How to Repurpose Content Like a Pro
January 31, 2024
Online marketing, like social media, blogs, and newsletters, is all about the content. But most of the time you’re much too busy to keep churning out content for several different sites on the daily. So, what can you do to ensure you have enough content to go around without dedicating a billion hours each week to content creation?
Repurpose your content, of course! But what exactly does it mean to repurpose content, and how do you do it successfully? We’ll be answering those questions here, so keep reading to learn how to repurpose content like a pro!
What is Repurposing Content?
What exactly does it mean to “repurpose content” anyway? Repurposing content simply means that you’re taking old content and reusing elements of it (or sometimes all of it) while also updating anything that is no longer relevant. And when you repurpose content, you don’t reuse it in its original form; instead, you change it up into a new form (like turning a blog post into an Instagram Reel).
Repurposing content isn’t the same as cross-posting or reposting content (though it’s easy to get the three confused). Cross-posting content is when you share the exact same piece of content in the same form across your social media channels, websites, etc. Reposting content is when you publish the same piece of content a second (or third or fourth) time on the same site. So, perhaps you just found a picture you posted two years ago on Facebook, and you decide to share it once again to your Facebook page.
Why Should I Repurpose Content?
Now that you understand what repurposing content is, you might be asking yourself why you should do it. There are three main benefits to using content in this way.
The first benefit is that you save time. If you’re repurposing content, then you don’t have to sit down and think up ideas for new content, figure out how to present that content or create that content. Instead, you already have the ideas and the content itself; all you need to do is decide where you want to post it and in what form. And you can repurpose content at the same time as you originally create it. For example, if you just finished an e-book, you could also use content from that in blog posts, podcasts, or as quotes on social media.
The second benefit of content repurposing is it can give you an SEO boost. Having lots of content out there on the internet that all focus on the same or similar targeted keywords means the search engines will deem you an authority on whatever subject your content is about. That can mean more people find your stuff when they search for the topic you’re discussing.
Finally, repurposing content expands your online reach. If you simply post a blog, then people who visit your website will see it. But what about the people who read your newsletter or your followers on Threads? By repurposing that same blog post into content that fits other platforms, you’re getting your content in front of a more diverse (and larger) audience.
How do I Repurpose Content?
There’s really no end to the ways you can repurpose content, depending on how creative you are and where you’re repurposing content (in fact, here are 20 ways to repurpose content!). But if you’re looking for a few ways to get yourself started, here are some ideas:
- Take parts from a report or e-book and turn them into a blog post.
- Take a video from YouTube and break it into smaller pieces to place on Instagram, LinkedIn, or Facebook.
- If you have a lot of text-based content, turn some of it into graphics, such as infographics.
- Turn long-form written content into newsletters.
- What’s the key takeaway from a piece of old content? Use that takeaway to make a quick Instagram Reel or TikTok.
See? There’s no shortage of ways to repurpose content, and once you get the hang of what works best for you, you’ll be repurposing content like a pro!
Final Thoughts
Repurposing content can be an incredibly useful part of online marketing. It saves you time, gives you an SEO boost, and can help expand your online reach. Plus, you get to be creative in how you decide to repurpose your content. Pick one of the above ways to repurpose content to get started (and be sure to check out the Hubspot article with 20 ways to repurpose content!). Trust us; you’ll be glad you did.
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By Misty Layne