A recent survey found that 94% of marketers repurpose their content for different channels. This isn’t a coincidence or a fleeting trend, it’s a strategy built for ROI long-game.

Reformatting, recycling, and reinventing successful pieces extends content reach and strengthens standing in search results. In fact, 61% of marketers believe updating and repurposing content is the most effective SEO tactic they have, and 65% see it as the most cost-effective marketing strategy.

Making the most of content repurposing means reinventing the right assets in the right way. This post explains how.  

Which Content Should I Repurpose?

Not all content is created equal. To repurpose content effectively, you must:

1. Choose evergreen content
2. Choose something that already performs well
3. Repurpose to match the platform
4. Break apart the dense stuff

Opting for Evergreen Content

Avoid repurposing time-sensitive content. For example, an infographic highlighting marketing trends in 2022 is relevant to 2022 – but what about after that? Choose content from your arsenal that can transcend and be reimagined over time. For example, a blog highlighting a new application feature is a bad fit for repurposing content, but a blog highlighting how to use that application to boost engagement and growth is evergreen.

Repurposing What People Already Love

Which content already performs well?  Review your Google Analytics, YouTube Analytics, social media posts, landing page reports, and website traffic to learn which of your evergreen content was already popular within the past year. Capitalizing on the popularity of this content is key to a successful repurposing strategy.

Repurposing to Match the Platform

Repurposing content isn’t simply regurgitating something in another medium. A blog post shouldn’t translate word-for-word to a video script. An infographic shouldn’t try to cram-in every stat from an eBook. Think about the best use of the content for the platform you’re repurposing for.

If you’re turning a blog into an infographic, what are the biggest points you want to highlight and visualize? If you’re pulling information from a webinar to create a whitepaper, how should it be restructured and expanded on to create a more in-depth asset? If you’re breaking down an eBook into a series of blog posts, how can you incorporate simple and engaging visuals into the blog to make some of your points?

Breaking Apart the Dense Stuff

One good way to repurpose content is to take denser pieces and break them apart into more digestible bits. For example, if you have an hour long webinar with four sections, clip out each of those sections into shorter segments, then write blogs that deep dive into each of the points. Or, if you have a comprehensive whitepaper you poured hours of research into, pull from the most compelling statistics and points to create a video or infographic that breaks them down. Deconstructing larger and longer content pieces (that are evergreen and performed well, of course) is a great way to repurpose content into fresh formats.

Ideas to Repurpose Content Like a Champ

Marketers rank video as one of the most effective methods for repurposing content. That makes sense given that humans process visuals 60,000x faster than text. Visual mediums are an easily digestible way to capture attention. However, video isn’t the only type of visual medium, and it’s not the only effective medium for repurposed content. Here are some ideas for how to repurpose content like a champ!

Turn Blog Posts into Podcasts

Just as we process visuals more easily, many people find it easier to consume content by listening as well. Podcasts allow people to listen to your content on-the-go, at their convenience. Depending on the depth of the blog, it could be broken apart into a single podcast episode or a series of episodes.

Use FAQ’s to Create a Blog Post

Seeing a theme in your customer comments or questions? Turn those into a blog post. This could have a few potential benefits. Firstly, you are making it more likely your page will come up in search results for that question. Secondly, you’re showing your audience that you hear them and connect with them, which builds your brand.

Create Topic Clusters

HubSpot is a huge proponent of building topic clusters. These are landing pages (aka pillar pages) that center on a larger theme and offshoot to various pieces of content with related keywords. The idea here is to build authority with search engines by showing you have vast knowledge of a topic theme in all its forms. The pillar page builds SEO credibility over time and the search engine starts to serve it up more often in search results. This approach to content repurposing may take a little more forethought and some webpage restructuring, but it can pay off big time.

Turn a Blog Series into a Video Series or Infographic

Make high-performing blogs more visual by turning them into videos or infographics. Remember not to simply regurgitate the blog, but instead pull the major points, and update and highlight the most powerful statistics. Infographics in particular are great to share on social media, especially a visually-based medium like Pinterest or Instagram.  

Turn a Podcast into a Newsletter Series

Have a podcast episode that performed particularly well? Create a newsletter series that includes the most talked about points from that conversation. Consider pulling quotes from the podcast as well to promote on your social channels.

Transform a Slideshow or PowerPoint to an Infographic

The visual nature of a PowerPoint makes it a good candidate for compelling content. Repackage it into an infographic that pinpoints central points of the presentation. The infographic should balance charts and graphs with eye-catching images without getting too cluttered.

Break Webinars into Video Tutorials

Break apart successful webinars into shorter video clips that function as mini tutorials. Not only will this give people who were unable to attend the webinar a way to connect with your content, but it’ll also give you the opportunity to see which micro-topics are especially intriguing.

If one video gets more likes and views than the others, that’s another opportunity to repurpose that information into an ebook or how-to article. Also keep in mind that you can use YouTube cards to link those videos together and increase the likelihood that someone will continue watching your related content.

Republish Old Blogs with New Insights

When I was filtering through our content for repurposing, I found a handful of old blogs that still performed well but needed some updating. One of those was a blog about email subject line tips. Most of that content was still evergreen, but the post would definitely benefit from a refresher. This is a quick and relatively pain-free way to repurpose content with minimal effort.