When it comes to content marketing “hacks,” this is one of my absolute favorites.
So many marketers finish a piece of content and never touch it again. But why do that when you can get so much mileage out of one piece of content?
That’s the power of repurposing content.
It’s a lot like creating passive income. You do the hard work once, and you continue to reap the benefits.
With repurposing content, it’s the same idea. You create a piece of content once and then use it in a bunch of different ways.
That means less work and more results. It seems too good to be true, but I promise you it’s not.
The beauty of this technique is that you can repurpose any type of content. Articles, videos, checklists—you name it.
So grab a piece of your content you want to repurpose, and let’s look at 11 advanced techniques for repurposing.
1. Create a SlideShare deck
If you’re on LinkedIn (and you probably are), you can leverage SlideShare to get more life out of your content.
SlideShare is an extremely popular site that showcases slideshows from professionals all over the world. It’s a great way to get your voice heard and expose your content to an entirely new audience.
List-type articles or guides work especially well for slide decks. But just about anything will be successful as a slide deck—you just have to format it correctly. Here’s a great example of a SlideShare deck from Barry Feldman.
What’s even better is that Barry adapted this from an old blog post of his:
The content works well as both a blog post and a slide deck. By repurposing the content, Barry put his content in front of two completely different audiences.
2. Make a video tutorial
Video marketing is a hot topic right now. Because videos are so widespread and popular, more and more marketers have been using them.
Videos are easy to watch, share, and save for later. You can watch them at home or on the go. And they don’t take too long to make.
When you repurpose existing content as a video tutorial, the process gets even easier. People love how-to videos, and if you offer a high-quality video tutorial, you’ll get a lot of traffic and shares.
So, what kind of content makes for a good video tutorial?
If you’ve ever held a webinar, you can quickly and easily turn it into a video tutorial. This is an awesome way to repurpose content. It’s taking a limited resource (webinar) and making it unlimited in the form of a video.
Source: WordStream.com
Here are some more ideas:
- In-depth blog posts can be slimmed down into a whiteboard or explainer video
- A list post can become a list video
- Turn a slide deck into a narrated presentation
The only limit is your imagination.
3. Turn your blog posts into an ebook
If I told you to write an ebook, you’d probably be bewildered. You might not know where to start or how to write a huge ebook.
But if you blog, you have an almost completed ebook right before your eyes.
You’ve probably amassed some blog posts. If so, you can make these into an ebook.
Ebooks make excellent lead magnets, and you can sell them too. I love using ebooks in my marketing strategies because of how flexible (and popular) they are.
When your readers look at a site for the first time and see an offer for a free ebook, they’ll automatically position you as an authority in their minds. And if they download it, you’ll get an email and possibly a customer out of it.
Michael Hyatt offers new visitors a free guide on his blog:
Whether you call it a guide, a blueprint, or something else entirely, an ebook is a powerful way to repurpose content.
4. Transform your slides into an infographic
Infographics can drive more traffic than you’d think. At Kissmetrics, we’ve used infographics to generate millions of visitors and tens of thousands of backlinks.
But sometimes, infographics can take a while to create. You’ve got to find the right facts, get the right visuals, and combine the two well.
If you have a slide deck, you probably have everything you need for an infographic. Like infographics, slides present information in a short and sweet format and often incorporate media.
To get started, you can use a free infographic maker such as Piktochart or Canva. Just plug in the data from your slides, format it a little, and voila!
(Another tip: You can combine slide decks to create a single infographic, or you can split up one slide deck into multiple infographics.)
5. Get your blog posts on the air as podcasts
Podcasting has gotten pretty big lately, and it shows no signs of slowing down.
Podcast listeners don’t like fluff—they want substance.
What better way to create an awesome podcast episode than by repurposing a blog post?
If you have some detailed blog posts in your archive, pull them out and dust them off. With a little reformatting, editing, and scripting, they’ll make excellent podcasts.
Keep in mind that if your posts use lots of media, you’ll have to find a different way of communicating that information. And you’ll probably need to rework some of your writing so it sounds more natural when spoken.
