Content repurposing: The ultimate guide to getting the most out of your marketing

Three words we keep shouting: Repurpose 👏 Your 👏 Content. 

This “one and done” attitude is not the attitude of a modern-day marketer, especially when it comes to high-quality content you've worked hard over. Nuh-uh.

More formats. More channels. More demand. And that's why we created this guide to repurposing content - so you don't miss out on those extra opportunities. 

What is content repurposing?

Content repurposing is the tactic of taking existing content, and turning it into new types of content.

This tactic is all about squeezing the lemon with your marketing efforts, making sure high-quality content gets the most out of it. You might (/should) include this in your marketing strategy to:

• Experiment with different formats of content

• Reach new audiences or markets

• Fill marketing calendars with minimal extra work

• Align your brand messaging

• Continue to give new life to your killer content

The benefits of repurposing content

There’s a reason why content repurposing is part of most content marketing strategies; it’s worthwhile. Here’s why you should be doing it:

1. Maximizes your content value

   
   There are no limits of the number of times you can recycle an asset, or the number of formats it lives as. If you have a great piece of content that you know performs well (or could perform better elsewhere), content repurposing allows you to squeeze every drop of juice from it.

2. Improves the reach of your content

   
   Repurposing content can help you to reach new audiences and expand your online presence with new or different marketing channels. Maybe your target market has grown since you first published the original piece, in which case repurposing offers an easy way of connecting to new people.

3. Boosts your SEO rankings

   
   Another thing that content repurposing is good for is improving your visibility on search. Publishing multiple pieces of content around a single keyword will boost your position in search engines. Plus, by linking ithe repurposed asset back to your website, you'll also help to improve your content ranking for different keywords. Optimization, don't we just love it?

4. Gains new followers 

   
   By promoting your content on different channels and platforms, you'll see that additional reach turn into a greater following too, particularly on social media, email newsletters, and video platforms like YouTube. 

5. Keeps things on-brand

   
   If your original asset is on-brand (and on-point), then repurposing the content is going to let you create, publish and promote content that strengthens the brand message across every format and channel. This will do wonders to your brand identity, and not require too much of your team's time.

6. Personalizes the content

   
   Personalization is what marketing is all about these days, and that means publishing relevant content across relevant channels. Content repurposing allows you to republish existing content and engage different audience segments in the formats they prefer.

7. Maintains publishing frequency

   
   One of the key pillars for a successful content marketing strategy is regular posting of fresh content. Repurposing old content and transforming it into new, sexy content allows you to keep pushing out high-quality materials on different channels without having to stress over creating new content around the clock.

How to repurpose your content

First, let’s take a look at all the different content formats out there that you can bring into your digital marketing strategy:

• Blog articles (long-form and short-form)

• Guest posts on other sites

• Social media posts

• Infographics

• Case studies

• Podcast episodes

• Webinars

• Video content (eg. YouTube videos and of course, TikTok)

• Downloadable templates (man, do people love those)

Each type of content mentioned, can be transformed into another type of content mentioned. Or even better: multiple pieces of content. 

And that’s just digital marketing. Don’t forget to think about other marketing formats too, like white papers, out-of-home marketing campaigns, one-pagers for events, and so on.

Let’s take a look at this example of content how blog content can be repurposed into new content pieces:

How to build a content repurposing strategy

Remember: it’s not simply a matter of copying a stat from a blog and pasting it into a social media post. You need to formulate a strategy to make sure your content repurposing isn’t simply a matter of content repeating with a fancier name. 

1. Fit the format 

   
   First of all, not every piece of content will lend itself to use across every kind of channel and format. An asset that works like a dream on Facebook might not be so suitable for LinkedIn, so make sure you build the unique characteristics and audiences of each platform into your repurposing strategy.  

2. Keep content up to date 

   
   It’s essential to make sure any original statistics, references, or time-sensitive information stays up to date. Otherwise, your newly repurposed content is going to be irrelevant, inaccurate, even misleading. None of which are particularly great for your reputation.  

3. Add something new  

   
   As we’ve mentioned, repurposing content does not mean repeating it. Is there any way to freshen up your asset beyond changing the format? Is there a slightly different perspective, a new quote, a useful stat, a recent update that can add a little extra value without costing a whole lot of effort?  

4. Optimize your SEO 

   
   Following on from the above, one easy way to freshen things up behind the scenes is to optimize every repurposed piece for search engines. Add keywords, update meta descriptions, and avoid duplicating content, which can damage your rankings. 

5. Track performance 

   
   As we’ve mentioned, your current highest performing assets are going to provide a pipeline for your repurposing strategy. Yet even if they’re effective in one format, they aren’t necessarily going to work equally well in another. It’s also important to monitor what works and what doesn’t when it comes to repurposed content too.  

How to choose which content to repurpose

Don’t repurpose content just for the sake of it. Instead, you should target pieces of content that make sense to rework and republish in a new format.

Here are some questions to ask yourself to help decide the best content to repurpose next:

1. What’s your top-performing content?

   
   Take a look at your Google Analytics account, check out what's getting the most engagement and shares on social media, hear from your account managers or customer success managers what their clients are shouting about.
   
   This will give you a good idea of the kind of high-quality content that is worth repurposing. 

