(and how to do it!)
We all work hard on the content we create as part of our digital marketing plan, whether that be on a blog, as part of an email marketing campaign or on social media. That’s why it can be disappointing when it doesn’t have the shelf life you expect it to have. But there’s no reason to now abandon that content never to be heard from again. Instead there are plenty of ways you can repurpose your content for other platforms, or to be said again after some time has passed.
I see a lot of people who seem afraid of repeating themselves, asking how they’re supposed to come up with fresh content all the time for all the different platforms. The short answer is, you don’t. You repurpose, recycle, repost and reframe your content, acting like you’re speaking to someone new every time.
Why? Well:
- Not everyone on the internet consumes their media in the same way. The people who read a 2000 word blog post are (probably) not the same people who will listen to a 20 minute podcast; and vice versa. While you don’t have to cater to every medium and every audience, it can be constructive to broaden beyond just the one.
- Because of time differences, busy schedules and algorithms not every follower will see your content every time or at the right time.
- Content on social media has a very limited shelf life. Hardly anyone is going to remember your caption from 2 months ago, let alone a year. If they do, well it just serves as a reminder for good advice.
- You’ve put a lot of effort into creating your content, and you should give it the best chance at helping someone (with the added bonus of getting your name out there).
- Followers come and go. What you said 2 months ago will hit a different crowd now than it did back then.
- The time in which someone needs (or absorbs) a specific set of info will fluctuate. As your followers learn new things or face new challenges, they may become ready to understand something you’ve said previously.
- Some content is seasonal. Depending on the kind of work you do, your content will be relevant at different times of the year. That might be tax time, Christmas time, at the end of financial year, etc. Feel free to revisit that same content whenever it makes sense.
Alright so I’ve convinced you that repurposing your content is the right thing to do, but how do you do it?
- The easiest way is to simply paraphrase yourself. Scroll back through your captions on Instagram or Facebook and write down the highlights of what you said. Then rewrite the highlights in new sentences - yep, just like you did when writing essays in school! Since we’re all always learning, chances are you’ll think of something to add or change during this process as well.
- Deconstruct your blog posts into their main points. If you usually write list style articles, this will be a fairly easily process. You can reference these main points multiple times across platforms over the coming months while referring followers back to the full article for more information. Do Instagram captions one week and Twitter a couple of weeks later. Cycle back and do Instagram Stories and a caption on Facebook - and so it goes!
- Briefly run through these points during a “talk to camera” on Instagram and Facebook Stories. Do keep it brief though, as people generally dip in and out of Stories as a distraction and are unlikely to sit through 10 minutes worth of talking. Also make sure you caption it so people in public or that are hard of hearing can keep up with what you’re saying!
- Redevelop into a longer form “talk to camera” scripts for Instagram TV (up to 10 minutes for accounts under 10k) and / or YouTube.
- Record that same script as a podcast.
- Put it in an email for your subscribers to read straight in their inbox.
- Go Live! Instagram and Facebook both allow you to go live with your chat, and it means you can answer questions from followers in real time.
- “Thread” the bitesized points on Twitter with a link to the full article at the end.
- Short form lists perform well as Instagram / Facebook captions as well!
- Turn it into a checklist or worksheet. If you’ve provided instructions for something, break that up into steps and provide an example. Then leave space for users to fill in their answers! Attach it as a freebie at the end of the blog post, or (even better) use it as an incentive for newsletter sign ups.
Do you repurpose? What are your top tips? Let me know below!
Cheers,
Laura x
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