To create outstanding content, you need to know what is on the mind of those in your market.

Keeping up with the information in their world and in your industry is the best way to prove that you’re relevant and find new opportunities for content creation.

But if you want to consistently find out news and information, you need a system in place to be sure you’re capturing everything:

RSS feeds and Newsletters – Start out by tracking the information that is already being published online. Subscribe to the best resources for your target market via RSS feed or through their email newsletter. You can use a tool like Evernote to clip the very best ideas and save them for development later on.

Associations and Non-profits – If there are professional organizations and non-profits that your target market is interested in, you need to be following these groups too. If they don’t have a blog or newsletter, just make a note to check in with these organizations on a regular basis.

Social media groups – LinkedIn and Google+ (and of course Facebook) all feature groups based on common interests. By joining these groups, you’ll be able to keep tabs on topics and stories that interest your target market. You can also, when appropriate, reach out to members of these groups individually for direct connections.

Build relationships – Speaking of reaching out to people directly, one of the best ways to keep up with an industry is to make personal connections to people in the industry. If you build relationships on social media or with your current customer base, it will be easy to stay in the loop.