As any digital marketer or creator knows, effective content creation is far from easy. Not only do you need to brainstorm and develop a constant stream of ideas you know your audience will love, but your content needs to be fully optimized for search engines, as well.
Keeping all your website, blog, and social media channels appropriately active without cutting corners when it comes to quality is a tall order. However, content repurposing can take some of the hassle out of the equation on several levels.
According to research by SEMRush, 42 percent of today’s marketers say adding repurposing to their ongoing content development strategy yielded amazing results. Among other things, it helped them successfully reach more segments of their intended audience, and it can do the same for you.
Here’s a closer look at what you need to know to make content repurposing work for you in 2024 and beyond.
What Is Content Repurposing: Understanding the Basics
“Why reinvent the wheel when you can simply add more wheels to the machine?”
– Neil Patel, digital marketing expert, on the topic of content repurposing
Also, sometimes referred to as content recycling, content repurposing is the act of taking existing content – especially any that’s more successful than average – and adapting it to work in other contexts. Some examples of how this can work include:
- Using a successful blog post as the basis for a YouTube video, infographic, Twitter thread, Instagram carousel, etc.
- Revisiting successful content from a different angle to create a unique new piece
- Using other people’s content as inspiration for your own unique posts
- Adapting a hit webinar or conference presentation into downloadable freemium content (or vice versa)
There are quite a few benefits attached to doing this. The following are some key examples.
Getting more out of your best ideas
When you come up with a great idea that really resonates with your audience, it simply makes sense to get as much mileage out of it as possible. Adapting one idea to create multiple pieces requires less energy, money, labor, and time than starting over from scratch with each new post.
Boosting engagement numbers
If you’re like most digital marketers, you juggle multiple outlets and platforms when it comes to publishing your content. Repurposing helps you optimize your best pieces for multiple platforms, maximizing engagement and satisfying finicky algorithms in the process.
Connect with new audiences
Every segment of your audience will be a bit different. Users who like readable content may prefer blog posts and ebooks, while others may prefer videos, infographics, and other visuals. Visuals are also more shareable and social media-friendly than standard written content, so covering as many bases as possible helps your content get around.
In other words, learning how to repurpose your content like a boss is a simple but highly effective way to extend its lifespan, maximize its success, and ensure you’re getting the absolute most out of all your best stuff.
Creative Strategies for Repurposing Your Content
Before we dive into some of the most effective, creative ways to repurpose your best content, it’s important to emphasize how not to do it. Repurposed content isn’t simply old content that’s been reposted or cross-posted across multiple platforms.
It’s not plagiarized content copied or otherwise taken from other creators (either partially or entirely), either. Using another creator’s successful content as inspiration, linking back to it within your content, or quoting it to help back up your own points is fine. But plagiarism isn’t and could land you in hot water with Google.
That said, here are some great content repurposing ideas to incorporate into your ongoing strategy. Don’t be afraid to adapt them as needed or come up with additional approaches of your own.
Expand long-form content into ebooks
“It’s only quality content that will succeed in drawing users in and keeping them listening or on the page. Unimaginative or unoriginal content might induce a click but no tangible and lasting interest.”
– Sergii Denysenko, Forbes Council member
These days, Google strongly favors content that’s helpful, informative, and that digs deeply into the topic at hand. For that reason, long-form content is a staple feature when it comes to today’s content strategies, and you likely have a lot of it in your catalog by now.
Revisiting your best-performing long-form content, fleshing it out a bit, and repurposing it as an ebook is a great way to take it further and get more out of it. Add a few graphics and statistics, and you could have a real hit on your hands.
Make awesome video content
With video content becoming more popular all the time, especially on social media, you’ll want to include plenty of it in your ongoing content strategy. Repurposing suitable or exceptionally popular content as video content is a terrific way to do this.
How-to guides and tutorials make great fits for YouTube videos, especially any that already have readymade visuals to include. Individual sections of informative articles or listicles make great fits for Instagram reels or TikTok posts.
Design shareable infographics
Infographics are another key content format every digital marketer should be looking at in 2024. Today’s consumers and social media users already instinctively respond to snappy, sleek visuals. Visuals are also easier to share across social media.
Leverage the power of visual images by repurposing written content and other informative posts into beautiful infographics that convey lots of information at a glance. Share them on social media, add value to future posts by including them, or add them to email blasts.
Break up longer videos into pieces
Does your brand already have a robust YouTube presence or a couple of viral video hits under its belt? Get more value out of classic offerings by breaking long videos up into shorter chunks and re-editing them for social media.
