Repurposing content is an effective way to maximize the impact of the content you create. By giving your existing content new life, you can reach new audiences, reinforce key messaging, and get more value from the hard work you’ve already put in. Let’s look at how and why to repurpose content.
Why Repurpose Content?
There are several key benefits to repurposing your content:
Expand Your Reach
By putting existing content into new formats and channels, you open up opportunities to get your work in front of new eyeballs. An ebook can become a series of blog posts or a presentation, reaching audiences you may not have tapped with the original. Repurposing lets you chip away at new parts of your market.
Reinforce Key Messages
Republishing content through new mediums gives you another chance to reiterate your core messaging. The more times you share an idea, the more likely your audiences are to remember it and understand it clearly.
Get More Mileage from High-Performing Content
If a piece of content resonates well and performs above average, repurposing allows you to double down on those wins. Identify your successful blog posts, guides, etc. and keep their key themes and ideas circulating through spin-off content.
Support Other Marketing Initiatives
Repurposed content can provide fodder for your email marketing campaigns, social promotion, lead generation offers, and more. It strengthens your marketing machine as a whole.
How to Repurpose Content Strategically
To repurpose content successfully, begin by taking inventory of what you already have available:
- Blog posts
- Ebooks, whitepapers and guides
- Webinars and presentations
- Video content
- Interviews and podcast appearances
Analyze this content to identify your strongest, highest-traction pieces. Look for ones that align closely with your core products, services and positioning. These are prime candidates for repurposing.
You’ll also want to consider gaps in your content mix. If you don’t have much long-form guide content, for example, an ebook could be a good repurposing format for existing blog posts.
With your inventory reviewed, it’s time to look at the specific formats you can repurpose into:
Blog Posts
Long blog posts and ebooks can be broken down into 2-3 shorter posts each. Series perform well for blogs, driving repeat traffic. Interactive posts with chunks of content revealed through clicking or scrolling also work.
Social Media Content
Pull excerpts, stats, advice or commentary from existing content to create engaging social media posts. Include images and video clips when possible.
Presentations
Transform guides and posts into slide-based presentations for webinars or public speaking. Reframe content around key talking points.
Video Content
Convert presentations, interviews and podcasts into video assets. Shorter video clips also make great social content.
Audio Content
Podcast interviews and presentations can become audio learning resources. Produce bite-sized audio segments for social promotion.
Visual Content
Make infographics, idea graphics and statistical charts based on research and data from existing content. These eye-catching visual assets perform wonderfully on social media.
Email/Newsletter Content
Pull quotes, examples and statistics from guide content and blog posts to create compelling email newsletters that reframe ideas from your existing content.
Repurposing Checklist
When beginning a new repurposing project, run through this checklist to streamline the process:
Choose your source content
- What existing assets will you repurpose? Prioritize your strongest, best-performing content closely aligned with core products/services.
Define goals and target metrics
- What do you want to achieve from repurposing this content? Set goals for traffic, engagement, conversions, etc.
Determine repurposing formats
- Which new formats make sense based on gaps in your content mix and established goals? Pick 1-2 new formats.
Outline the repurposed content
- Sketch how the source content will be reimagined and restructured for the new formats.
Adapt the formats
- For a blog post becoming a video, create a slide-based storyboard. For a guide becoming a presentation, draft speaker notes. Adapt the content to optimize each format.
Promote and amplify
- Share the repurposed content prominently through both existing and any new channels available in the new formats.
Analyze performance
- Track how the repurposed content is performing against your stated goals. Identify additional promotion opportunities or angles.
How to Repurpose Content Creatively
Beyond the standard formats discussed above, explore unique repurposing angles tailored to your business:
- Product/service content into help documentation/FAQs
- Testimonials into press releases
- Research data into surveys and quizzes
- Interviews/podcasts into case studies
- Blog content into short viral videos
- Email newsletter content into direct mail pieces
Repurposed content works harder for you. With a strategic, goal-oriented approach focused on your best assets, it can become an integral content amplification tool. Use the frameworks above to maintain momentum and maximize the impact of your hard work.
