When it comes to creating social media content, it can be challenging to create new, fresh ideas that stand out amongst the noise. Add in the fact that social media algorithms prioritise relevance over chronological order and social media marketers find themselves posting all sorts of content to work out what resonates best with their audience.
This is where repurposing content comes in… Content repurposing involves taking existing, high-quality content and presenting it in an entirely different way.
At first glance, content repurposing may seem like a way to cheat the system, however, it can be a very smart & effective way of planning your next content. Let’s dive in deeper!
What are the Benefits of Repurposing Content?
- It’s a big-time saviour – putting a new, fresh spin on an old piece of content is usually faster than starting from scratch as you already have a base to build off.
- It expands the content’s reach and lifespan – reformatting a piece of content for new platforms allows you to reach larger audiences and allows you to reach people that may have missed the content the first time round.
- It gives your SEO a boost! Building on content with new, valuable information centred around similar keywords will help search engines to recognise you as a website that produces quality content. Consistently publishing high-quality content on the same topics will improve your ranking over time and give increased organic visibility to your content.
Which content should you choose to repurpose?
- Best performing – the rule of thumb is to always stick to your best performing content, so ask yourself what content was most popular before? Take a look at the analytics and engagement rates to really identify what was a hit.
- Evergreen – it’s important that the content you recycle remains relevant so don’t choose content that is restrained to a certain time period. Instead opt for evergreen content (eg. How To Guides), or if it’s event-specific or seasonal, consider carefully scheduling it beforehand.
Content Repurposing Ideas
Post snippets of existing video content
It’s well known that video content is taking precedence on social media, so why not kill two birds with one stone and repurpose video in your marketing strategy.
A really easy way to do this is by taking a video and cutting it down into smaller, bite-sized clips which are perfect to share on social media.
For instance, did you host a successful webinar that could be converted into a Youtube video or even repost the highlight reel on Facebook & LinkedIn?
Or maybe you have a video clip that performed well? Why not turn it into a fun GIF?!
Modify an image
Social media is becoming more and more visual. Instagram and Pinterest are your obvious photo-sharing platforms, but LinkedIn and Facebook algorithms love visual content. Have a look at your old banners, blog posts, ads and see what could be repurposed (especially on different platforms!).
For instance, try taking a simple old image and overlaying it with graphics & text to breathe a fresh new lease of life into it.
Alternatively, people love to reshare quotes – it’s no longer just about ‘live, love, laugh’. Try layering them on top of your old photos or maybe as a caption to begin a discussion into something in your industry. The key here: don’t make it cheesy!! Think about what your audience would actually be inspired by.
Build on a piece of content
If you’ve not already got a blog on your website, it’s time to start! The more landing pages for Google to find, the more likely you will appear on a search engine. Have a look at your previous social media content and see if you can expand it into a blog with some extra personality, context and research. Or vice versa! If you’ve written a blog about the 5 best Instagram tips for growing your following, why not turn this into an Instagram reel?
Don’t be afraid to add to an older blog with new, relevant information and opinions. It will provide extra value to your audience, whilst also doing your SEO a favour!
Turn a blog post into a social post
Condense an informative blog into a carousel-style social media post to make it both visually appealing and easy for mobile users to consume.
Even better, take the heavy-hitting key statistics from the blog and use them to create an infographic that will help to convey complex concepts in a more digestible format. Using images also helps information to be absorbed up to 60,000 times faster than text!
Visual content also generates higher engagement than text alone, so don’t miss out on all those likes and shares by neglecting your images!
For some inspiration, have a look at this blog post which we transformed into an Instagram carousel:
Create an e-book!
What is a consistent niche that keeps appearing throughout your blog? Maybe you have loads of articles about optimising your LinkedIn – think about how you can turn this into one effective e-book.
Remember, in order to keep your audience engaged, it’s key to put a fresh twist on the content with new visuals and choice of words.
Keep an eye on this space for some exciting e-books in the new year!
Takeaway
So next time you’re planning out your content, don’t be afraid to re-visit older work and repurpose it. You’ll likely be able to expand its lifetime, reach more people, reinforce your brand’s message & improve SEO at the same time!
For more digital marketing help, please get in touch for a chat!
