Many marketers have likely heard of “repurposing” or “recycling” content for social media, but what exactly does it mean to repurpose content, and how can it help with your social media content marketing goals?
Repurposing content means to use some or all elements of existing content in order to expand that content’s reach. An example of repurposing content is by turning existing content into a new format.
Creating content can be a long and arduous process, so marketers shouldn’t think that posting the content they’ve worked so hard on has to be a one-and-done process. Whether it’s a blog post, infographic, social media post, or video, there are a plethora of mediums on social platforms that can be utilized to effectively repurpose your content.
Our team of marketing experts recommends that content should be repurposed and shared across as many platforms as possible. Taking a multi-channel approach (i.e. being on multiple social media platforms) and repurposing content across these different platforms helps to increase your social reach, since each platform has varying demographics. Brands who repurpose content across these platforms will also have an easier time staying on a scheduled track, and maintaining consistency with their online presence. This will ultimately help the brand achieve their desired positioning.
Based on our own social media marketing experience, this article will highlight some of the different tactics and tricks that marketers can use to repurpose their content effectively!
Media to Use When Repurposing Content
Studies have shown that Video-Based Content tends to get the highest engagement on social platforms. This is likely because video content is both visually stimulating and more unpredictable with how it will end. Here are some examples of how marketers can repurpose video content:
- TikTok videos can be repurposed into Instagram Reels or Stories
- Take eye-catching stills of a high-quality video
- Create a simple stop-motion video from the stills of a video
- Create a video clip and convert it to a GIF
Text-Based Content can come in the form of blog posts, social media posts, ad copy, and more. Here are some examples of how you can repurpose text-based content across channels:
- Take screenshots of Twitter posts and post them on platforms like Instagram, effectively turning them into quote graphics
- Find the most relevant information from a blog post you’ve written and turn that text into a social media quote graphic
- Publish your blog posts on LinkedIn Articles
- Use blog content in your email campaigns
- If you’ve included relevant statistics/information in a social media or blog post(s), extrapolate on it further and turn it into a downloadable eBook or whitepaper, which can be featured on your website
Image-Based Content can include custom graphics, stock photos, and illustrations. If you have a graphic design team who can create original graphics for your brand, make sure to use these on all platforms: for blog posts, social media posts, on your website, and in email campaigns. Here are some ways to repurpose image content:
- Put together a few images and make it into a GIF, which you can then use in blog posts, Facebook posts, Pinterest, and emails
- Add a simple illustration on top of a previously used photo or a stock photo to add a fun, creative flair that’s unique to your brand
- Group together multiple photos that you already have in your arsenal and arrange it as a collage
- Display multiple photos as a carousel that people can scroll through on Instagram
- Infographics are an effective way to turn statistics from your recent blog post into a graphic. The visual nature of infographics makes it easy to read and capture the attention of viewers, the effect of which may not always be as easy to digest in a blog post. Here’s an example of an infographic:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B7Jf9NhA1YG/
When It’s Worth It to Repurpose Content
It may not always be feasible or worth the time to repurpose some types of content, especially content that reflects on timely news or events. Information like statistics, as well, should always be updated when possible, so those may not always be possible to repurpose.
Evergreen content refers to content that is always relevant, and is not time- or news-sensitive. This includes how-to tips or anything else that can apply to your field or to your audience at any point in time. This type of content is ideal for repurposing.
Take a look at your own posts that have received high engagement. Look for top-performing or viral posts on your social media accounts, and see what the results are in terms of comments, likes, and shares. From there, brands can delve into the elements of what made that post particularly engaging, and use that as a basis to repurpose new content. For example, did quote posts do well? Did a certain font or text perform better or worse than another? Is a simple graphic performing better, or a more text-heavy post working better?
Lastly, content that can be expanded upon is a great basis for repurposing content. This can be anything like a short post or thread on Twitter that could make for an effective blog post, or that can be turned into a Story, longer-form social post on a platform like LinkedIn or Facebook, or a video. The options are endless!
Come up with a schedule for posting your content, as well, as this will help to keep on a consistent basis on your social platforms and optimize on audience reach as much as possible. Brands can also make use of reposting older blog posts, articles, or social media posts by Retweeting, using Stories on Instagram, or resharing the post on Facebook or LinkedIn. This can help to fill space while simultaneously directing new traffic to older posts that may not be on your audience’s radar otherwise.
Understanding how to best repurpose your own content will not only be a huge time saver, but it can help to expand your social reach and maintain consistency in your brand presence.
If you’re interested in learning more about social media content marketing and how you can use social media marketing to grow your brand, book a 30-minute consultation with one of our experts today!
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