In amongst all the noise about algorithms, AI and SEO, the one constant we can always rely on is the need to create decent content that speaks to our audiences.
No matter what trends come and go, content remains the foundation to your business’s digital marketing strategy, and I can’t see that changing any time soon.
Wherever people search for you online, they should be able to find the information that answers their questions and confirms your credibility.
The impact of the algorithm and SEO machines are irrelevant if you’re not putting anything in.
With so many different types of content and channels to consider, keeping on top of this can feel overwhelming and even insurmountable.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. You can get smarter with your content.
Here’s my take on how SMEs can repurpose their content to save time and reduce workload while maximising its impact.
What do we mean by ‘content’
At one time, ‘content’ in the online arena pretty much started and finished with a blog on your website.
Now it’s an endless list of stuff, all designed to draw people to your business, in the various formats they prefer, on the channels they like to use, and in the style that channel prefers.
We’re talking whitepapers, case studies, newsletters, long videos, short videos, PDFs, slide shows, ebooks, social media posts, reels, carousels, infographics, FAQs, testimonials, podcasts, sales pages…. the struggle is real!
Examples of how to repurpose content
Repurposing content helps you keep up.
And that doesn’t mean pushing out the same piece over and over again.
It’s taking an existing idea or concept you’ve already invested in and squeezing every last drop of value out of it – to hit more channels, and more people. It’s turning one piece into two, or even 10.
And there are many ways you can do this. For example:
Say you create a whitepaper as a downloadable lead generator for your website.
Using the information contained within that original piece, you might:
- Write a blog of the main points and post it on your website
- Write a series, or cluster, of linked blogs
- Look for partner or collaborator websites that might publish the series
- Distil the main points into a series of short social media posts
- Create a carousel of the headline information for your social channels
- Turn it into a thought leadership piece for LinkedIn
- Send the thought leadership to target media in your industry
- Create a slide deck presentation of the key findings to send to prospects
- Create an infographic of the main points and share to your channels
- Summarise the main points and send it out as a newsletter
- Film a video or animation covering the white paper themes, ie someone in your business discussing the themes, or being interviewed about it
- Edit long videos into several short snippets for TikTok or YouTube Shorts
- Look for opportunities to record or feature on podcasts about it
Getting strategic with content creation
Don’t worry though, you don’t need to hit all types of content or all channels.
You can get strategic by checking your website analytics, Google Analytics, social media statistics etc to understand the content and channels that attract the best engagement.
If you combine this with the specific business objective you want to achieve, you’ll have a good starting point.
Then when you create a new piece content, think about how you can repurpose it for the relevant channels and formats you’ve identified.
Repurposing existing content
You don’t even have to create new content though. If you’re stuck for ideas or short on time, repurposing, or upcycling, existing content is often a quick win. You could well be sat on a goldmine of assets, just waiting to be given a new lease of life.
Here are some more ideas for quickly repurposing existing content, in addition to the above:
- Turn your best performing social media post into a blog (and vice versa)
- Update older blogs with new information
- Turn a ‘services’ landing page into a series of FAQs
- Turn a case study into a testimonial for your social media channels (and vice versa)
- Take a written instruction manual and turn it into a ‘how-to’ video (and vice versa)
- Create a series of video snippets from a longer video
- Transcribe a webinar and create a newsletter of the key themes
- Gather any connected blog posts and create an ebook or elearning course
Need help?
It can still seem like a lot of work, but there are ways of speeding the process up even further. Whether it’s using AI, a CRM, or outsourcing to an agency, you can get your content to work as an efficient lead-generating machine and, ultimately, get more value for less work.
If you need help maximising the return on your content investment, drop me a message, and let’s chat.