Repurpose Content: More Reach, Less Work

Are you struggling to create a consistent stream of fresh content for your marketing efforts? The secret isn’t always about churning out new ideas, but about maximizing what you already have. Content repurposing can transform a single piece of content into a multitude of engaging formats, saving you time and boosting your reach. Ready to learn how to make your content work smarter, not harder?

1. Audit Your Existing Content

Before you start repurposing, you need to know what you’re working with. This means taking a hard look at your existing content library. What’s performing well? What’s gathering dust? Which topics resonate most with your audience?

I always start with Google Analytics 4 (GA4). Head to the “Reports” section, then “Engagement,” and finally “Pages and screens.” Set the date range to the last year to get a good overview. Sort by “Views” or “Users” to identify your most popular pages. Pay close attention to pages that also have a high conversion rate (e.g., form submissions, product purchases).

Also, analyze your social media metrics. Which posts got the most likes, shares, and comments? What type of content performed best (video, images, text)? What questions did people ask in the comments? These are all clues to what your audience wants more of.

Pro Tip: Don’t just focus on the most popular content. Look for “hidden gems” – pieces that didn’t get a ton of traffic initially but have a high engagement rate or conversion rate. These might be topics that are highly relevant to a specific segment of your audience.

2. Choose Your Repurposing Angle

Once you’ve identified your top-performing content, it’s time to brainstorm how to repurpose it. The key is to think about different formats and platforms. A blog post can become a video, an infographic, a podcast episode, a series of social media posts, or even a presentation.

For example, let’s say you have a blog post titled “5 Ways to Improve Your Email Open Rates.” You could:

• Create a short video summarizing the 5 tips.
• Design an infographic visually illustrating the tips.
• Record a podcast episode discussing each tip in more detail.
• Turn each tip into a separate social media post with a compelling image.
• Write a LinkedIn article expanding on one of the tips.

Consider your audience’s preferences. Do they prefer to read, watch, or listen? Where do they spend most of their time online? Tailor your repurposed content to their needs and habits.

Common Mistake: Simply copying and pasting content from one format to another. Each format requires a different approach. A video script should be more concise and conversational than a blog post. An infographic should be visually appealing and easy to understand at a glance.

3. Create Your Repurposed Content

Now for the fun part: creating your repurposed content! Here’s a breakdown of tools and techniques for different formats:

• Video: Use Adobe Express or Canva to create short, engaging videos. Keep them under 2 minutes for social media and under 5 minutes for YouTube. Add captions for viewers who watch with the sound off.
• Infographics: Again, Canva is your friend here. They have tons of templates to choose from. Use clear visuals, concise text, and a consistent color scheme.
• Podcast Episodes: Record your audio using Audacity (free) or Adobe Audition (paid). Edit your audio to remove any mistakes or background noise. Distribute your podcast through platforms like Spotify for Podcasters or Buzzsprout.
• Social Media Posts: Use a social media management tool like Buffer or Hootsuite to schedule your posts in advance. Tailor your message to each platform. Use relevant hashtags to increase visibility.
• LinkedIn Articles: Expand on a specific point from your original content. Share personal experiences and insights. Use a professional tone.

I had a client last year who was struggling to get traction with their blog. We took their top-performing blog post on “Cybersecurity Best Practices for Small Businesses” and repurposed it into a series of short videos, an infographic, and a LinkedIn article. Within a month, they saw a 30% increase in website traffic and a 15% increase in leads.

Pro Tip: Don’t be afraid to experiment with different formats and styles. See what resonates with your audience and adjust your strategy accordingly.

If you’re a founder, you might also want to check out our guide on how founders can be a marketing superpower.

4. Optimize for Each Platform

Creating great content is only half the battle. You also need to optimize it for each platform. This means paying attention to things like:

• Headlines: Write compelling headlines that grab attention and entice people to click. Use keywords that your audience is searching for.
• Descriptions: Write clear and concise descriptions that accurately describe your content. Include relevant keywords.
• Tags: Use relevant tags to help people find your content.
• Images: Use high-quality images that are visually appealing and relevant to your content. Optimize your images for web by compressing them to reduce file size.
• Video Thumbnails: Create custom thumbnails that accurately represent your video and entice people to click.

For example, when uploading a video to YouTube, use the Keyword Tool to find relevant keywords for your title, description, and tags. Use a tool like TinyPNG to compress your images before uploading them to your website or social media channels.

5. Promote Your Repurposed Content

You’ve created amazing repurposed content, but it won’t do you any good if nobody sees it. Promote your content across all your channels:

• Email Marketing: Send an email to your subscribers announcing your new content.
• Social Media: Share your content on all your social media channels. Use different messaging for each platform.
• Paid Advertising: Consider running paid ads to reach a wider audience.
• Influencer Marketing: Partner with influencers to promote your content to their followers.
• Cross-Promotion: Link to your repurposed content from your other content (e.g., link to your video from your blog post).

We ran into this exact issue at my previous firm. We were creating tons of great content, but nobody was seeing it. We started focusing on promotion and saw a dramatic increase in traffic and engagement.

Pro Tip: Don’t just promote your content once. Schedule regular posts to keep it top-of-mind with your audience. Use a tool like Buffer or Hootsuite to automate this process.

And if you are thinking about marketing automation to win, now is the time to start!

6. Track Your Results

Finally, it’s important to track the results of your content repurposing efforts. This will help you understand what’s working and what’s not.

Use UTM parameters to track the performance of your repurposed content across different platforms. Add UTM parameters to the URLs you share on social media, in emails, and in paid ads. This will allow you to see which platforms are driving the most traffic and conversions.

In GA4, go to “Reports,” then “Acquisition,” and finally “Traffic acquisition.” Filter by “Campaign” to see the performance of your different UTM campaigns. Pay attention to metrics like “Sessions,” “Users,” “Engagement rate,” and “Conversions.”

Also, track your social media engagement metrics (likes, shares, comments) and your email open rates and click-through rates.

Common Mistake: Failing to track your results. This makes it impossible to know whether your content repurposing efforts are paying off.

Remember that marketing isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution, so constantly evaluate your results and tweak your strategy based on what you learn. According to a recent IAB report, data-driven marketing is 20% more effective than intuition-based marketing.

Also, don’t forget that segmentation is key. Read more about how segmentation can boost conversions and ROI.

Content repurposing isn’t just about saving time; it’s about maximizing the impact of your best ideas. By following these steps, you can transform your existing content into a powerhouse of engagement and lead generation. So, stop letting your valuable content gather dust and start repurposing it today to reach a wider audience and achieve your marketing goals.