It’s common to develop one article, then move straight to the next. While you may wind up with an extensive library of content, you’ll miss out on significant opportunities to get it in front of more people. Repurposing content is an innovative and effective way to get even more results from the effort you’ve already invested.
Today we’re going to take an in-depth look at what repurposing content is, why you should be doing it if you’re not already, some common mistakes, and how to avoid them.
Why is it wise to repurpose content?
There are three critical benefits to repurposing your content. First, it saves you time. Consider how long it takes you to brainstorm topics, complete research, and write your article. By repurposing content, you make use of the time and effort you’ve already invested to get more content out of it.
Second, repurposing your content into different formats (think blogs, videos, podcasts, Twitter threads, ebooks, and more) ensures more people see your content. Unfortunately, not everyone you’d like to reach will read blogs. By diversifying your content, you’re able to reach individuals you never would have before.
Finally, it’s valuable to repurpose content from a budget perspective. Instead of having entire teams dedicated to podcasting, video production, and blog writing, you can collaborate on a centralized content strategy.
What are common content repurposing mistakes?
Now that you understand the value of content repurposing, it’s essential to explore common mistakes to avoid when getting started. Remember, content repurposing is supposed to be a time & money saver while allowing you to reach a broader audience.
Not Experimenting With Other Formats
One of the most frequent mistakes people make when repurposing content is being afraid to try something new. An advantage of repurposing content is it allows you to experiment with different mediums while already having the core of the content developed. For example, if the original content was a podcast, try recreating it as an article or brief audio snippets to share on social media.
Different platforms encourage different types of content, and each platform has a unique audience._ Tip: Video content is expected to continue to be a significant success within the marketing realm. Discover how to incorporate video into your digital marketing efforts._
Overthinking
While the process of repurposing content may seem intimidating at first, it’s much easier than it sounds. One of the many roadblocks that are made during the beginning stages of repurposing content is trying to make everything “perfect”. It’s better to get started and begin pushing out content than spending weeks trying to create the perfect piece of content.
Consider streamlining your process to remove opportunities to overthink and make it even easier to develop new content. First, develop a series of pre-made templates in your preferred design tool (InDesign, Canva, Figma, etc) to reuse and repurpose. Then, save time by developing a few weeks of content and scheduling for future posting in one day.
Not Monitoring and Acting on Social Results
Like any other form of marketing, it’s essential to keep an eye on the results you’re seeing on social media. Look to double down on the efforts that are working, and don’t be afraid to move on from strategies that aren’t as effective.
Review your analytics to identify which style of posts are performing the best within your feeds and try incorporating more of these types of posts. Different types of content will have varying success rates on various platforms. Be sure to investigate the results of every platform you’re on and separate your data accordingly.
If you’re consistently noticing low engagement and interactions with your posts, it might be time to incorporate a new strategy. After a few rounds, if you’re struggling to find what works for you, take a look at similar accounts/competitors of yours and evaluate what works for them.
Assuming Content is Stale
Just because you published an article a few months ago doesn’t mean you shouldn’t repurpose it now. In fact, older content presents the perfect opportunity for repurposing. However, depending on your niche, your content may have an incredibly long — or incredibly short — lifetime.
Start by revisiting your content to understand the main message. As long as the main message is still relevant, you’re good to repurpose. You may need to revamp some of the supporting elements, but these will likely be minor tweaks. Giving content a new format often gives it a brand new life. Just be sure to check any sources/studies referenced to ensure they’re not outdated.
Make the Most of Your Content with Missinglettr
Repurposing content is vital for an efficient and effective content marketing strategy. By avoiding the mistakes above, you’ll be able to get new life out of all of your existing articles. Next time, we’ll discuss the content repurposing process you can use to get started.
Missinglettr makes it easy to distribute your content widely, for as long as it’s relevant. With Missinglettr Drip Campaigns, new blogs or videos are automatically detected and a 12-month social campaign is developed. You just have to hit approve and you’re off to the races. Get started for free.
