It takes time and resources to create marketing content for your business. So it makes sense to look for ways to repurpose each idea so it can be used on different platforms to reach your target audience in different ways.
One of the biggest objections I hear from clients is the amount of time and effort it takes to create a blog post, video or other piece of content. They see the idea of producing regular content as arduous and energy-consuming, and often put it off or are inconsistent in their efforts.
But one of the biggest mistakes I see – and one that I’ve made many times – happens when business owners create just one piece of content from each idea. They invest the time and effort, but when it’s completed they only take one bite at the cherry before they start again on a fresh idea.
When you consider that each idea or topic can be used to create multiple pieces of content, the investment of time and effort seems more worthwhile.
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What is repurposing content?
The simple idea behind repurposing is taking one idea and tweaking it to use across multiple platforms. The preparation, research and idea formulation happens once, but can be used over and over in different ways to help to reach your audience on different platforms. Knowing that people like to consume content in different ways at different times, it makes sense to repurpose the idea in more than one way.
How to repurpose content.
There are so many pieces of content you can create from one idea. When you come up with an idea you’d like to share, before you start creating, spend a few minutes brainstorming the ways you could bring that idea to life. Aim for a minimum of 5 pieces of content from one idea … and challenge yourself to see just how many you can create.
Once you have all your ideas jotted down, identify the piece of “hero content” ie the first that you’ll create and the one that will form the basis for the other posts. In the example below I’ll use a blog post as the hero content.
Ideas for repurposing content
1. Blog Post
When finished, a blog post will live on your website as an evergreen piece of content. When you’re creating the blog post you’ll create the text and blog images that illustrate the key points throughout the post.
2. Using blog images as image posts for social media
The images you create for your blog posts can be adapted to become Instagram, Facebook or Twitter image posts. These can be used to promote the blog post, or can be used as standalone content.
3. Take quotes from the blog post to create quote images or tips
Once completed, I look back through my blog posts to identify quotes or “tweetables” that I can use as other content pieces. I might use these as text posts or create images containing the quotes. These can then be scheduled to be shared over a longer time frame.
4. Create a Slideshare presentation from the blog post
The key points of your blog post can be developed into a SlideShare presentation which can then also be posted on LinkedIn. This is particularly applicable to educational posts that have a series of tips or steps. Your customers can step through the slides to learn more about each step in a visual and scannable way. You can link back to the original blog post from the SlideShare presentation to drive traffic.
5. Repurpose the blog post as an article on LinkedIn
LinkedIn’s Publisher platform is a great way to share information and ideas with your LinkedIn connections. And because your connections receive a notification when you publish an article in LinkedIn, it’s an effective way to increase reach and gain more eyeballs on your content. Some blog posts might need to be tweaked slightly to suit the LinkedIn audience. It’s also a good idea to wait a while before posting the article on LinkedIn, so the article is indexed by Google on your website first.
6. Use the topic as the basis of a Facebook Live broadcast.
You’ve done the research and the thinking, so why not use the topic as a Facebook Live? Share the information live and add some extra insights. This also gives your audience the chance to ask questions about the topic which you can answer on the spot. You can also get your audience’s opinion and learn more about what they think and the problems they’re having. That just might give you more valuable content ideas.
Once the Facebook Live is finished, it of course lives on your Page (or within your group) as a recording.
7. Download the Facebook Live and edit it for YouTube
Your Facebook Live efforts can be repurposed as well. You can download it as is, or do a little bit of editing and add an intro or some graphics, and then upload the video to your YouTube channel. The video could also be embedded back on the blog post as further information to support the post.
8. Use the Facebook Live audio as a podcast episode
If you have a podcast, you could use the Facebook Live audio as a podcast episode, or you could simply use the blog post idea as the basis of a podcast episode. Whether you share the information yourself, or interview an expert or thought leader who can give their own perspective on the topic, it’s yet another way to use the idea.
9. Be interviewed on other people’s podcasts about the topic
You have the knowledge and the idea, so why not share it on other people’s podcasts if you have the chance? Look for guest interview opportunities.
10. Expand the idea into a free download.
From the original blog post idea, look to create a “content upgrade” – a more detailed piece of content that can be offered to people as a free download in exchange for their email address. This might be a cheat sheet, checklist, template or other detailed piece of content. These need to be of high value, but can help to build your email list. And if someone has taken the time to read the blog post, it’s likely they’ll be interested in more information.
11. Develop the idea into a speech or presentation
If the idea is meaty and valuable, it could for the basis of a webinar or presentation that can be pitched to networking events or relevant conferences.
12. Create an email challenge from the idea
Again, if the idea is of high value and educational, you could use it as the basis for a challenge or email series. For example, I could create a challenge from this blog post, sending an email (or posting on social media) for 12 days inviting my community to repurpose their content in each of these ways.
So these are just some ideas of how one idea or piece of information can be repurposed in several ways. Not all pieces of content will stretch to suit each of these platforms. But by taking a few minutes at the beginning of the creative process and identifying the ways an idea can be brought to life, you’ll extend the impact, reach and shelf life of that idea.
