Creating remarkable content is a cornerstone principle of the inbound methodology. A lot of time and effort is spent producing content that is helpful to your customers.
It's a big investment.
Of course, if you want to maximize return on that investment, you should become a master at repurposing every piece of content you create. Repurposing content increases the exposure of your content, spreads the traffic generation net wider, and helps you appeal to your target personas across a wider variety of media.
But, what does that look like in the real world?
How To Repurpose Your Content Like a Pro
While repurposing opportunities will present themselves in a variety of ways, there is a sound strategy to create a holistic repurposing plan in your publishing calendar. In the following, we're going to take a simplistic view of how to maximize a piece of content by working from the top down.
It's important to point out, that content doesn't always flow in this way. Many times, you will be able to work backward, creating an eBook from a series of posts, for instance, rather than creating a series of posts from an eBook.
With that being said, let's look at repurposing from a strategy perspective.
Planning a Content Repurposing Strategy
Start by looking at the big picture.
Create content with the intent to repurpose it into a variety of bite-sized tweets, posts, and videos. This way, you don’t have to create every piece of content from scratch. You only have to invent new ways to present that content.
Write an Ebook
Every inbound strategy needs an eBook at some point. An eBook takes a lot of time, effort, and money to create. Not only does the content need to be helpful, but the graphic design aspect requires resources as well.
Invest the time to create an eBook that connects with the pain points or problems of your target personas. Those eBooks that promise a solution to a problem work the best.
Turn the Ebook Into a Series of Blog Posts
Blog posts are essential to attracting organic traffic and building relationships based on valued trust. Blogging is the top way companies establish and accelerate their inbound program.
If your ebook is carefully planned and written, each chapter can be repurposed as a standalone blog post with only a few, minor tweaks. The great thing about this approach is you already have a very relevant content offer to use as the Call-to-Action.
Turn Your Blog Posts Into Podcasts
Podcasting is experiencing a new surge in popularity. The toughest part of podcasting is coming up with the content for new episodes. If you're regularly blogging, this shouldn't be a problem.
Take each blog post, and delve deep into that discussion - deeper than you can in a typical blog post. Bring in other people or guest influencers to discuss the topic. It's a good way to dig deep into each topic you approach on your blog.
Repurpose Blog Posts as Slide Decks
Many blog posts have key points, often broken down by heading. Depending on your style, this could be easy, or it could be difficult. But if you're approaching each blog post with the idea, "how can I turn this into a slideshow," it will make adaption much easier. Once you create the slideshow, upload it to Slideshare.com.
Both Twitter and LinkedIn let users flip through slide decks without leaving the interface. Posting engaging and dynamic content in a highly shareable environment customized for convenience is a sure thing for boosting organic traffic and leads.
Don’t forget to include your CTA in the last slide.
Make Videos from Your Slide Decks
One of the myths of video marketing is that videos have to be complex to work. Another common myth is that videos need to be professionally produced. Neither of these is even close to true.
Short, simple videos work best. And studies have shown that un-produced videos perform better on social media. We don't want to see a production; we want to see real people.
Highlighting the main points from your slideshow in a short video provides an intimately personal way to deliver your message and introduce leads to your ebook with a CTA. YouTube is a win-win choice for video hosting because it is free, reliable, and engineered for connectivity. In fact, YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine in the world, behind Google.
If video isn’t part of your inbound strategy, you are losing leads to the competition. 80% of people recall watching an online video ad they saw in the past 30 days, according to the Online Publishers Association. 46% of those people took some action afterward.
Turn Your Slides or Main Video Ideas Into Memes
Pinterest and Instagram are popular platforms. Businesses, traditionally, have struggled to market their products and services on these platforms. If your content is great, why not break it down to micro-content and share it on these image-focused services.
Not only that, but these small, bite-sized pieces of content perform well across all social media channels.
Repurposing To Create More
A lot of marketers struggle with quantity and consistency in their content marketing efforts. It's so easy to get busy and put content onto the back-burner. With a solid repurposing strategy in place, you can create more with only a fraction of the workload of creating each piece from scratch.
Leads engage more than 11 pieces of content before making a purchase, according to Forrester Research. By getting the most use out of your content, not only are you maximizing your investment, you’re increasing your visibility for greater influence along the buyer’s journey.
