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After working hard to plan, schedule, write and edit all your blogs and social media, doesn’t it feel a waste to hit “post” and then never touch that content again? Instead, save yourself the time of going back to the drawing board to develop entirely new content, and usher in a smarter way of content production: repurposing. So how do you do it?
You don’t need to reinvent the wheel in order to have a killer content strategy.
After working hard to plan, schedule, write and edit all your blogs and social media, doesn’t it feel a waste to hit “post” and then never touch that content again?
We certainly think so.
Instead, save yourself the time of going back to the drawing board to develop entirely new content, and usher in a smarter way of content production: repurposing.
Repurposing content is as simple as it sounds; identify the highlights of your current content pool — e.g. the posts have gained the most traction — and transform them from one type of content, into another.
Aside from being a savvy way of working, repurposing content can also help you reach a new audience — one who prefers infographics over long form articles, for instance — with content you know has legs.
Sounds like a no-brainer doesn’t it?
So how do you do it?
Let’s see…
Firstly, learn how to identify content which should be repurposed
Not all content is worthy of a revival.
Sorry: we aren’t picking on you, this is true of every single content pool under the sun.
That’s because content tends to either be evergreen or not, and it’s the evergreen stuff that’s got potential for repurposing.
What does this mean? How do you know whether your content is evergreen?
Evergreen content continues to have value for months, if not years. This could be top tips, how tos, product reviews, or topics related to food, lifestyle, fitness and wellness. It’s the content that never goes out of style.
What evergreen is not: news articles, statistical or numerical reports with fleeting relevance, trend or pop culture references or even certain tech topics which will be made redundant very quickly.
For example, an article on iOS 10.3.3 is soo out of date now. Despite only launching two years ago, you’d struggle to find iPhone user on the planet who’d find worth in reading about an operating system several updates old.
You see what we mean?
What’s the benefit in reposting content that has passed its “best by” date?
Where you’ll really drum up additional value, is in repurposing content that readers can still relate to.
And there’s quite a few ways you can do it…
Expand your content reach into a new platform
Firstly, and most simply, you can just take your high-performing evergreen content and post it directly into a new platform.
Sounds too good to be true?
Well, it’s not.
And that’s because you may very quickly reach a new audience by moving onto a new platform.
If you’re active on Wordpress, but not on Instagram; or a keen Facebook user, but haven’t started hosting your own blog just yet; these all provide exciting opportunities for repurposing your content and gaining a new readership.
One quick thing to check before you post, though: your tone of voice.
You may need to ever-so-slightly tweak your content, so it feels appropriate for your new channel. Think more professional for LinkedIn, more conversational for Facebook, and so on.
Record podcasts based on popular social media posts
A great springboard for repurposing content: the posts which garner lots of engagement on social media.
Say one of your Instagram posts got considerably more likes than you’re used to, and many more followers commented, starting a really entertaining conversation. Well, this is a perfect conversation to be taken over into a new type of content: a podcast.
You may never have recorded a podcast before, but look at the social proof you’ve already got!
That’s the beauty of repurposing content; you’ve already got the seal of approval from your audience. They’ve already illustrated their interest in it.
So give the people more of what they want!
Does your audience look to you for expert advice? Compile your blog content into an ebook
Ebooks are a great form of content, if your relationship with your audience is less conversational, and more instructional.
Chances are, you’ve already got a bank of killer “how to” style content sat in your blog history. All you need to do, is take a number of blogs which follow a similar theme, and compile them into an ebook: free or paid-for.
ebooks — downloadable, to be stored on personal laptops or computers — give you more permanent real estate on a reader’s desktop. They also look a little more professional versus blog posts.
266 million ebooks were sold in the US during 2017.
Don’t you want a slice of that pie?
Turn one blog post into a series
Got engaging blog posts, but don’t fancy an ebook?
You could stretch out interesting blogs into a longer series, instead.
It could be as easy as taking each paragraph or section of a well-performing blog post, and creating individual articles based on what you say there.
For example, a blog on affordable SEO tools for startups could become a series which focuses on reviewing and explaining each tool, in separate blog posts.
What’s the benefit here?
A series amps up audience anticipation, and organically spreads your ideas out over time.
Make sure you hyperlink to the rest of the series within each post, so if a reader happens to drop in at the middle, they can find their way around.
Display your data as an infographic
Sometimes, using heavy statistics and numerical data in a blog post is exactly the right thing to do. Especially if you want to appear well-informed, and are connecting with a more academic audience.
However, if you think this content has potential to a wider readership: turn it into an infographic.
Getting visual with your numbers will make the content more digestible to everyday readers; successfully repurposing your content, and broadcasting it further.
Worried about the time it takes to design? There are plenty of free, or affordable, infographic building tools available online. Check them out!
And remember to assess: are these statistics evergreen, or have they already lost their relevance?
If it’s the latter: look for other content to repurpose.
Break statistics down into Tweets
Another way to improve the digestibility of heavy stats and figures, is by isolating them to share as Tweets.
Twitter users are likely to give a like or a share to a stat that makes them think. But don’t overburden your Tweet with detail — remember, you only got 280 characters, so use them wisely!
Instead, focus on one attention-grabbing fact. Then watch it make its way through the Twittersphere!
Reduce, reuse, recycle…
Hopefully by now you can see how repurposing your best content can not only be quick and easy, but can also help you connect with a new audience.
If this post has got you thinking about repurposing your content, but you’re not sure how to take the first step: get in touch with Scribly today! We’d be more than happy to help.
