My Content Repurposing Strategy (NOT what you think)
What is the smartest, simplest, and most time effective way to repurpose content in your business? The gurus will break it down like this…
Plan and film one larger video.
Edit it down to be a shorter video on YouTube.
Rip the audio for a podcast episode.
Transcribe the audio and you have a blog post.
Pull a few paragraphs from the blog post to turn them into your social media content.
Stylize shorter quotes and share them as images.
Find soundbites from the podcast and turn them into audiograms.
Take some snippets from the transcript to use in your email newsletter.
Find some short clips from your video for Instagram stories, reels, or TikToks.
This is a smart way to multiply your efforts and show up online, they say. Use that larger piece of content and break it up into multiple different types so you can be everywhere.
It sounds great, right?
There’s just one problem with this method…
IT DOESN’T WORK!
Why this repurposing method doesn’t work
Just like you, I would love for the above method to work. It makes sense to show up everywhere without having to create separate pieces of content.
But, it also sounds overwhelming to be everywhere! If you’re repurposing your content on every single platform, you’ll spread yourself out too thin, and you’ll not show up with value anywhere. All you’ll do is burnout and wonder why your business isn’t growing.
Sure, you can take one piece of long-form content and turn it into a dozen different kinds of content and spread it out on multiple platforms online, but this method flops, and it flops hard!
Why?
People use different platforms for different reasons, and they want specific types of content in each of these places. If you’re repurposing your content everywhere by trying to use it in essentially the same way, then all you’re doing is wasting your time.
For example, why do people go to YouTube? Most likely, they want to be entertained or educated in some way. They’re probably searching, “How to fix a flat tire,” or some other random thing.
If you want to live vicariously through others, you head on over to Instagram for the mindless scroll.
TikTok will help you escape boredom by watching others make fools of themselves in short, witty videos.
Oh, and can I just add that short clips from YouTube will not stand a chance on TikTok? They can’t stand on their own on that social media outlet because they weren’t designed for it in the first place!
Have you ever tried to read a video transcript as a blog post? I have, and it just doesn’t work! It doesn’t even make sense most of the time.
When you take one piece of content and try to get thousands of miles out of it, none of the pieces will have the punch they need to stand on their own. They won’t create the value you desired, and they won’t draw in new superfans.
Don’t try to force your content to conform in a way it wasn’t designed initially to be.
RELATED: My content repurposing strategy
Repurposing content strategy that works
Strategic repurposing can save you time and leverage your effort. I’m not saying don't repurpose at all. I’m just saying you need a purpose behind forming one content into something new. Your main goal is to provide value to your audience so they begin to know, like, and trust you. You can’t do that without speaking to them the way they want you to on any given platform.
Here’s my repurposing strategy:
#1 – start with your main long-form content.
That’s YouTube for me! This piece of content is the most important one in my business.
#2 – use your outline to create a written article.
Sometimes as I’m outlining my YouTube videos, I’ll find at the end of the process, I’ve already written an entire article! This means I created a second type of long-form content without thinking too much about it.
However, if my outline is more bare bones, then after the video is published, I will delegate the blog-writing process to someone on my team. She will write an article based on the video, but not transcribe it. This produces a higher quality piece of content that will do better for search optimization on Google.
#3 – turn the video into an audio podcast
Now, this step in my repurposing strategy only happens if it makes sense to turn my YouTube video into a podcast episode. Not all my videos would fit well in this category, so it’s pointless for me to take the time to export and publish this content if it won't produce the results I'm looking for.
For example, if I’m talking all about YouTube strategy, I’m most likely not going to turn that into a podcast episode because my podcast is based on educating you on working less and earning more in your online business.
What do each of these three pieces of content have in common? They’re all longer and evergreen, which is better than creating shorter, shelf-life content for social media outlets. This type of long-form content makes a bigger impact on your audience growth and overall brand.
RELATED: How I plan and create my content (for YouTube, Podcast, Instagram, and Newsletter)
Promoting your content
Once you’ve created these larger pieces of content, your work is not done because you still need to promote them! This is the main way to increase eyes on your content and gain a larger audience. It's also a natural way to generate more content.
Here’s what we do:
#1 – We design vertical images for every written article
Every once in a while we also design vertical images for my videos or podcast episodes.
#2 – We share these vertical images on Pinterest.
I don’t focus on all the social media platforms. Yes, they are fun, but they are not evergreen. My post will live and die in about 10 minutes (max). Rather, I want to use a search engine like Pinterest to create a free way to market my evergreen content. When I create a pin, it lives on longer than any social media post would. It’s effective, and it drives traffic to my website without spending hours a week investing my time there.
#3 – We share the long-form content in my weekly newsletter.
This can be done in all different ways. Sometimes I just share about the content itself and link the reader to watch, listen, or read. Other times (and I find this to be the best way) I create a shorter article based on the outline I created for my YouTube video. This is a half hour well spent because most creators who subscribe to my newsletter are looking for the meat right in their inbox. They remain on my list because they want to learn how to grow their own successful online business — and they want to get shorter tips and quick wins right in the email I send. They don’t want to have to click away to learn my latest strategies.
Give your audience what it wants
If you take anything away from this article today, I want you to strategically and purposefully serve your audience on each platform where you’re publishing your content. In order for them to love your teaching and share your content, you have to give them what they want.
Ask yourself, what is the purpose of this specific platform, and how can I show up authentically here? Then, make content that makes sense on its own for that given platform – the way your audience wants to use it. Ensure it adds value to your audience, and make it worth sharing! That is the smart and efficient way to repurpose your content.
Repurpose with a purpose!
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