Content Strategy: Repurposing Content

One of the conversations I find myself having with just about every client is that they do not maximize the value of their existing content. They spend time and money on creating their hero content, creating a landing page for it, publishing a blog post to promote it, maybe hosting a webinar on the topic, and scheduling a handful of social posts. Is that enough? Or are there ways to drive more value out of that hero content? One effective strategy to maximize the return-on-investment of your sales and marketing efforts is through content repurposing.

In modern marketing, repurposing content is not just a cost-saving measure but a way to reinforce your brand messaging and establish thought leadership. This involves taking existing content and presenting it in a different format or on a different platform, thereby extending its reach and lifespan, allowing you to make the most of your initial content creation efforts, reaching new audiences and maximizing engagement.

Benefits of Repurposing Content

Repurposing content offers numerous benefits and advantages, making it a valuable strategy for any marketing plan:

• Extending Your Reach. One of the primary benefits of repurposing content is the ability to extend its reach. By transforming a single piece of content into multiple formats, you can engage with different audience segments. For example, a well-written blog post can be converted into a video, infographic, or podcast. This not only increases the lifespan of your content but also allows it to reach new audiences who may prefer different types of media. Additionally, creating multiple pieces of content around the same core message is more resource-efficient than producing each piece from scratch, ultimately saving time and money.
• Contributing to Brand Authority and Credibility. Repurposing content significantly contributes to establishing and reinforcing your brand’s authority and credibility. Consistently sharing valuable content in various formats helps position your brand as a thought leader in your industry. By maintaining a cohesive brand message across different channels, you can solidify your brand voice and ensure that your audience receives a consistent and reliable message. This repetition and consistency are key to building trust and credibility with your audience.
• Enhancing Content Longevity. Some content has a limited lifespan due to its topical nature. However, repurposing allows you to refresh and update older content, making it relevant again. By refreshing and reformatting older content, you can keep it relevant and valuable to your audience. This practice not only keeps your content current but also enhances your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts. Regularly updating and republishing content signals to search engines that your site is active and relevant, potentially driving more organic traffic to your website.
• Increased Efficiency. Repurposing content allows you to streamline your content creation process. Instead of starting from scratch each time, you can build upon existing content and quickly develop new digital assets, saving time and effort. This efficiency enables your team to focus on other important tasks and projects.
• Reinforcing Key Messages. Repetition is a powerful tool for learning and retention. By presenting the same core message in different formats, you reinforce important points and ensure that your audience retains the information. This multi-faceted approach helps in solidifying your brand’s key messages.
• Enhanced (Multi-Channel) Engagement. Engaging your audience across multiple channels increases the likelihood of interaction and engagement. Repurposing content allows you to maintain a consistent presence across various platforms, keeping your audience engaged and interested.
• Better Data-Driven Insights. Repurposing content provides more opportunities to gather data and insights on what works best for your audience. For example, with a multi-channel strategy you may find that you reach a larger audience or achieve a higher conversion rate through video than through print. By analyzing the performance of different formats and platforms, you can make informed decisions and refine your content strategy for better results.
• SEO and Visibility. Repurposed content can improve your search engine visibility. By creating multiple pieces of content around the same topic, you increase the chances of your content being discovered by search engines and audiences. This can lead to higher search rankings and more organic traffic.
• Supporting Sales and Marketing Alignment. This content strategy supports integrated marketing campaigns by providing consistent messaging across different stages of the customer journey, allowing you to better align targeted content at each stage of the sales funnel and identify content gaps. This alignment between sales and marketing ensures a cohesive strategy that guides prospects through the funnel effectively.
• Maximizing Content Investments. Different types of content (e.g., blog posts, videos, infographics) have different levels of investment in terms of time and resources. By repurposing high-investment content into various forms, you maximize the return on your initial investment, ensuring that the effort put into creating high-quality content pays off multiple times over.
• Showcasing Versatility. Repurposing content into different formats showcases your versatility and expertise across multiple media types. This can enhance your brand’s reputation and credibility, as it demonstrates your ability to communicate effectively in various ways.
• Meeting Accessibility Needs. Different audience members have different accessibility needs. By offering content in multiple formats (e.g., text, audio, visual), you ensure that your content is accessible to a broader audience, including those with disabilities.
• Fostering Creativity. The process of repurposing content can spark new ideas and creative approaches. It encourages your team to think outside the box and find innovative ways to present existing information.
• Helping to Build Community. Repurposing content into interactive formats, such as webinars or Q&A sessions, is also a great way to help foster a sense of community among your audience. It provides opportunities for engagement and interaction, helping build a loyal community.

