Magnetic North--Business Success Strategies: Repurpose Content Without Repetition

Wednesday, May 22, 2024

Repurpose Content Without Repetition

3 Tips to Keep Your Content Fresh:

How to Repurpose Content Without Being Repetitive

Repurposing is a bit like magic: you take a single blog post, short video, or infographic and transform it into multiple pieces of valuable content. But before you start conjuring new videos, audio, or visuals across numerous platforms, remember: there's a big difference between strategic repurposing and simply regurgitating content. If you give your audience the same thing over and over, they might disappear.

For sustained engagement, each repurposed piece must feel familiar, yet completely fresh.

1. Personalize the Content to the Medium

When people think of repurposing, many believe that its simply a matter of taking content from one medium (for example, written) and turning it into another (for example, audio, video, visual, or interactive). That's a great first step, but you can't stop there.

For example, if you start with a blog post and use it word for word in a video script, your audience is going to know somethings up. They might not recognize the exact wording, but reading a blog post out loud on video is going to sound stilted and unnatural.

You must personalize the content to the medium.

For example, lets say you're converting a tutorial blog post into a video. Instead of simply narrating the steps using the blog content as your script, incorporate a live demonstration, add some new observations, and walk viewers through the process.

2. Each Platform Has a Unique Personality

The same rule applies to platforms. If you're transforming an original piece of content into multiple social media posts on different platforms, you'll need to personalize each post. A complete rewrite or redesign is unnecessary, but keep in mind the individual platforms maximum word count, audience, and popular format.

For example, the tweet you post on X (formerly Twitter) wont look like your post on Facebook. Or, you might post a short video on TikTok and a carousel on Instagram.

3. Micro-Focus

Find a single interesting point or statistic within your original content and expand on it in different formats. It can be easier to narrow in on one sub-topic and create variations of it instead of trying to make an entire blog post appear fresh and new in different formats.

- Did a specific point generate audience interest?

- Was there an idea that you feel you could have explored further but you didn't have the space to do so?

- Is there a sub-topic that could generate fun and interesting graphics or sound clips?

- Narrow your focus to that one subject by either creating a case study, a short video showing its real-life application, or an infographic that provides more detail.

This allows you to dive deeper into subjects and offer new value without simply duplicating the entire original piece. This micro-focus gives your audience the impression that they're learning something entirely new.

3. Build on Reader Reactions

Your audiences comments and questions can inspire a wealth of repurposed content. Their unique perspectives on a topic can motivate you to reframe your content, create a response, or offer a fresh angle.

For example, if a post on productivity tips generated questions about goal-setting or removing distractions, you might create infographics, social media posts, or explainer videos that provide more information on these topics.

Or, if a commenter said something about the subject matter that you disagree with, you can create content that serves as a counter-argument (without calling out the commenter by name, of course) and demonstrates your expertise.

Getting Started with Your Repurposing Plan

Consistently producing fresh, valuable content can be overwhelming. Repurposing is a strategic approach to content development that puts a unique spin on each piece you create, helping you to improve your content strategy and increase your reach and impact.