Repurposing Content

Stop Reposting without Repurposing! How to Content Repurpose Like a Pro

In Blog by A. Lee Judge

Content repurposing means updating your existing content, changing its format, or using a different media to retell a story or discuss a topic. Reposting is simply using other people’s creative work as it is. Both can gain content engagement, but there are several things to understand regarding when and how to do each.

It’s okay to post trending topics, or insightful evergreen content, or a throwback to an old piece you remembered. But wouldn’t it be better to give it a personal touch and make it yours?

Whether it’s yours or somebody else’s, customizing content for your channels is a better way of engaging your audience. Customization can boost both your Content Marketing and your Content Production. The keyword here is “your.”  

There’s a difference between Content Marketing vs. Content Production, and at the end of the day, one doesn’t do well without the other. And repurposing content is a great way to get the best of both worlds and still make it yours.

So, if you want to learn how to take your content to the next level and repurpose content like a pro, here’s what you need to know. Plus some tips that can help you do it.

Why Repurpose Content?

Convenience. Effectiveness. Trust. Like the eight pillars of digital marketing, these three factors make up the three pillars of successfully repurposed content.

When it comes to convenience, it’s pretty straightforward. It’s far easier to reuse an existing article, video, image, infographic than create new ones from scratch. It also takes far less time to do.

When it’s your content, it takes no time at all to update a blog post, for example. All you have to do is add some new insight and update it for the current times. And when it’s not, you have to give a shout out to the original and re-shape it to fit your brand identity. That’s it.

Choosing to repurpose the content is more effective. You get great results and spend fewer resources to achieve those results.

Selecting well-performing or trending content means it’s proven to engage your audience when you share it, at virtually no cost. More money remains in your marketing budget, and your team has more time to focus on other critical areas, like integrating SEO tactics.

Also, people tend to trust recommendations and authoritative sources, according to a study. So, taking the time to repost content, while including the author of the original, makes the content trustworthy.  This also reflects positively on your brand image and builds trust with your audience.

Keep in mind; nothing beats an original idea. But it’s also okay to reuse things that work. Especially when it means you achieve consistency in your content sharing efforts, and it’s specific to your brand and each channel.

Why customize repurposed content?

Why customize repurposed content

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Customization is an excellent way to increase the value of repurposed content. If you want to repost old content from your channels, it allows you to tweak your previous perspective on the topic and adapt it to a different channel.

On the other hand, if it’s repurposed content from an influencer, it helps you avoid plagiarism issues and makes the post your own. The topic might be the same, but you give it your brand’s unique twist.

Additionally, it is practical. You get to enjoy a few more advantages of customizing content, like:

  • Improved SEO. Content created that tackles the same or similar topics increase the number of targeted keywords you can include. On the other hand, if you use the material for a different website, you quickly generate backlinks to the original on your site.
  • New Reach. When you customize content to repost it on a different channel, you provide an opportunity for someone else from your audience to come into contact with it. It’s like having one story and retelling to new people every time you meet them.
  • Reinforced message. Repetition is a powerful tool in storytelling, and in marketing as well. It also cements your main message in the mind of the consumer and helps them associate specific topics with your brand. A good example would be Nike’s Just Do It campaign. You immediately associate that sentence with the brand. And it works exceptionally well if every retelling is new and fresh.
  • An adapted message to social channels. Each social media outlet you have has different ways of conveying your messages. YouTube for video. Instagram for images. Twitter for short forms. And Facebook and LinkedIn can be a mesh of all of the above. So when you customize one message for different channels, you reach audiences that find those channels most engaging.
  • Increased authority. When you create topic clusters around one core topic, you gain authority on the subject. People will view content on your channels as reliable, and you as an industry leader.

How to repurpose content?

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When trying to repurpose content, there are more than a few possibilities available to you. Some of them work for social channels, while others for your site. Here are some of the most popular ways to do it:

  • Tweet it: generate new and even daily tweets by clipping text from the content you want to repurpose;
  • Re-size it: Video formats can be very sensitive to the medium where you post it. Understand where Square, Vertical, and Horizontal video work best. We touch on this in this article about video trends.
  • #TBT (Throw Back Thursday): bring some nostalgia to your channels by taking a look back at some game-changing stories from the past;
  • Create a series: turn an old post into an in-depth serial discussion about the topic to engage new people;
  • Give commentary: give your opinion to a specific topic tackled by you or someone else for a fresh and personal perspective;
  • Make an infographic: minimize written text from an earlier post into crucial talking points and illustrate your position in an infographic;
  • Write an ebook: using content on one broad topic gives you enough material to merge it into a book.

Start Repurposing

Creating content can be a scary experience, but it doesn’t have to be. Especially since you don’t have to do it all from scratch every time you want to share something with the world.

Remember to customize it to make it your own, and you will already be on the road to creating stunning content that attracts, convinces, and most importantly – converts.

Want to learn more? Talk to a professional –  Content Monsta!