This makes it easier to meet length requirements on various social media platforms, as well as gives you a way to direct followers toward your YouTube channel. Just be sure to tailor-edit your content with each individual platform in mind.
Share user-generated content
User-generated content (UGC) from your loyal followers is an absolute treasure trove when it comes to future repurposed content, so don’t sleep on making it part of your larger strategy. Resharing UGC directly from your following is one way to do this that will help your audience feel seen and valued.
However, you can also include other types of user-generated content in different ways. For example, you can take screen grabs of customer reviews or tweets where your brand is mentioned and include them in future video content or blogs.
Embed video or audio in blog posts
Adding any type of additional supporting content to your blog posts can help that post succeed on several levels. Options like videos or podcasts add value and increase dwell time when readers stop to check them out. And any type of bonus content can increase the likelihood of someone deciding to share it on social media.
So, ask yourself whether you have existing content that could complement what you’re creating when formatting new blog posts. Embed it directly for maximum impact and benefit.
Keep successful content up to date
Nothing stays the same for long on the internet. Algorithms evolve, industry standards change, and new information comes to light. If your best-performing content isn’t changing with it, you’re missing out on valuable traffic and reach.
So, come up with an ongoing strategy for keeping high-performing evergreen content up to date. Update statistics, add relevant new insights, and make some valuable new additions. The great thing about a content update is it doesn’t need to be a top-to-bottom rewrite. A solid update is enough to do the trick.
Maximizing Impact: Best Practices for Content Repurposing
Copy-pasting or cross-posting your content from one platform to another is better than nothing when it comes to repurposing content, but it’s not enough to maximize your results. Keep these must-know tips and best practices in mind to get the results you’re really after.
Know how to spot good opportunities
Not all content is going to be equal when it comes to its repurposing value, so it’s important to know how to spot a good option when you see one. Long-form, evergreen content is naturally going to be your best bet, but you also want to look at performance.
Use an accessible tool like Google Analytics to identify your top performers. The higher the ongoing performance, the better the option. You can use this method to identify repurpose-worthy seasonal pieces, as well.
Know who you’re marketing to
You don’t necessarily need to target the same audience when repurposing a specific piece of content for a new platform or format option. It’s OK (and even advisable) to shift things a bit to better fit your current content marketing goals.
For example, you can repurpose your thought leadership pieces to increase engagement on social media (or vice versa). You can turn to your highest-performing social media posts to use in guest blogs or ebooks to build a following. The possibilities are truly endless, so don’t be afraid to think outside the box.
Tailor your content to your target platform
The more you understand about the platform where you’ll be posting your repurposed content, the better you can expect it to perform. It’s well worth taking the time to optimize your work in this regard.
Reworking a video transcript or an in-person presentation as a blog post? Do a round of fresh keyword research, so you can optimize the new content accordingly. Repurposing a viral Facebook post for Instagram or Twitter? Find a few relevant hashtags to include in your post for maximum reach. Be sure to tweak your language and general vibe with your target platform in mind, as well.
Streamline your production process
Bring your entire content production team in on your content repurposing strategy in an organized way to keep everything running like a well-oiled machine. One way to do this is with an ongoing content calendar. Plan and schedule repurposing tasks as far in advance as you can to ensure new content is ready to go on time.
Composable content strategies are another way to keep your content machine chugging along nicely. Implement team management software and popular tools like Google Docs to take the guesswork out of working together as a team and ensuring everyone has access to the latest versions of key documents and target content.
Measuring the Success of Your Repurposed Content
Successfully scaling content production via a good repurposing strategy is really only part of the picture when it comes to maximizing your efforts. You also need a reliable way to track, measure, and analyze the results of your efforts, so you know what’s working and what isn’t.
Decide upfront what your key performance indicators (KPIs) are going to be by considering factors like content type, target platform, and current marketing goals. Some examples to consider include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Pageviews can help you determine which of your repurposed pieces are doing a better job of engaging your audience.
- Social media shares help you measure audience engagement and track overall interest in your content.
- Website traffic can offer insight into how well repurposed or updated content is doing to attract new visitors.
- Bounce rate can let you know which content is meeting audience expectations and which might be missing the mark.
- Conversion rates tell you how effective your repurposed pieces are at guiding and influencing your audience to take the desired next step.
Ready to take the next step and implement a content repurposing strategy that’s sure to turn heads? Consider adding some fresh talent to the mix to help the process along and ensure helpful, winning content your audience will love.
Assemble a dream team of seasoned content experts, copywriters, and content creators to help you when you sign up for a free 14-day WriterAccess trial today. You’ll love what the right talent can do for your content strategy and overall brand performance.
