A great way to create a stronger connection with your readers and provide hyper-relevant content is to utilize what’s going on around the world and apply it back to them. With some creativity, you can tie nearly any current event back to your community. Below are a few ideas to consider:

Holidays – Pair your magazine and online content with holiday celebrations like the Year of the Rabbit, Mother’s Day or even seasons like spring and summer.
Events – From New York Fashion Week to the Oscars to the upcoming March Madness basketball tournament, use high-profile events to relate back to your readers’ lives.
Latest News – Connect with your readers using the latest news whether it’s a local program affecting your magazine’s community or a nationwide health initiative to improve school lunches.

If your publication also maintains a presence online with a website, blog or via social media channels, tying popular events and real-time trends is even more essential, but keeping your content super fresh and relevant can be easy with the help of a few online tools.

Google Trends, the Hot Searches section of the site offers a birds-eye view of the big topics that people are searching for right now.

ItsTrending serves as a zeitgeist for news, videos, technology, entertainment and anything that people share publicly on Facebook.

Use HashTags.org to find hashtags representing topics that are heavily being discussed in the Twitter community. Once you’ve identified the hot Twitter topics, your brand can participate in these conversations by incorporating the related hashtags into tweets that tie to your subject matter. For instance, incorporate the popular hashtag “#TheGRAMMYs” into a relevant tweet about films and movies to attract new readers who may be following that search term on Twitter.

Share your tips for creating compelling content in the comments section below. Hey, and while you’re at it, follow us on Twitter where we regularly incorporate hashtags and current happenings for you!