One of the most remarkable things about the content businesses create is that it can be consumed differently. The written (or typed) word, video, audio, and other creative outlets like AR and VR technology make it possible to take an original piece and change its delivery for an entirely different method of consumption. Essentially, you’re recycling the content you’ve already made and putting it back there in less time than before. This helps your business get more value out of your investment while also enabling its distribution to various channels where it can reach a new, broader audience.
The Criteria for Repurposing Content
Before you start, you want to ensure you’re not flying by the seat of your pants to create “new “content. For example, what are your goals for repurposing? Do you want to reach a new audience? Do you want to spend less time creating something brand new? Are you interested in developing a new distribution channel?
These questions will give you a sense of direction, and once you’ve decided on this, you want to understand the intricacies of these channels. For example, if you create video content from a blog post, you need to know how the audience of this platform reacts and what they want. Finally, determine whether your content needs to be repurposed. Although it may perform well as an article on your blog, it doesn’t mean its success will correlate with evergreen video content.
Evergreen content does not rely on current events to be relevant. An evergreen blog or video can be prepared, then mothballed until needed. Evergreen content is, much like a pine tree, always fresh: relevant for more than a few months and preferably more than a year.
5 Ways to Make Your Content Shine
- Video
Converting a blog that you’ve written into a video is an incredible way of targeting a broader audience that wants to consume your content. Of course, it does require more work, to begin with, but the reach on platforms like YouTube makes it an excellent way to share your message initially.
Once this content is available, you may be tempted to share it as it is, but don’t get caught up with sharing your new audio-visual masterpiece. Instead, take the video that you put on YouTube and break it down into smaller components. These shorter video formats are perfect for sharing on social media like Facebook and Instagram while doubling their utility as ads.
If you’re sharing information that discusses a topic your audience cares about, consider sharing the audio portion as a podcast. To think you could recreate all this content from a single blog post article is astounding, so be creative and discover how to distribute it to your audience.
- Social Media Posts
If your business is on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn, you can take the same content that you wrote on Facebook and copy and paste it onto Twitter. Now you have two pieces of content, but let’s add a third. Screenshot the Twitter post you created and share it on Instagram; users are constantly consuming this content on the platform, so utilize this phenomenon to your advantage.
On LinkedIn, take your screenshot from Twitter and post it with more added context. LinkedIn loves images shared with more information, and storytelling is vital on the platform, so double down on telling your story.
- Email Newsletters
The world is busy, and even though your content may be impressive, it may not always reach the intended audience. You can use an existing blog post. Make it more conversational and to the point, then create a series of emails you can deliver directly to your mailing list. Doing this allows you to still provide valuable information to your customers and prospects without them having to search for your content outside their inboxes. To be clear, don’t paste a link to your content in the email. Instead, deliver it as your newsletter’s content in chunks easily consumed.
- Infographics
Did you know that people remember 10% of the information they hear aloud versus 65% of the information they see visually? And people following directions with text and illustrations do 323% better than those following directions. These are incredible pieces of content that everyone loves.
Why?
They are 30X more likely to be read from top to bottom than a typical blog.
They get 3X the shares like any other type of content on social media
And they are quickly consumed, easy to digest and deliver value in one place. This form of content for visual people in your audience is right up there with video and should be part of your repurposing effort.
Many blogs come in the same format, so trim the fat and focus on where the value is created.
Remember, infographics are meant to display information graphically, so cut most of the words out; your audience will thank you for it.
- Blog Posts
The last piece of the puzzle is repurposing existing blog posts by updating them to become more relevant. Many high-performing blog posts for your business may have knocked it out of the park years ago, but as time has gone by, so has the performance of the content. This is because the information is likely outdated and needs a revamp. By updating your blogs by adding and removing different parts, you’re able to recycle your message with data and information that develops authority and shows your audience that you’re consistently delivering value.
Repurposing content can send you in many directions that provide value to your company and your audience. Like anything else in your business, you want your efforts to be successful, and content recycling is no different. We’ve covered the criteria you need to cover before deciding what to repurpose and the various methods you could use for your efforts. Not only will this help you, but it will also help your team and your audience. It’s a win-win-win situation that’s great for everyone.
