Repurposing Content Tips
Repurposing content might sound like a quick way to get out of creating something fresh and original. But repurposing content like an older blog post into an infographic is one of the most effective ways to get the most value and ROI out of your content marketing.
There is more to repurposing than changing a word here or phrase there and reposting—that’s just duplicating content. You should essentially change the format and/or angle, and present the information to readers in a whole new way.
Some simple but effective ways of repurposing existing content are by turning a:
- Video into a blog
- Blog into a video
- Main blog/service page points into an infographic
- Service page into a blog
- Infographic into a blog
Below are five reasons why you should repurpose your various forms of content and give it new life.
1. The Research is Already Complete
As a content marketer, you know how much work goes into every piece of marketing collateral—and not just the part where you finally sit down and create. Performing background research is one of the most time-consuming tasks for creating a piece of content.
Scrolling through websites, accepting or rejecting facts and opinions for inclusion, compiling the data, and then organizing it all into a cohesive document that flows easily and captures readers’ attention takes time and energy. Once you’ve finished the hardest part, you’ve probably gathered more information than you’ll likely need for a single blog post or email blast—and that’s a good thing. You’ll have plenty of leftover material, which will make it easier for you to come up with additional types of content.
2. Present Content in a New Way
This is the key to repurposing—taking a piece of existing content and presenting it in a whole new format. For instance, look through your blog. Do you have any posts with bulleted lists that could be repurposed into an infographic (perhaps with a few more points added)? Or, have you gathered enough information to take a newsletter article or blog post and turn it into a longer document, like a white paper?
Another idea is to take one or two client testimonials from your website or company brochure and expand them into a more in-depth piece, such as a case study. Or move away from text completely and move to the next level with video content, perhaps for a client testimonial or “behind the scenes” look at your office or annual event you’ve been promoting.
This marketing collateral relies on high-quality content to share more about your company’s products and services with new and existing clients, so give audiences as many different perspectives as possible.
3. Connect with New Audiences
Reaching new markets is one of the largest benefits of repurposing your content. Although you are probably seeing a strong ROI from your website, blog, and social media sites, you can expand your reach even further with some well-positioned, repackaged marketing collateral.
For instance, that infographic you created from a blog post? Share it on one of your social media pages. Your case studies of satisfied clients or a fabulous new product or service you’re promoting?
Use portions of those documents as an email series or in your digital newsletter. Encourage your readers to share your content with others—it will not only grow your list of email subscribers and social media followers, but you never know who might receive something from your company and need the very product or service you offer.
4. Reinforce Your Message
Regardless of the format (email blast, blog, case study, newsletter article, video), each piece of content should capture the voice of your company’s brand (one exception might be guest posts on your blog, in which the blogger will be writing in their own voice, so a disclaimer stating the opinions expressed in the post are strictly those of the writer, not your company, is a good idea).
Once again, repurposing your content gives you the chance to deliver your company’s message in a different format and audiences a different perspective on who you are and what you do. (For instance, maybe you’re a financial advisory firm targeted at millennials—use video to capture the fun, behind-the-scenes footage of your team at work or what a typical client meeting is like with your staff, and how it sets you apart from another advisory firm).
Use your content to dispel myths about your industry and make potential customers comfortable, if not excited, about working with you (and with so many different platforms available to share content, you could surprise yourself at how much content you’ve created over the years!).
5. Backlink, Backlink, Backlink!
Building links back to your website is an important element of SEO and can have a positive impact on your search engine rankings. Repurposing your content can help you boost those rankings by naturally building backlinks to your website. The more versions that are available of a piece of content, the more that content will appeal to a wider audience. And the ultimate end goal would be to have those readers sharing your repurposed content across various channels, from social media to including links on their website. The backlinks make it easier for readers to find you when they do a search, and gives readers a more comprehensive picture of your company, as they can read blog posts, news releases, reviews, and articles that were written about you over the years.
Remember – repurposing content is more than just slightly tweaking something. You should change the format, and put a fresher spin on it. The benefits are many, and each one will help exploit your brand as an authority within your niche because you’ll reach a wider audience. And that increased traffic and brand awareness will increase your SEO – providing much higher ROI and value for your content marketing efforts.