By understanding and leveraging these many benefits, you can further enhance your content marketing strategy and achieve greater success in your marketing efforts.

Maximizing the Value of Existing Content

Effectively repurposing content involves implementing several strategies that maximize its value across different formats and platforms.

Here are some examples of strategies that you can pursue immediately:

• Converting Formats. One effective strategy is converting content into different formats. For example, blog posts can be transformed into videos, infographics, or podcasts, and webinars or presentations can be turned into written articles or a series of blog posts. This approach allows you to cater to different audience preferences and maximize the reach of your content.
• Adjusting Length. Adjusting the length of your content is another valuable strategy. Short-form content, such as blog posts, can be expanded into more comprehensive guides or ebooks, providing deeper insights into a topic. Conversely, long-form content like ebooks can be broken down into smaller, more digestible pieces that can be used for blog posts, social media updates, or email sequences. This flexibility ensures that your content remains engaging and relevant across different platforms. I’m also a fan of converting short-form content, such as a blog series,  into a long-term content strategy, combining all of these published blog posts into an ebook, whitepaper, or even a full-fledged book.
• Utilizing Different Platforms. Republishing content across various platforms helps reach different audiences. For instance, republishing a popular blog post on platforms like LinkedIn, Medium, or industry-specific forums can help you reach readers who might not visit your blog. Additionally, creating social media snippets from longer content can increase your social media activity and drive traffic back to the original content.
• Exploring New Perspectives. Sometimes, refreshing content is as simple as approaching it from a new angle or perspective. This could mean discussing the same topic with a different focus or updating it with new data and insights. Creating email sequences from listicle-style articles is another effective way to keep your audience engaged over time.

Distribution Channels for Reposting Content

Repurposing content can take many forms, such as turning a blog post into a video summarizing the main points of a blog, and adding visual elements to enhance engagement. Or you might transform that blog post (in addition to the video asset) into a detailed Infographic that visually represents the data and key takeaways from your blog. Once you have created each of these, you then may create related social media posts, breaking down each unique piece into shorter snippets suitable for social media, each highlighting a key point.

You’ve created your hero content and developed several related digital assets, but what’s next? To maximize the reach of your repurposed content, consider distributing it across various marketing channels:

• Social Media Platforms: Utilize platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to share snippets, infographics, and videos.
• Video Platforms: Share video content on YouTube and Vimeo to engage visual learners.
• Email Newsletters: Use repurposed content to create engaging email sequences that keep your subscribers informed and entertained.
• Podcasts and Webinar Platforms: Share audio content on podcast platforms and recorded webinars on your website or YouTube channel.
• Blogs and Websites: Regularly update your blog with repurposed content to maintain an active and engaging site.

While repurposing content offers many benefits, it’s essential to be aware of potential drawbacks. One risk is that content can become redundant if not done thoughtfully. To avoid this, ensure that each piece of repurposed content offers unique value or a fresh perspective. Another challenge is maintaining the quality and relevance of repurposed content. Always update and tailor it to fit the new format or platform effectively to keep your audience engaged.

Practical Steps to Effectively Repurpose Content

Effectively repurposing content requires a strategic approach to ensure that each piece maintains its value and relevance. By following these practical steps, you can streamline the process and maximize the impact of your repurposed content:

1. Conduct a Content Audit: An audit is an essential step in every content marketing strategy. Identify high-performing content that can be repurposed. Look for evergreen topics that remain relevant over time.
2. Ensure Consistency: Whether you’re an independent consultant trying to establish your brand or a global enterprise running dozens of campaigns each month, you need to be consistent with your brand. Maintain a consistent brand voice, tone, and visual elements across different formats. This helps in building a cohesive brand identity.
3. Track Performance: Monitor the performance of repurposed content to understand what works best. Use analytics to refine your strategies and improve future efforts.

Repurposing content in marketing involves integrating these strategies into your overall marketing plans. This approach ensures that you get the most out of your content creation efforts, saving time and resources while enhancing brand presence and engagement. By effectively implementing repurposing strategies, you can ensure that your content continues to provide value, reinforces your brand message, and reaches new audiences.

Repurposing content is a powerful strategy in marketing, allowing you to extend the reach, enhance engagement, and maximize the value of your existing content. By effectively implementing repurposing strategies, you can ensure that your content continues to provide value, reinforces your brand message, and reaches new audiences. Start integrating these practices into your marketing efforts today to see a significant boost in your content’s effectiveness and impact. As always, if you’re looking for help in establishing your content marketing strategy, please contact me!