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.
A1: I plan for recycling/repurposing my content with every editorial calendar or content map I work on. #ContentChat https://t.co/qO4LKagXfV
— Erika Heald | Content Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) March 11, 2019
A1 I don’t know that we give it a label, but whenever we create content, we think about the multiple ways we can use it. #contentchat
— Martin Lieberman (@martinlieberman) March 11, 2019
A1: Yes, yes, and yes. When I’m creating content for any platform I’m always thinking of ways to repurpose and reuse that content in other platforms.
Make your words work for you!#ContentChat https://t.co/OmObup1blF
— Kathryn Lang (@Kathrynclang) March 11, 2019
A1: Recycling, re-optimizing, and repurposing content are a very important part of our social media plans these days! #ContentChat
— Brafton (@Brafton) March 11, 2019
A1: Repurposing content is always at the back of my mind… the easiest way to make your marketing efforts more valuable is to produce them in such a way they can be repurposed effectively. So it’s more of a strategy than it is part of the plan if that makes sense? #ContentChat
— Derek Pillie (@derekpillie) March 11, 2019
A1: Yep, repurposing content NEEDS to be part of your plans. Why create it to only use it once? #contentchat
— Michelle Garrett (@PRisUs) March 11, 2019
A1. Yes, I recommend and try to repurpose content all the time.
I do a bit of guest blogging where they like short form content. I’ll sometimes expand it into long form content and post it to my own blog. I also plan to combine some into long form. #ContentChat
— Tod Cordill (@todcordill) March 11, 2019
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.
A1. Repurposing and recycling content? Absolutely, provided it’s done expertly and not just a copy-and-paste job. I try to get as much use out of what I’ve prepared, and what other people on my team have done. #contentchat https://t.co/VM9jdNfOVl
— David Simanoff (@dsimanoff) March 11, 2019
Live by John’s mantra: If you haven’t used one piece of content three times, you’ve wasted it.
A1: Always has been, always will be. My mantra for any one piece of content is that if you haven’t used it three times, you’ve wasted it. #contentchat
— John Cloonan (@johncloonan) March 11, 2019