What Is Content Repurposing? An In-Depth Guide for 2024
Content repurposing is the secret weapon that can take your content strategy to the next level in 2024 and beyond. By re-using and adapting your existing content pieces for different formats and platforms, you can save time, reach new audiences, and get the most value out of your best-performing content.
In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll dive deep into what content repurposing means, explore the key benefits of this approach, and share practical examples and tactics you can start using right away. Whether you‘re a seasoned content marketer or just getting started, read on to learn how to make content repurposing a core part of your strategy.
What Is Content Repurposing?
At its core, content repurposing means taking an existing piece of content and presenting it in a new format to expand its reach and impact. For example, you might:
- Transform a blog post into an infographic
- Adapt a webinar into a video tutorial
- Extract key points from an article to create social media posts
- Compile a series of blog posts into an ebook
- Re-share visual content as a Pinterest board
- Summarize a blog post in an email newsletter
- Convert a listicle into a slide deck
- Turn a video series into a podcast
The possibilities are endless – the key is to think creatively about how you can repackage your content to suit different audiences, platforms, and learning styles. By doing so, you make your content work harder for you and ensure that it reaches its full potential.
Why You Should Repurpose Content
Content repurposing offers major benefits for content creators and marketers:
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Save time and resources
Creating new, original content takes significant time, energy and resources. Content repurposing allows you to maximize your content investments by getting extra mileage out of pieces you‘ve already created. Instead of starting from scratch, you can use repurposing as a shortcut to build out your content library and publishing calendar. -
Reach new audiences
Different people prefer to consume content in different ways. By repurposing a piece of content into multiple formats, you can appeal to a wider range of learning styles and platform preferences. For example, a blog reader may not have time to watch your webinar, but they‘ll happily skim through the slide deck. Repurposing helps you meet your audience where they are. -
Boost your SEO
When you publish content pieces on the same topic across multiple platforms and link them together, it sends positive signals to search engines about your authority on the subject. Additionally, content repurposing creates more opportunities to target relevant keywords and earn quality backlinks from different sources. -
Leverage your top content
Repurposing allows you to extend the lifespan and impact of your best-performing content pieces. By identifying your most popular posts and finding new ways to re-use and promote that content, you can tap into a proven concept that resonates with your audience. This, in turn, increases the chances that your repurposed content will also perform well. -
Maintain a consistent publishing schedule
To stay top-of-mind and engaged with your audience, it‘s important to publish new content on a regular basis. However, consistently coming up with new content ideas gets challenging, especially if you have limited time and resources. Content repurposing provides an efficient way to keep your content calendar full while easing some of the creative burden on you and your team.
How to Choose Content to Repurpose
To get the best results from content repurposing, be strategic about which pieces you choose to adapt. Here are some factors to consider:
- Proven performers
Dive into your content analytics to see which blog posts, videos, social media content, etc. have generated the most traffic, engagement, and conversions. These high-performing pieces have already struck a chord with your audience, so they‘re prime candidates for repurposing.
Tools like Google Analytics, SEMRush, BuzzSumo, and the native analytics in each social platform can help you zero in on your top content. Create a spreadsheet to track key metrics like page views, watch time, shares, comments, click-through rates, and conversions.
- Evergreen topics
Evergreen content stays relevant for the long-term, making it a smart choice for repurposing. These are the topics that your audience is always interested in, as opposed to news items or seasonal posts that have a shorter shelf life.
To identify your evergreen content, look for pieces that continue to generate steady traffic and engagement over time. Keyword research can also help you gauge the ongoing popularity of a topic or search term.
- Audience feedback
Pay attention to the posts that have sparked the most comments, questions, and discussions among your audience. This is valuable intel about what topics resonate with them and where they may want to learn more.
For example, if a particular "how to" blog post has generated a ton of comments, you might expand on it by creating an in-depth video tutorial on the same topic. Or if a lot of people are asking the same question on one of your social posts, you could address it in depth in a new podcast episode.
- Versatile formats
As you evaluate your content library, keep an eye out for pieces that would work well in a variety of formats. A data-rich blog post could be translated into an infographic, while a tips piece could be adapted into a series of social posts.
