Too many marketers think repurposing content is simply a way to make up for poor planning or last-minute requests. Need a blog post by tomorrow but no one to write it? Just slap a new lede on one from last month. Can’t track down approvals on the guide that’s being promoted in next week’s pay-per-click campaign? Use last year’s.
Sure, repurposing can save your social cadence, newsletter or digital campaign in a pinch, but strategic repurposing — the kind that requires forethought and planning — can save you much, much more.
Content repurposing defined
Repurposing means different things to different people, but from my perspective, the examples above are less repurposing and more updating and reposting. True repurposing is a strategic approach to content that maximizes your team’s time and budget.
In fact, plans for repurposing should be part of your initial content plan. With every idea that makes it onto your content calendar, think about how you might be able to repurpose the piece to get the most out of your investment. There are a few questions you can ask yourself during the planning phase that will help you make the most of your resources.
How can I break large pieces of content into smaller pieces?
If you’re going to spend a chunk of money on a meaty piece of content, such as an e-book, white paper or podcast, you’ll want to get your money’s worth. These types of projects can easily be broken down and used in a variety of ways. For example, podcasts contain an abundance of content. Can that content become a blog post or two? How many social media posts can you pull from that? If you have an e-book, can you break it down into an Instagram series or newsletter articles?
These huge pieces of content can easily occupy several spaces on your content calendar. But shorter pieces of content can be sliced and diced, too. As a matter of fact, I’d argue anything longer than a social post could be broken up and repurposed.
What small pieces can I combine into a larger piece?
Cutting content down to size is a pretty common repurposing strategy, but what about doing the opposite? Commissioning a hefty piece of content you can use in the mid- to late-stage buying cycles is costly and time-consuming. But you might have all the elements you need lying around.
For instance, let’s say you have a kick-ass blog or a series of stellar customer success stories. Why not assemble them into a larger piece that prospects could use as a resource? Could your blog posts be packaged together to create a patient guide? What about your newsletters? Perhaps they could be pulled together into an e-book throughout the year.
How can I reuse interviews and research?
If you are doing original research, you’re sitting on a gold mine (and I’m jealous!). Make the most of the money spent by using the data in as many ways as possible: a book (or two or three), infographics, press releases and media opportunities, podcasts and videos. You name it.
If you are conducting interviews with internal subject matter experts, why not bring video equipment or a microphone with you? If the source agrees, you could turn one interview into not only a fact-finding mission for the article you’re penning, but also a segment for your podcast or video clips to embed on webpages on related topics. Not to mention Facebook Live.
Plan to repurpose
However you choose to go about repurposing your content, the important thing is to be strategic and plan ahead. Yes, you can repurpose content in a pinch, but it’s much more effective and a better use of your resources to lay out exactly how you intend to use content in various ways from the get-go.
We want to know what your repurposing secrets are and how they’ve saved you time and money. Share below!