Make your content go that extra mile

Once you’ve punched in the final full-stop in your article, or pressed the stop button on your podcast recording, remember that there’s more in that story. Creating engaging content should be core to your communications and or marketing strategy – but driving it further should be just as important. Knowing how to repurpose content in Australia is essential for digital marketing success.

It’s not unusual to spend hours crafting content that you carefully labour over – perhaps deliberating over the perfect words, agonising over the right interview talent or balancing dense research with relatability – so it’s only reasonable to want the most amount of eyeballs and ears connecting with your creation. This is where lateral thinking comes in.

How to repurpose content in Australia

Rather than aiming to create hundreds of pieces of original content, instead tell one compelling story with multiple placements. Think of it as cooking a gastronomical wonder which you will eventually turn into tasty morsels of left-overs.

So, if your 1,500 word long-form feature article is the main course, you can use that to produce your 300-word blog as well as multiple social media posts. There’s so much you can do with copywriting alone!

If you start with a podcast recording, you can turn your conversation into a feature article or blog post – you get the idea. When we worked on the Competition Lore podcast, we repurposed podcast content in media releases, published articles and more.

The key to properly repurposing content is to ensure that the core nuts and bolts of the story remain. No matter the medium, you want the basic moving parts of a story to progress with identical mechanics including; a sequence of actions, telling details and a point of conclusion. The message and point of your story shouldn’t change – you’re simply re-arranging the architectural make-up.

The four content Ps: start with a Plan

Without a strategy you’re operating like the captain of a rudderless ship. If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail – take heed from these words. And showing up on deck occasionally doesn’t count either. According to the 2018 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends – North America Report, “The percentage of respondents that reported their organisation has a documented content marketing strategy is nearly the same as last year (38% vs 40%).” That’s staggering – less than half of marketers.

It’s important to know what you want to achieve and map out your content destination. Knowing how to repurpose content in Australia means knowing how and where you choose to feature your work. That might be on a third party platform or your own website. It could also be a combination of assets for an integrated approach that will heighten your message.

You might want to consider a specific audio strategy to capitalise on the popularity of podcasts.

Personalise your content: who are you talking to?

When repurposing it’s important to personalise your story and message to fit your chosen platform or media. Make sure you know each medium’s audience, the house-style and the tone-of-voice. If you think you can get away with the same posts on Facebook and LinkedIn – think again. Likewise, never confuse an advertorial with an editorial – unless of course you want to experience the wrath of a journalist!

And remember content has to flow naturally into our newsfeeds. It’s important to offer true human connections, whether it’s the lean version of your story or the one with all the bells and whistles.

Presentation: how do you want to dress your content?

You can expand or reduce every piece of content. But when making your choice about how to present it think carefully about return on investment. Repurposing should be swift and not take as much time and effort as creating original content from scratch. There’s no point trying to shoot a Hollywood-style video based on a 300-word blog you posted. That defeats the purpose of repackaging.

What you create should be driven by what you want to achieve. For example we know that videos perform well on Facebook and infographics on Twitter. Just think about the best way to maximise your digital output.

And remember, you can always dust off a popular piece of content, put a new bow on it and release it back into the wild. All it takes is some clever edits to make it timely and topical. Update it with some new statistics or the latest trends.

When choosing which content to repurpose, if you’re digging into the old archives ensure that you reach for the things that initially sparked the most engagement and shares. Start by doing an audit and only repurpose content which stands the test of time. There’s no point flogging a dead horse.

There are so many types of content you can share:

• Blog posts
• Podcasts and interviews
• Videos
• Webinars
• Ebooks
• Case studies
• Training guides
• White papers
• How-to checklists

Promote your content: build momentum

Your audience is not one dimensional – they’re a diverse bunch with mixed interests. This means they’re also likely to consume content in various ways. That may be choosing to listen to a podcast, watching a video or viewing an infographic. Oh and don’t forget reading a white paper or engaging with a social media post. It’s your job to give the audience what they want and grow your chances of reaching more people.

Increasing your content options will allow for more ways for it to be consumed. Giving your audience options makes your content more accessible. Your mission after all is to stand out from the noise and amplify your message.

There are several ways to promote your content including:

• Paid media channels like LindekIn and Facebook to boost your content
• Editorials and organic social media posts for shareability
• Your own marketing channels such as your website, EDMs and newsletters

The 4 key benefits of repurposing content

You’ll become an SEO champion. Repurposing not only builds momentum by featuring your content across multiple sources, it also offers you an SEO advantage.  Repurposing helps Google identify websites they can trust and will come to see you as a reliable source.

You’ll reach a new audience. By breathing new life into your work you’re likely to reach a new audience. While you may reconnect with your existing audience, you’re likely to pick up new followers along the way.

You’ll expand your reach. making your content available in various mediums and methods will increase your chances of reaching your ideal audience. Let’s face it, there’s a reason some people still listen to good old fashioned LPs in an age of Spotify. We’re all different creatures with different needs and learning styles.

You’ll be cost effective: Repurposing means you’ll spend less time, resources and effort on production while still producing quality content.

Written & Recorded know how to repurpose content in Australia. Have a look at our copywriting service. We’ll be happy to review your current content with a free half hour copywriting consultation.