Some content types are especially versatile and well-suited for repurposing, such as:
- How to guides and tutorials
- Interviews with experts or thought leaders
- List posts or "roundup" pieces
- Research and case studies
- Webinars and presentations
8 Examples of Content Repurposing
Need some inspiration for your own content repurposing efforts? Here are 8 examples to try:
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Blog post → Infographic
Take a stats-heavy or process-oriented blog post and distill it into an eye-catching infographic. Infographics are highly shareable and can help you attract links and social media followers. Use tools like Venngage or Canva to create professional-looking infographics without needing design skills. -
Webinar → Video tutorial
Extend the reach of your webinars by repurposing the recording as an on-demand video tutorial. You can post the full webinar replay on your website or YouTube channel, or break it up into short, focused video lessons. Promote the video to your email list and social media followers who may have missed the live webinar. -
Blog post → Social media posts
Slice and dice a meaty blog post into social-media friendly pieces, such as infographic snippets, quote images, or short video clips. Post these items across your social channels over the course of a few weeks, with links back to the original blog post. This keeps your social feeds active while driving traffic to your website. -
Blog post series → Ebook
Compile a series of related blog posts into a cohesive ebook or ultimate guide. A downloadable resource like this works great as a lead magnet to grow your email list. Give the ebook a catchy title and make sure to include a table of contents and call-to-action for your product or service. -
Visual content → Pinterest board
Repackage your photos, charts, infographics, and other visuals into a curated Pinterest board. This gives your visual content another chance to be discovered and shared. Add keyword-rich descriptions to each pin to help them show up in Pinterest search. -
Blog post → Email newsletter
Summarize your latest blog posts in your email newsletter to drive traffic and engagement. You can include a brief blurb about the post topic, key takeaway, or interesting stat, along with a prominent link to "read more" on your website. Bonus: feature your top-performing post of the month or do a roundup of your best recent content. -
Listicle → Slide deck
Listicle posts are perfect for transforming into slide decks, which you can then post on SlideShare or embed in relevant blog posts. Aim for a brief, skimmable slide deck that makes good use of images and storytelling. Repurposed slide decks can help you get more mileage out of your content on visual platforms. -
Video Series → Podcast
If you have a popular video series, consider repurposing the audio as a podcast. This allows people to consume your content on-the-go or when they don‘t have the ability to watch a screen. Strip the audio from your video files, add an intro/outro, and upload the episodes to major podcast platforms to expand your audience.
4 Tips for Effective Content Repurposing
Ready to make content repurposing a key part of your strategy? Keep these tips in mind:
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Plan ahead for repurposing
Don‘t wait until after you‘ve created a piece of content to think about how to repurpose it. Instead, make repurposing an integral part of your content planning process from the start. As you brainstorm topics and formats, consider how each piece could potentially be sliced and diced to maximize your return on effort. -
Refresh and expand
Repurposing isn‘t just about reusing old content as-is. Take the opportunity to refresh and expand on your existing content so it‘s accurate and relevant for today‘s audience. Add new information, stats, examples, or insights based on the latest trends and best practices in your industry. -
Cross-link and co-promote
As you repurpose a piece of content, look for opportunities to link back to the original version as well as any other related content you‘ve produced. You can also co-promote repurposed pieces to boost their reach. For example, post about your new infographic on social media and link back to the blog post that inspired it. -
Experiment and analyze
Content repurposing is both an art and a science. While best practices can guide you, your audience may respond differently than you expect. That‘s why it‘s so important to experiment with different repurposing tactics and closely analyze the results. Over time, you‘ll get a sense for which types of repurposed content perform best so you can iterate and improve.
Conclusion
Content repurposing is a powerful way to save time, expand your reach, and squeeze more value out of your best content. By adopting a repurposing mindset and getting creative with new formats, you‘ll never run out of publishing ideas.
The key is to be strategic, data-informed, and relentlessly audience-centric. Invest in repurposing content that has already proven to resonate and then find fresh ways to repackage and promote that content on different channels.
I hope this in-depth guide has given you the knowledge and inspiration you need to make content repurposing a key pillar of your strategy in 2024 and beyond. Start brainstorming some ideas for your first few repurposed pieces and see how your audience responds. With smart repurposing, the same content can fuel your marketing efforts for months or even years to come.
