Repurposing Tactics: Extend the Lifespan of Your Content

If there is one thing we can say about modern marketing, it's that it is quite content-driven. It seems like every brand, be it sports goods, airlines, or even a butcher, needs to have some form of online presence. And that online presence seems to rest on the need to consistently produce new material. Unfortunately, coming up with fresh, engaging content can be overwhelming, especially after a long time period. However, this is not the only way to go about content management. Another option is to reimagine and adapt your existing content for different platforms and formats. These are, what is commonly called, content repurposing strategies and we will take a closer look at them in the following article.

Understanding content repurposing

The idea behind content repurposing is to take existing content and modify it to fit different formats, platforms, or audiences. Keep in mind that this isn’t about simply copying and pasting what you already have. You need to rework your content in ways that maximize its value and relevance across multiple channels. The goal is to leverage the effort you’ve already invested in creating content and ensure it resonates with as many people as possible.

Key content repurposing strategies

While a simple idea in its hard, content repurposing can become difficult. Simply repurposing content, for the sake of it, won't do you much good. Instead, you need to pick the content format that will best resonate with your audience. And then you need to figure out how to rework your content so that it fits within the new format, without losing its core value. To better illustrate this we will outline various strategies for content repurposing.

Transform written content into web stories

Over the past couple of years, web stories have emerged as a dynamic way to engage with your audience, especially on mobile devices. These visually rich, mobile-first formats offer a unique way to present your content in a manner that is both engaging and easy to consume. Therefore, it only makes sense to use them to maximize content ROI.

Turning blog posts into story content

Here you begin by identifying the most compelling points from your blog post. Web stories thrive on brevity, so focus on distilling your content into key takeaways that can be broken down into digestible slides. The other option is to put everything in a single frame, but this is often difficult as blog posts can be extensive. You can use a mix of visuals, short text, and interactive elements to create a narrative that feels immersive and engaging. If you need to separate it, make sure that your web story has a clear beginning, middle, and end. If you have little experience with web stories, go to StorifyMe and start experimenting. Before long, you will come up with a web story that properly encapsulates the blog post in question.

Once your web story is live, you can embed it in related blog posts (thus enriching blog posts as well), share it across your social media channels, and even use it in email newsletters. This not only helps drive traffic back to your website but also keeps your audience engaged with content that feels fresh and interactive. In a similar fashion, you can look to create in-app stories and embed newly made story content in your app.

Monetization and personalization

Keep in mind that story content can also be a lucrative revenue stream. You can integrate subtle calls-to-action within these stories, promoting in-app purchases, exclusive content, or premium features. By doing so, you not only enhance user engagement but also open up new monetization opportunities that are native to the app environment. Another benefit of story content is the ability to personalize it based on user behavior and preferences. By doing so you can increase relevance and engagement, making your content even more impactful.

Using video content

Video continues to be one of the most powerful formats for engaging audiences, especially if you consider the rise and dominance of TikTok. Whether you’re converting a blog post, an interview, or even a whitepaper, video allows you to tap into a medium that is highly effective at conveying information in an engaging and memorable way. What important here is to understand what makes a video interesting and how to make it both engaging and sharable.

Video content repurposing

If you already have video content, you can start repurposing it by breaking down longer content into bite-sized videos. These can be shared on platforms like YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok. Focus on highlighting key takeaways or insights, and use visuals or animations for proper video storytelling. Short-form videos are particularly effective on social media, where they can quickly capture attention and drive engagement. But, even outside the format of social media, short-form videos can be of great use. If within a blog post you need a quick explanation, a short video will be a godsend.

Creating explainer videos

Another way to repurpose videos is to build upon them. Namely, some content (be it written or video) can be quite complex. Especially if the creator didn't have a good grasp of what the audience understood, and how to present the content. Here what you can do is create explainer videos. Take a detailed blog post or video and convert it into a concise explainer video that simplifies the key points. These videos can be used on your website, social media, or even within your app to educate and inform your audience. Ideally, these explanations will stir the audience and motivate them to further research your brand.

Live streaming and webinars

But, if you really want to stir your audience, you might opt for a more direct approach. Namely, another option to repurpose your content with videos is hosting live streams or webinars.

By doing so you achieve a couple of things. First, you give yourself room to dive deeper into a topic and engage with your audience in real time. This allows you to properly answer the audience's questions and improve audience engagement. Secondly, you can repurpose the recorded session into shorter clips or highlights for later use. For instance, a one-hour webinar can be broken down into multiple short videos, each focusing on a specific point discussed during the session. Thirdly, the process of making these videos will make the audience feel appreciated as their concerns were answered, and their views taken into consideration.

You can even look to repurpose your webinar by extracting the Q&A segment of the webinar and turning it into a standalone blog post or video. Or you can Create short, impactful clips from the webinar to share as teasers on social media. With these, you can drive traffic to the full recording or related blog posts. Another option is to turn the key points or a transcript of a webinar into a series of blog posts. Each post can focus on a specific topic covered in the webinar.

