Repurposing Content Smarter, Not Harder.
On the list of never-ending tasks, creating new media for all your platforms can feel like an impossible one to complete.
It seems that either we lack the creativity to come up with new material. Or that making our ideas into a reality is impossible.
Regardless of what you feel your blockage is, there is a solution. Being strategic with one big piece can make your whole process easier.
This is a piece of information that sadly, too many people learn about too late.
I myself would stress about what I am going to talk about on social media. And, what I was going to create for my monthly social media management clients.
Knowing how to repurpose effectively will save you a lot of time and headache.
What is content repurposing?
Put simply, content repurposing is creating smaller pieces of media out of one original and larger piece.
Sounds easy enough right?
What you want to do is create a larger piece and then create smaller material based around that same topic or theme.
Think of Thanksgiving dinner. You can make a lot of different leftovers with that one larger turkey. From sandwiches to soups. Same great base but presented differently.
Why do we want to repurpose content?
Before we spill the beans on how you can effectively repurpose your content, we need to understand the why. Us marketers love to know the why.
Other then it making your job of creating new material easier, it can help you stay more organized.
Number 1. It can help you reach new audiences. Because everyone consumes information differently, it can help you spread your media to new platforms.
Each social media platforms have a different form of content that presents best. YouTube is videos, LinkedIn is articles and discuss pieces, Instagram is visual etc...
Number 2. It brings the message home. By sticking with one topic or subject it helps you get the message across more effectively.
It is like repeating something until you can't forget it.
Lastly, it helps expand the lifeline of your content. You put a lot of effort into your content and you should get the most life out of it as you can.
Once you write your monthly blog and hit publish, that's it. But imagine if you could now get a months worth of social media posts from that blog.
What is the best way to organize how you repurpose your content? We got you covered.
Your smart repurposing template:
Step 1: Pick your pillar.
Not to be mistaken for your subject. Your pillar is going to be how you will present your long form piece. Some options might be:
· A blog
· Tutorial or guide
· Video content
· Podcast
If you aren't sure which pillar is best for you, think of what the story or information is that you want to share.
Step 2: Analyze your content.
Once you have your big piece of content created, let’s break it into smaller digestible pieces.
From your blog post you can go through it piece by piece and take information to re-present on a social media platform.
Then you would create media to go with it. This could be a stand-alone graphic, a quick reel or a chance for you to use one of those sick branding photos you spent so much money on.
Depending where you are planning to publish your content to will determine how you should repurpose it. It is always a good idea to have a plan in place.
Step 3: Adapt for your platform
Like I mentioned earlier, each platform has it’s own type of content that will perform best. That is why it is important to know what type of content is going best serve you.
LinkedIn: Professional tone, industry insights, thought leadership
Instagram: Visual focus, storytelling, behind-the-scenes content
TikTok: Authentic, trend-aware, quick-hitting content
YouTube: More in-depth exploration, searchable topics
Email: Personalized, value-focused content for an engaged audience
Don't just copy and paste from your big piece of content. Be sure you tailor your message to fit each platform's unique environment.
When you are repurposing your content, you may also think of new points you would like to add.
Now that you have a good idea of how you can repurpose smarter, not harder. Let's discuss what not to do when repurposing your work.
What NOT TO DO when repurposing.
Don’t get lazy but just copying and pasting. Just because we are repurposing doesn’t mean that we can just hop that no one notices.
Always be looking for more ways to add value to your content.
Make sure that we are analyzing the content before repurposing it. We want to use information that has substance to it.
Not everything you put out will be a gem. Find the gems and use those pieces of information.
Don’t miss out on your opportunities for optimizing.
Depending on what platform you are repurposing to, will mean optimizing looks different. For website SEO, for socials, hashtags, etc…
To sum it all up: Work Smarter, Not Harder.
Content repurposing isn’t about cheating and cutting corners but working strategically with bits of information at a time. It isn’t a crime to adapt your ideas into platform appropriate tidbits.
Everybody likes a snack once in a while.
Mastering the skill of repurposing will save you tons of time. It will also make the content creation process less daunting for you or whoever you have in charge of running your socials.
Great content can expand in multiple ways. Your audience may be on multiple platforms. You shouldn’t miss out on your opportunity to connect with them in their preferred medium.
If you are starting from scratch, I would suggest identifying what your most successful piece of content currently looks.
This could be a social media post or an existing blog article.
Then ask yourself “how else could I share this information?” or “how else could I share this story?”
I hope this guide helps you on how to repurpose your content and helps you cross off just one more thing on your never ending to-do list.