, publishing, and promoting content to attract, engage, and retain customers.
Content marketing drives many business objectives, from search engine optimization to social media marketing to brand building. But ideas fuel this kind of marketing, and they can be challenging to come up with.
What follows are five content marketing ideas for September 2024.
National Tailgating Day
National Tailgating Day is celebrated on the first Saturday in September, which in 2024 falls on the 7th.
Luke Lorick, the founder of the Tailgating Challenge, started National Tailgating Day in 2016 and has since focused the event around a love for sports, cooking, and camaraderie.
Tailgating is an American tradition and, therefore, a content marketing opportunity.
While there is conflicting data on the economics of football tailgating, some have estimated that 80% of Americans have participated at one time or another in a tailgating event and that collectively, revelers spend about $35 billion annually on tailgating gear, food, and beverages.
Content marketers have several angles for tailgating topics, many of which can be closely associated with the products a business sells.
For example, Venture Heat, which sells coats, jackets, and vests with built-in heaters, published “The Ultimate Guide: Tips for Tailgating Like a Pro,” a short tailgating checklist that included “stay warm” and linked to three of the brand’s heated puffy vests.
Potential articles or podcasts might include:
- “21 Must-Have Tailgating Accessories,”
- “Our Favorite Tailgating Barbeque Recipes of All Time,”
- “The New Mom’s Guide to Tailgating,”
- “A Short History of Tailgating and Eating.”
National Video Games Day
National Video Games Day, celebrated on September 12, 2024, has been observed since 1991. The day honors video games’ history and cultural impact, allowing gamers and enthusiasts to unite and celebrate their passion.
National Video Games Day could be an opportunity for content marketers to express a strong opinion.
Video games are among the most popular forms of entertainment worldwide.
Pop-culture brands could focus on video games in a positive way with game-related buying guides or game culture and how it influences everything from apparel to food.
Or some brands might challenge video game culture.
Tim Stoddart, the owner of Copyblogger, encouraged marketers to “create an enemy” in an X post, saying specifically, “Create an enemy. It can be a type of person, another brand, a tactic, or an opinion. But have a ‘them’ group that you exclude and subtly attack. Most marketers don’t do this. The ones that do earn more.”
Warning. Stoddart’s advice could be dangerous, but wouldn’t that be in keeping with the spirit of the day?
Tim Stoddart, a prominent marketer and owner of Copyblogger, has a dangerous tip.
National CleanUp Day
National CleanUp Day is celebrated on the third Saturday of September. Its purpose is to raise environmental awareness, combat littering, and encourage civil responsibility.
About 2 million people volunteer yearly to pick up litter at local parks, beaches, trails, and other public spaces.
National CleanUp Day is an opportunity to volunteer and show civic pride. It can also inspire content.
For retail content marketers, National CleanUp Day is an opportunity to promote corporate responsibility, publish helpful cleaning tips, or promote products.
For example, in 2023, Electric Bike Co. published a short article announcing National CleanUp Day and encouraging folks to ride an electric bike to their clean-up event.
Similarly, the appliance brand Kenmore published a National CleanUp Day checklist focused on the event’s social aspects and commitment to sustainability.
National Dog Week
September 22 to 28, 2024, is National Dog Week in the United States. Author and dog enthusiast William Lewis Judy started the observance in 1928 to recognize the contributions dogs make to happiness and society.
More than 65 million American households keep one or more dogs.
Retailers and brands in the pet industry have the most obvious connection to National Dog Week. For example, Chewy has published hundreds of articles that could work for this occasion. Here are a few examples.
Pet supply shops are not the only ones that can use the week for content. Two out of three American households have at least one dog, making National Dog Week an opportunity for nearly every content marketer.
To remain faithful to the spirit of the week, develop content that focuses on the contributions dogs make to the industry your products serve.
Publish a Research Report
CVS Health is one example of a brand that uses surveys and research for content marketing.
In September 2024, content marketers can borrow an idea from CVS Health, a brand related to the CVS Pharmacy chain.
The company publishes annual research reports, including The RX Report, The Health Trends Report, and the National Health Project.
For the most part, these reports are based on survey data and published as PDFs.
The research becomes a digital download.
For merchants, a survey-based research project could be an effective way to drive website traffic and brand attention.
Imagine a women’s jeweler known for its classic rings, necklaces, and brooches. This brand’s marketers develop a survey asking ladies about the best Christmas presents they have received. The survey also collects demographic information and product category rankings and identifies the gifts women dislike.
At least five content-related marketing opportunities are associated with the jeweler’s Christmas gift survey.
- When promoting the survey, ask respondents to sign up for email notifications.
- Publish the survey results, again asking folks to sign up for email notifications when they download it.
- Send a press release with the survey findings and a link to the survey for journalists to share. The hope is that it will be mentioned in Christmas buying guides.
- Use individual data points for social media posts that link to the research report or the buying guide.
