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March 11, 2019 Content Chat Recap—Community Conversation: How To Repurpose and Reuse More of Your Content

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As a content creator, it can be easy to slip into a pattern of churning out new, single-use content left and right. The trouble with this approach is that it is resource intensive and could muddy the larger picture of the work you’re creating.

A great content strategy recognizes the importance of repurposing and reusing content, inviting your audience to explore your work in new ways, and creating a cohesive brand experience across channels.

In this #ContentChat community conversation, we discuss ways for you to make the most out of your content, and why you should plan to use your content at least three different ways.

Q1: Is upcycling, recycling, or repurposing content currently part of your social media and content marketing plans?

If repurposing your content isn’t part of your plans, it should be. Nearly every piece you create can and should be repurposed, and you can optimize a project from its start to ensure you can take it a few directions.

Note the importance of a quality repurpose. There’s no value to your audience if your “repurpose” is just a copy/paste across platforms. We’ll explore some examples later.

Live by John’s mantra: If you haven’t used one piece of content three times, you’ve wasted it.

Q2: Share some of the benefits of repurposing content.

There are plenty of benefits, the most obvious being that you save time and money. It is quicker to repurpose a piece than it is to create a new piece.

Repurposing also gives your content new opportunity to be seen and used by your audience in their preferred way.

By planning to repurpose content, you increase the consistency of your brand messages. This could mean greater visibility as a subject matter expert, or a more streamlined sales process.

If you need further convincing, Martin explains it with food.

Q3: Have you encountered any downsides to repurposing content?

Downsides often involve decision makers that do not see the value of repurposing content.

If you’re going to repurpose content, do it with thought. Simply moving around paragraphs or deleting sentences is not enough to merit the piece being redistributed.

Timeliness is always a consideration. Some content may become too dated for current events, and even the best repurpose can still fall flat.

Keep content original across channels. Optimize your content for that audience, otherwise you risk being seen as irrelevant or boring.

Ensure you have the appropriate permission to repurpose or republish certain works.

And accept that not all content can be repurposed for every medium.

Q4: What are some of the ways you typically repurpose your #content?

Blogs can be turned into a SlideShare and/or infograph(s).

Videos can be made into blogs, and key quotes or stats can be used for social content. If you have multiple videos or podcasts, merge the transcripts into an eBook, book or blog series.

Stats from any medium (like videos or infographs) can be used for quizzes or polls on social.

Repurpose a blog by adding an intro that addresses the needs of a specific audience, or rework the content to make it more timely.

Make full use of the channels at your disposal. LinkedIn and Medium are great places to republish content.

Some final thoughts from Click Control Marketing and Bentley University:

Q5: What are your favorite tools or resources for repurposing content?

There’s tools for every need — check out some of our favorites below.

 

Q6: Share your favorite example of a piece of content you created and how you repurposed it.

Check out some of the great work from the community! Use these for inspiration when you approach your next repurpose.

Q7: What are some areas you are struggling with when it comes to repurposing content/ How can the #ContentChat community help?

A lack of resources is a common hurdle, but the tools we listed above can help.

David would like tips on repurposing B2C content for a B2B audience. Give him a shout if you have ideas.

Promoting video content on certain channels can be tricky, especially if the video does not naturally mesh your visual identity on a specific channel. We share some thoughts to help Bri tackle this issue. Ideas include: using an infograph, photographing a related element that could tie the video into the channel, using a live stream, or taking a frame from the video and editing it.

 

About Alek Irvin

Alek Irvin is a content marketing professional with a rich history in social media management, executive thought leadership development, and media relations. As a consultant at Erika Heald Marketing Consulting, he creates human-focused content and thought leadership platforms that help brand leaders connect and engage with their communities. Alek has worked with a range of startups and Fortune 500 companies across the B2B technology and consumer spaces, including IBM, Dell Technologies, Hitch Works, Emtrain, Integrate, and Frameable. Connect with him on Twitter @AlekIrvin.

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