It can be challenging to come up with new content for your blog or social media channels week after week. That’s why repurposing (aka finding new ways to recycle your existing content) should be included in your content strategy. When you have one piece of content that you can use up to 5 different ways, it helps to lighten your mental load and keeps your creative juices flowing. Repurposing is the quickest way to avoid the dreaded overwhelm.
Here are five ways that you can get the most out of any piece of content you create.
1. Post to all of your social channels
It’s not enough to write a blog post and just let it live on your website. Most people only go to your website when they are looking for answers to a specific question. What are your services? What is your phone number? They may only visit your website a few times a year.
That’s why it’s important to share the blog post in places where people are constantly looking for new things to read like Facebook or LinkedIn. Even though every piece of content you create is essentially marketing for your company — letting people know who you are and how you can help — it doesn’t feel that way when people are scrolling. They are looking to be entertained so they actually appreciate having something new on their feed. It keeps your company top of mind while also offering helpful information. Everyone loves being helped.
And don’t worry if you think cross-posting to multiple channels will be too much or annoy people. Each social media platform attracts a different audience. The people who follow you on Twitter may not be following you on Pinterest. By sharing the content on all your channels, you make sure you don’t miss anyone.
2. Post at different times throughout the year
Attention spans are short these days. Chances are someone is not going to remember what you posted a month ago so that is why it’s important to repurpose your content throughout the year.
When’s the best time to post it again? It depends! Keep in mind relevant seasonal themes for your business.
If you are an accountant, you might have content that only makes sense from January-April of the year. You wouldn’t post about a tax refund in October. But if you have more general content, that isn’t season-specific, reposting once a quarter is a good method. New people are finding you every day and it will be new information for them.
Also, keep in mind any upcoming holidays and fun national days like National Best Friend Day (which is June 8, 2020, by the way). If there is an article or piece of content that is relevant, find a way to tie it in.
3. Change the medium
If you have written content, consider turning it into an audio or video format. It’s always a good idea to give your audience a choice in how they consume your content.
For some, it might be easier to listen to the audio version of your blog article on a walk or watch a 5-minute video on YouTube while they are waiting in line at the supermarket.
4. Transform Your Content into Valuable Email Series
There’s a good chance that you write about the same topics or categories often. That’s good news! It means you already have the content you need for an email series. You can arrange the articles in a sequence that builds upon each other.
How you release the articles is up to you. You can have a 5-day window where you release one article per day so it feels like a mini-course or you can email one article per week.
The great thing about email is that it stays in someone’s inbox. They have access to your articles whenever they want by simply using the search button. It makes it easy for them and it feels more personal.
5. Turn Your Blog Post into a Webinar (and vice-versa)
Finally, webinars are a great opportunity to showcase your expertise. They are basically an on-demand class that people can participate in to learn more about a topic. With a blog post, there is only so much that you can cover. A webinar gives you the opportunity to go in-depth and positions you as a thought-leader in your field.
Here’s a real-life example from the SNR Creative content calendar. We repurposed the blog post, Can You Afford Your Business?, from August 2019 and used the concepts to create the webinar, Roadmap To Business Clarity: The Profit Edition, in December 2019.
Both help a business owner figure out the money aspect of their business so they are able to have a profit. The blog article shared the profit formula but during the webinar, we were able to go through the formula with a real example. Both versions are valuable.
. . .
The takeaway from today is that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel or come up with 365 new ideas for the year. If you are a business owner, you have an area that you are knowledgeable in. The goal is simply to keep talking about it. Over and over again.
Trust us, there will always be people who are hearing it for the first time, so don’t be afraid to repost. In fact, we encourage it! Happy repurposing!