2. Where are you seeing gaps in the SERPs, in terms of content formats?

   
   When it comes to writing a blog, you do keyword research, right? This keyword research might show up where there are some gaps in the content, in terms of content format.
   
   For example, you might see there's an opportunity for a YouTube video on the topic; not only could this benefit your YouTube channel, but also provide some good snippets for social. Or how about the other way round? You've got a great webinar or video tutorial that gets a lot of engagement, why not take the transcription, do a bit of editing, and turn it into a written tutorial or key takeaways post?

3. What type of content does best for engagement on each social media platform?

   
   With a bit of experimenting and research between each of your teams, you'll find out what type of content works best on each platform. Your social media team will be especially clued up on this - user engagement is kinda their jam. 
   
   Think about the target audience or audience segments on each social media channel when ideating on content. 

4. Is there any old content that needs to be updated?

   
   Things change, rebrands happen, new products or acquisitions come to light. However, you still want to make sure you're maintaining brand consistency. 
   
   Your blog, for example, is almost definitely home to many old or outdated posts. Content optimization is always beneficial - in fact, content repurposing can give these oldies a new lease of life, and might even inspire new content too. 
   
   While evergreen content is obviously intended to remain evergreen, you should keep an eye on these too - especially your big-hitters in terms of traffic and engagement. 

5. Which content pieces are used (or do well) across the company?

   
   As content is king (and don't we know it), the whole company will be using marketing content in some way or another. Think about outbound emails, one-pagers, client or prospect feedback, or your colleague's well-performing LinkedIn post... holla at you, employee advocacy.
   
   Use metrics behind these to inspire your content repurposing strategy further. 

4 useful tools for content repurposing

Content repurposing 🤝 Omnichannel marketing.

Omnichannel marketing is more than just multi-channel marketing, it's about the integration of your strategy, technology and operations. The integration of these three things is what will streamline your content repurposing strategy and make marketers' lives much easier. 

With that, here are four useful tools for content repurposing, that can extend the life of your assets and keep the content fire burnin':

• Content management system (CMS): Provide cross-functional content management with a central repository for content.
• Digital asset management (DAM): Store all assets in a centralized system to make them easy-to-find and easy-to-repurpose for all the team.
• Content marketing platform (CMP): Align team members and other departments with simple, clear workflows for campaigns and tasks. 
• Artificial Intelligence (AI): *That* old thing - more on that in the next section... 👀

Using AI to repurpose content

How many times have you heard "Just stick it in ChatGPT and see what it does with it" when it comes to repurposing or rewriting content? 

Wait, we already know the answer: a lot. 

Yes, AI can repurpose content. Yes, it can take an existing long-form piece of content (like a blog) and snip it up into a range of short-form content pieces like social media posts, LinkedIn carousels, infographics, landing page copy, video scripts - the whole shebang. 

BUT make sure you're properly checking through the content that AI produces and making your own edits, particularly when it comes to your brand's messaging and tone of voice.

One of the biggest brand messaging mistakes you can make to rely entirely on AI; you know your brand better than any robot ever will, after all. Bring the personality, bring the vibes, and - please - ditch the whole "in today's competitive landscape..." AI spiel. 

Squeeze the marketing lemon with content repurposing 🍋

We’re all about getting the most out of what we’ve got, and that includes existing content. Content repurposing is a win-win for all marketing departments because it means less work, more alignment, and zero time wasted.

Team collaboration and alignment is essential to the process so everyone knows what marketing goals you’re working towards, what projects and campaigns are being worked on, and what message they’re putting out.

Probably a good time to mention our ultimate guide to building a better, more integrated marketing team below. In this guide, we talk through the benefits, the tactics, and the ideal workflows of a truly aligned marketing team that will see results like you’ve never seen before. Check it out:

FAQs

What is content repurposing?

Content repurposing is the practice of transforming existing content into new formats or types. It involves adapting your original content to reach new audiences, maximize its value, and extend its lifespan across various platforms and channels.

Why is content repurposing important?

Content repurposing maximizes the value of your content, improves reach to different audiences, boosts SEO, gains new followers, and maintains brand consistency. It's an efficient way to create more content with less effort while ensuring your best ideas get maximum exposure.

What are some common ways to repurpose content?

Common methods include turning blog posts into infographics or videos, converting webinars into blog articles, transforming podcast episodes into written content, and creating social media posts from longer content pieces. The key is adapting your content to suit different formats while maintaining its core message.

How do I choose which content to repurpose?

Select content based on its performance, relevance, and potential for different formats. Look at your top-performing content, identify gaps in search results, consider platform-specific engagement trends, and leverage pieces that perform well across your company. Use analytics to guide your decisions.

Can content repurposing help with SEO?

Yes, content repurposing can boost SEO efforts. By creating multiple pieces around the same topic, you increase chances of ranking for relevant keywords. It also helps target different search intents and formats, potentially improving your overall visibility in search results.

How do I measure the success of my repurposed content?

Track relevant metrics for each format and platform, such as engagement rates, traffic, time on page, conversions, or shares. Compare the performance of repurposed content to your original content and overall averages. Also, consider the efficiency gains in your content production process as a measure of success.