If you are running a small business, learning how to leverage your time is essential. One great way to do this is by using a content strategy known as “Content Repurposing“.
In this article, we explore the power of repurposing content.
What Is Content Repurposing?
Content repurposing is the process of taking existing content and improving or heavily changing it to provide more value to your target audience.
- You could have a wealth of blog content and want to make it work harder for you
- Or, perhaps you are struggling to come up with new topics to write content about
- Or, maybe you have a YouTube channel with a plethora of videos and want to distribute the information in an alternative format
Content repurposing is perfect for all of these situations and more…
Why should you Repurpose Content?
There are several reasons a small business owner should consider repurposing:
1) To reach a new target audience
By reworking or remixing your content into different content formats, you can reach new audiences who may not have seen it the first time around. This is an excellent ‘rinse and repeat’ content strategy, especially if your products and services are suitable for a range of demographics or markets.
2) To save time
The content creation process can be very time-consuming, so rather than starting from scratch every time, revamping an old blog post can help you get your content out faster.
3) To boost visitor numbers to your website or blog
Repurposing your content for different marketing channels, with strategic calls to action or links back to your website will naturally lead to an increase in your website or blog visitor numbers.
4) To improve organic visibility
High-quality content containing the right words and phrases from keyword research is essential for good search engine optimisation (SEO). Get this right and you will see an increase in organic traffic to your website or blog from search engines.
Types of Content You Can Repurpose
- Old blog posts or articles
- Product or service-related website information
- Video content
- Facebook and LinkedIn posts
- Twitter threads
- Infographics
- Slideshows or presentations
- Email marketing sequences
- Podcast episodes
- Guest posts
- Ebooks
- and the list goes on…
How to Repurpose Content for Your Blog
First, identify the original content you want to use:
– You could have a blog post that didn’t get the attention it deserved when first released (for example, you wrote it before understanding how to do keyword research).
– You have a podcast episode that’s doing well and you want to push it out to a wider audience.
– You might have an infographic you could expand into a more in-depth written article
Next, decide what format you want to repurpose it into:
This could be an improved blog post or article, a video that you will embed, or a transcript of the podcast, etc.
Then, adjust the content to fit the new format:
Remember, you are not just copying and pasting it, you need to improve it so it provides more value to your audience. Take the time to conduct keyword research so you use the right words to resonate with your reader whilst also helping you rank higher in search engines. You want the new format to be both fresh and relevant.
Add new images or other multimedia
For example, adding graphics, or embedding a YouTube video or a podcast episode audio file into an article, helps to break up the text and generally make your content more engaging.
Finally, publish and distribute
Once you are done, publish your repurposed content onto your blog and share it across your social media platforms.
By following this process, you can regularly create and publish high-quality content that helps set you apart from the competition.
Repurposing Content for Social Media
You can use a similar repurposing strategy to create new social media content. For example:
- Break down ‘Top Tips’ style blog articles into a series of posts
On social media, people don’t generally have the time or inclination to read long paragraphs. So any top tips, best of etc style blogs repurpose well into a themed series of daily, or weekly posts. - Use images or Videos
Visuals are generally more engaging than text, so use images or videos (ideally natively uploaded to each platform) whenever possible. For example, you can pull out quotes from your blog content and present them in a visual format referring back to the full blog post in accompanying text, as a call to action. - Repurpose content from platform to platform
If you have a post that’s doing well on one social media platform, repurpose it for other sites, taking the time to adapt it according to the platform audience. A few tweaks or a new spin will keep it fresh. - Keep your tone and voice consistent
Remember, you still need to make sure your social media posts accurately represent you or your brand, so you stand out from the competition.
In Summary
Repurposing or recycling content is a great way to save time, get the most out of your existing content, reach a wider audience, and improve your SEO.
What content does your business have that you could repurpose?
