How to Create Content When Your Competitor Has Already Done It All

Once at WGG Digital Agency, we were discussing a content plan for a client, and one manager mentioned that a competitor had already written similar articles, implying that such topics weren't suitable for us. We challenge this notion and explain how to innovate in a world where it seems everything has already been done.

To avoid copying competitors, it's essential to monitor them without replicating their actions. Just because a competitor has written an article or produced a video doesn't mean you can't cover the topic too. The first step in content marketing is to thoroughly study your competitors' content. This will help identify current trends, which topics engage the audience, and what methods competitors are employing.

To keep an eye on them:

• Subscribe to their social media channels and newsletters.
• Track topics that interest readers.
• Analyze the interactions with their publications—comments, likes, shares.
• Look for topics that resonate and potentially drive significant traffic.

Study what other companies write about and pick up on their techniques. Don't copy their posts outright, but note what interests a similar audience and adapt it for your readers.
If someone has covered a topic before you, don’t worry: you can still explore the topic for your followers with your unique spin.

If competitors have created a guide, consider making your own “anti-guide.” It's not viable to completely rewrite competitors' articles, not least because it likely won't work. The popularity of a competitor’s content is often due to their approach:

• They might introduce something new that no one has discussed before.
• They could explain complex ideas in simple, engaging ways, like using diagrams with cats.
• They might challenge a conventional view and gain traction from the controversy.
• They could articulate a sentiment that was in the air but previously unvoiced by others.
• They might provide a guide that fills an existing gap.

So, don’t copy literally. Instead, figure out what aspects of their content worked, adapt these ideas to fit your style and context. For instance, if a competitor writes an article titled "How AI Can Help Your Business," you could provide a fresh perspective with an article like "The Risks Small Businesses Face When Implementing AI Technology."

To engage your audience, it's crucial to understand what they are interested in, such as the latest memes on Twitter, TikTok trends, and Instagram Reels.

Here’s how to stay updated:

• Follow Communities: If your audience includes marketers, follow various marketing communities on social networks to discover new article topics. For instance, a discussion in a marketing chat about where to publish articles might reveal that the topic is not well understood by everyone, leading to an article like “Where to Publish Articles About Products and Companies for Maximum Readership.”
• Listen to Podcasts and Watch YouTube: There are likely experts in your field whose insights you value. Study their content and find new techniques. For example, if you teach English and a competitor has compiled a list of films suitable for beginners, you could teach your users how to watch these films, note down new words, and make annotations.
• Regularly Check Wordstat: Enter queries your clients use into Google Trends to see what other queries people have—this can help generate ideas for new posts. For instance, by analyzing search query statistics, you can identify popular travel destinations and write a guide for each.
• Attend Events: Conferences and webinars can help you understand the problems your readers face. Look for article ideas among the questions attendees ask speakers.
• Monitor News and Thought Leaders: Provide expert analysis of industry events on your page to encourage readers to join the discussion in the comments.

By using these strategies, you can create content that resonates with current interests and issues, ensuring your posts are timely and relevant.

Content can take various forms, such as articles, Telegram posts, or YouTube channels. It could be a special project, a video series, or a newsletter—or even all channels at once.

To identify the most suitable format for you, consider the following steps:

1. Analyze Existing Materials: You have the opportunity to observe which formats are more or less successful. However, there's a risk that competitors have a slightly different audience with different reactions or interests. Conversely, just because some content worked for a competitor doesn't guarantee it will work for you.
2. Evaluate Competitor Trials: If a competitor tried making videos and then stopped, it doesn't mean the format won't work for your audience. Perhaps the competitor lacked the budget for videos, the responsible person left, or funds were redirected elsewhere. Maybe their videos were dull, and nobody watched them—but you might produce more engaging content.
3. Innovate and Improve: Just because a competitor wrote a viral article doesn't mean you should write on the same topic. The news hook might already be outdated by the time it was discussed on all platforms. Offer a fresh perspective on the issue or choose a new topic altogether. Reader issues can often be identified in the comments on a competitor’s posts.
4. Personalize Formats: If your competitor publishes long-form articles in their blog, try offering your readers Instagram carousel posts. If the main industry media invites experts for articles, create webinars that help your clients understand issues better. Then compare the impact: if your format performs better, you've done well.

Always be attentive to your readers' needs, monitor metrics, and provide content that is easy to read and understand. This approach ensures that you're not just replicating what's out there, but instead are actively contributing to the discourse in a way that resonates with your audience.

Sometimes articles drive traffic for years, and sometimes they go unread. Everything depends on promotion; without it, creating content is pointless. Content distribution is how you show your material to readers, for example, through advertising, social networks, or search engine optimization. Based on experience, the main budget often goes towards distribution rather than creation.

To outpace a competitor in promotion, there are two options:

Spend More Money — This is a so-so option because then someone can always outspend you with even more money. There are companies that simply flood the market with advertising on mediocre content—and they survive just fine. Then there are brands that create good content, and it quickly spreads through chat links without significant advertising investments.

It's actually impossible to calculate someone else's advertising expenses; you can only make assumptions. For example, you can check mentions of a channel on TGStat and estimate how much was spent on placements in Telegram. Meanwhile, the traffic might have been diverted not to the channel but to the website, and then it becomes impossible to calculate anything.
Win with Creativity. The coolest part about having a strong competitor is the opportunity to peek at their mechanics. Take their approaches and try them on for yourself, analyze what effect it will have and how much it will cost.

For instance, a competitor conducts research and publishes the results on their blog. They get backlinks, mentions, and hundreds of thousands of reads. Instead of conducting research, you create an infographic that spreads through chats and brings in customers. Or you could invite a well-known expert to contribute to an article who then shares the material on their channels, bringing in new people.

Competition in content marketing isn't a problem; it's an opportunity. You need to consider and analyze your competitors' content, especially if it's good, and don't be afraid to take ideas for yourself.

Every day, terabytes of content are created around the world, so looking at what others are doing is normal. But with our techniques, you can make your materials more interesting and better than your competitor's.