Do you like putting all of your time, sweat, and tears into content only to use it ONCE in hopes that it gets the traction it deserves? No? Then it’s time for you to start repurposing content using the 4 R’s of content marketing.
Before we dive into this topic, there are a few words I’ll be using throughout this article that you may not be familiar with in you’re new to content marketing, so I’ll define them for you so you can be 100% clear about what we’re discussing!
Repurposing – Adapting or reusing content (or anything for that matter) for a different purpose (ie. repurposing your blog for an Instagram post).
Evergreen – Products, segments, strategies, and our case content that stay relevant over a long period of time (ie. content that someone can consume today or 1 year from now that would still be relevant).
Are we on the same page now? Yes? Great! Now let’s get into it.
Good Content Has No Limits
Repurposing is not a clever marketing tactic or a trend. Nowadays, it’s a necessity for brands who want to show up intentionally for their prospective clients or customers while being discoverable across multiple platforms.
Let’s be honest: who has time to create 100% new content all the time while writing blog posts and newsletters, designing pretty posts for Instagram, and tweeting funny puns all day on Twitter? NO ONE — especially when you’re running your business with a small team (or no team at all). Your content process needs to be streamlined and strategic. The 4 Rs of Content Marketing will help you ensure that it is!
The Key is Evergreen
The good thing about good content is that it’s always relevant to your audience. While it’s great to make content about trending topics to keep your brand a part of relevant conversations, evergreen content should be the foundation of your strategy. Why? Because that is the kind of content you’ll always be able to use over and over again.
Note that evergreen content could and SHOULD be modified over time. You can bend, stretch, and tweak the same piece over and over again to remain relevant. Using this practice in your content marketing strategy will not only enable you to give your content good mileage, but it will make repurposing (and the other 3Rs) way easier to execute!
Some people are against repurposing content. So, if that’s you, let’s take a quick moment to reframe how you think about it by canceling these false notions RIGHT NOW:
- Good content doesn’t become unusable once it’s been posted. I’m not throwing away Thanksgiving leftovers and I’m damn sure not throwing away perfectly good content either. Neither should you!
- Good content isn’t limited to one platform. You should optimize content to fit the format and best practices of each platform. But if the CONTENTS are good, all of your communities should get to see it!
- Good content doesn’t have an expiration date. It may need to be updated and refined based on new things you’ve learned or feedback you received, but if the contents still rain true, the content is still good to use.
Now, let’s break down the 4 R’s of content marketing.
1.Reuse
If a piece of content does exceptionally well, use it again exactly as it is in a few weeks or months. It’ll perform just as well because by then, you’ll have new people in your audience who have ever seen it before. Plus, the people who it resonated with before will STILL resonate with it if they see it again.
2. Recycle
Have you rebranded your business and have content that you still want to use? Or maybe you have an annual campaign that you want to use the same assets for again? Recycle your high-performing content by giving it a facelift, swapping out colors, or maybe recreating it in a new format.
Here are few examples to get started:
- Convert a carousel post into an Instagram reel.
- Convert a Twitter thread into a blog post.
- Convert a blog post into an IGTV video series.
3. Refresh
Did you share a post that received tons of comments or engagement that introduced new perspectives to your original concept? Update this content to include these new POVs or create a part 2 that answers follow-up questions you received.
3. Repurpose
You don’t have the same audience across all of your platforms, and all of our communities deserve to see the amazing content you’ve worked so hard to put together.
Turn your long captions into Twitter threads. Turn your infographics into pins on Pinterest. Turn those carousel posts into blogs. Make that content work as hard as you worked to create it!
So, are you currently using these 4R’s in your content marketing strategy? If you need help with repurposing content or planning out a content marketing strategy for your business, book a Strut Strategy Session with me! During our 90 minute session, we’ll work together to create a more focused strategy that feels less stressful for you but way more engaging and shareable to your community. Have questions? Shoot me an email at gabriella@strutcommunications.com and I’m happy to answer!
All Images Sourced from Giphy