Even though this option can be a little tricky, it’s worth it. You can share your podcasts on all kinds of platforms, including iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher, and Podbay. And with each platform you use, you’re sharing your content with a new audience.
6. Include your comment responses in a newsletter
If you’re regularly responding to comments on your blog, you’re creating helpful content without even knowing it.
In my opinion, this is one of the most powerful “content hacks” you can use. When you respond to comments, you’re not thinking about creating content—you’re thinking about helping people.
And when you take that raw advice and edit it, you’ve got some powerful tips and tools, perfect for newsletters.
Readers expect bite-sized advice in newsletters. Pop in a comment (or a few), and you’ll satisfy your readers while breathing new life into content you thought you’d never use again.
7. Use factoids as social media posts
When you maintain a blog, you come across a lot of facts. Some of these are small factoids perfect to be reused as social media posts.
Factoids give your readers something new to learn, and they don’t take up much space. Statistics, trivia, and other “did you know?” type of facts all work well.
Here’s Microsoft using a statistic to spread awareness of Internet unavailability:
A little goes a long way. Factoids definitely deserve to be a regular part of your social media strategy.
8. Share shorter blog posts on Medium and LinkedIn Pulse
Most people think LinkedIn is a boring, stuffy place, but it’s not. In fact, it can be your secret marketing weapon if you use it correctly.
Medium is a popular blogging platform where professionals and experts share articles on all kinds of topics. If you spend some time with it, you’ll find it can be a powerful tool.
Besides SlideShare, another cool LinkedIn feature is Pulse. Like on Medium, you publish a post there and hope it gets featured. If it does, you can gain new followers.
And don’t worry, republishing old content on Pulse or Medium won’t get you penalized by Google.
9. Make new content out of old
Buffer’s Kevan Lee suggests refreshing old posts that might not be as relevant today as they were when you first published them.
Usually, these old posts just need a bit of an update to become relevant again. It’s worth it to take a look at your archives and see which posts need a touch-up or two.
Here are a few easy ways you can modify old posts:
- Find a new title
- Update the post with new facts and figures
- Add more substantial content
Once you’re done, you can either publish the new post or update the old one (if it ranks well and brings in traffic).
10. Share your old content on social media
Certain social media sites work insanely well for sharing content—if you do it right.
Two excellent options are Reddit and Quora.
Reddit can drive a ton of traffic, but self-promotion is usually frowned upon. To combat that, find a relevant subreddit, and only post content that you genuinely know will help readers. (You can also try Reddit ads.)
Quora is a little friendlier about self-promotion. As a bonus, if you find a question that a piece of your content answers, you can give a short, helpful answer and then link to that piece of content. This is another great traffic builder.
11. Merge multiple pieces of content into a webinar
Everyone loves a good webinar.
If you’ve never hosted a webinar, you’re missing out. Webinars create a high level of engagement and communicate your value to everyone watching.
Obviously, it’s super easy to turn slides into a webinar. It’ll take almost no work, but you’ll have a completely new piece of content.
I suggest merging multiple pieces of content into a webinar. If you have a slide deck and a blog post on the same (or a similar) topic, integrate both of those into the webinar.
The more content you use, the more value you’ll be able to provide. (But don’t overdo it!)
If you’re on a budget, I recommend using Google Hangouts to create a webinar for free.
Source: Tutsplus.com
Conclusion
Repurposing content is hands down one of the most useful content marketing strategies I know. This is a strong tool—don’t be afraid to use it.
It helps you avoid one of the worst pitfalls of blogging: stale content.
Too many people let their well of content run dry. Eventually, all that’s left is an outdated collection of subpar content. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Think of all your content as living, breathing documents. They can be changed and improved over time.
Once I realized this, my blogging strategy was transformed. If a piece of content performed well for me, I knew I could reuse it in the future.
The next time you create a piece of content, remember to revisit it down the road. Maybe you’ll turn your next article into a video in a year.