Do you ever feel like a broken record? Like every time you review your content plan, there’s something there you could have sworn you just said?
Repurposing content can have that effect. I know because I’ve talked about repurposing content so many times, I’m surprised I keep coming up with a fresh angle.
But I’ve got a potentially controversial opinion about repurposing content. Are you ready for it?
It has to be a more in-depth strategy than just copying and pasting from one platform to another.
I mean, obviously don’t sit down and write a completely different concept for each platform - that would take forever. But if you’ve ever felt like you’re just repeating yourself over and over, then there’s a chance your audience feels like that too.
So how do you repurpose content without feeling like a broken record?
- Write the longest form version of the content first
Your longest form version will be different for everyone, but it’s literally just the one that needs the most words. Decide exactly which platforms this content will be for (if not all of them), and then start with the longest. For some this will be blog posts, others it will be podcasts or YouTube and for others still, it might simply be Instagram.
- Choose the most important info for the shorter platforms
So if blog posts are your longest form, you might want to rework it for your newsletter and a few Instagram captions. Open a new document and write out in dot points the most important information from the blog. So for me, for this one, the most important points would be the numbered steps. You can also take over full sentences, that will remain unaltered. Again, for me, for this post, it would probably be the sentences under the numbered steps and my controversial opinion.
Read More: Seven Good Reasons to Repurpose Content >
- Pick what’s going where and give it some fresh words
For your short-form content, you have two options; take these dot points, reword them a bit and then put them all in one new post for your short-form platform. Or make it really work hard for you, and pad out each of those dot points to be one piece of content each for the short-form platform.
For example, I could write an Instagram caption about my controversial opinion. Then another about how helpful it can be to write the longest form of the content first, and worry about shorter forms later. Then I can have another Instagram caption about how to choose information from long-form content to repurpose for short form. And of course, another one about making that content really work for you.
If I’m feeling really adventurous, some or all of those short-form captions can be added back to the content calendar for future long-form posts as well. Which is exactly how this post came about in the first place!
And just like that, I’ve saved myself time, padded out my content calendar while adding that educational value amongst my other types of value, and I’m not repeating myself! Every piece of content feels fresh to you and to your audience. You’re both interested and excited about what’s coming next and none of it feels like a broken record.
Until next time, be kind to yourself and create something remarkable!
Laura x