Repurpose User-generated content (UGC)

A brand that wishes to grow is a brand that places value on UGC. You need to not only encourage your users to create content about your brand but also look to further build upon that content. A great example of this is Stanely Cups, where a clever company knew how to make the most out of a single viral UGC. So, if you wish to build audience engagement through repurposed content make use of UGC. Expand short testimonials or customer reviews into full case studies. Highlight how your product or service helped the customer overcome challenges or achieve specific goals. You can also collect positive mentions of your brand on social media and compile them into a testimonial page or use them in marketing materials.
Or you can turn customer stories shared on social media or in feedback forms into detailed blog posts or interviews, showcasing real-world applications of your products.

Compile content into e-books or guides

One of the most effective ways to repurpose content is by compiling related articles, blog posts, or case studies into a comprehensive e-book or guide. This not only provides additional value to your audience but also positions your brand as a thought leader in your industry. A successful e-book or guide can do wonders for your brand loyalty, but it can be difficult to create it.

You can start by identifying a common theme or topic across several pieces of content. It would serve you well that the common topic is both interesting and trending with your audience. Once you have your topic outlined, you can organize the collected content into a logical flow. You will likely have to add new insights, case studies, or data to make the e-book more valuable and coherent. Depending on how good your e-book is, you can then offer it as a free download in exchange for email subscriptions, or even sell it as a premium product.

The reason for this is that E-books can also be a powerful lead-generation tool. By offering valuable, in-depth content, you can attract high-quality leads who are interested in your expertise. Be sure to promote your e-book across your website, social media, and email campaigns to maximize its reach. Ideally, your audience will find your book useful enough to share it, review it, and recommend it.

Use social media content for long-form content

An effective strategy of repurposing content is to take what already resonates with the audience, and then build upon it. A good example of this is to expand social media posts into articles. To be more precise, you take a high-performing social media post and expand it into a full-length blog post or article. By doing so you will use the engagement from the original post to inform and set up the expanded content. This can, quite effectively, reinvigorate content that was once popular, but has lately staggered in engagement rates.

Another option is to compile related social media posts into a roundup article. For example, if you’ve shared a series of tips on Facebook, gather them into a “10 Tips for Success” blog post. Here you will also have room to expand with further explanation. Or, you can leave your posts as they are.

Turn internal data or case studies into public content

We've often written about how important it is that you gather audience data. While you can rely on third-party data to some degree, the first party is essential for proper personalization and customer management. Well, another way to use first-party data is to create in-depth industry reports and analyses. These can be used as lead magnets, downloadable content, or shared across professional networks.

It's important to note here that simply posting data likely won't do you much good. While you draw (or at least should draw) valuable conclusions from the gathered data, it won't necessarily mean that your users find it interesting. But, if you do find some interesting facts about your users, and you feel that sharing those facts would be worthwhile, this is the way to go. You can compile data from various case studies to create a benchmarking guide for your industry. This can provide valuable insights for your audience and position your brand as a thought leader. This first-party data can be valuable in your webinars or workshops as it can give you clear metrics to expand upon. This can be particularly valuable for B2B audiences interested in real-world applications of your products or services.

Transform content into interactive formats

Having viewers interact with your content is a great way to boost engagement. So, if you have old blog posts that people seldom read, you can look to turn them into quizzes or assessments that allow users to interact with the content. For example, a blog post on “Effective Leadership Traits” can become a “Leadership Style Quiz.” Interactive content can easily be a part of a web story or a social media post. And, it can give the users an option to learn more by reading the related article.

Another option for adding interactivity is to convert static infographics into interactive ones where users can click to reveal more information or data points. Even a bit of interactivity can motivate users to further engage with your website. But, be careful about making your infographics tedious by shoe-horning in too many interactive elements.

Repurpose content for different audiences

Sometimes a small change can have a big effect. To improve audience engagement through repurposed content you don’t need to change it entirely. Instead, you can look to make small alterations that will, hopefully, resonate with your audience. One way to do so is with localization. Simply adapt existing content to suit different geographical markets or languages. This can involve translating content or adjusting it to align with cultural nuances. Here is a clear instance where you can introduce automation in content marketing and make repurposing that much easier.

The next step is to try to tailor existing content to different buyer personas. You do this by changing the tone, focus, or examples used. For example, a general product overview can be repurposed into specific guides for beginners and advanced users. This, as you can imagine, takes a bit more homework and testing, as it can be hard to hit the right note with the right crowd. You can also modify content to address the unique challenges or needs of different industries. Here a relatively general guide can be turned into multiple industry-specific guides with targeted examples and case studies.

Final thoughts

Thus far we've outlined several content repurposing strategies that ought to reinvigorate your online presence. These strategies can help you make the most out of your content creation efforts by ensuring it reaches a wider audience and serves multiple purposes across various platforms. As you can see, content repurposing can be quite creative. We wholeheartedly invite you take our strategies are more of an inspiration than as a clear guideline. If you choose to repurpose your content through web stories or short videos, know that StorifyMe is here to help you out.

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