Why do the first three R’s get all the glory? These words increased in stature because they have become associated with a higher purpose. But not all content should be reused, or should it?
If you read much about content marketing, you’ve seen plenty of articles that recommend repurposing content: turning a press release into 3 blog posts, 2 newsletter articles, a few emails, a couple of Facebook posts, and 4 tweets. Using frequency and multiple delivery channels increases the chances that a potential customer will find your marketing message, and that’s all well and good provided it’s not the garden variety of “fluff, guff, geek and weasel” that is often invisible to prospects, no matter how many times you put it in front of them.
Repurposing content is a valuable marketing strategy, but, to me, the word carries a negative connotation—there’s a tinge of “laziness” to it. Repurpose needs a rebrand, a higher purpose, and I propose the following key messages for our new brand proposition:
- Repurposing content adds value to individuals in the target audience
- Repurposing content enhances understanding, engagement and compels change in desired behaviors
- Repurposing content aspires to be the ultimate “green” marketing: cost-effective, often paperless, recycled in a variety of ways, shared and renewable
Want greater impact from your repurposing efforts? Re-examine these ideas and think of the proof points you might offer for the above messages:
Idea #1: Develop more substantial content that’s timely, demonstrates how to view a problem from a new perspective, or provides a better solution for your audience. Research topics and examine issues related to your content’s timing, timeliness and timelessness, segmented and aligned from the perspective of your target audience.
Being a thought or resource leader requires some combination of brainpower, creativity, resources, effort, expertise and time. From position papers to eBooks, hard-hitting topics and insights earn your organization mindshare—and that translates into infinite possibilities for repurposing more substantial content into bite-size pieces.
Example: TMA+Peritus recently developed a white paper on marketing for manufacturers. This substantial content has provided a platform of differentiation and the usual avenues for “slicing and dicing” the content into smaller blog posts, emails, social media posts, as well as posting on manufacturer-specific hot spots.
Idea #2: Plan for “green” repurposing that makes a long-lasting impression. Planning repurposed content upfront enables you to get more mileage from your efforts; however, planning the future of your repurposing efforts can make them renewable.
Due to their thought-provoking and often interactive nature, and because not everyone seeks information at the same time, initiatives that repurpose content can have a shelf life of years rather than months or days—and in some cases, yield a never-ending stream of relevant, interesting marketing material. In addition, repurposed content can itself be reused, for example, in applications like a Multimedia News Releases to enhance your company’s reputation across key media segments.
Example: Say we ask senior leadership their opinions about manufacturing marketing via an online quiz and at our seminars and workshops. The results can be analyzed, and as insights are gained, a new series of repurposing begins. Content which prospects created themselves—and with which they have an inherent connection—is used to extend the conversation. And, this content can be designed in many different formats to take on an entirely new form of repurposing.
The Bottom Line: Repurpose your content with a higher purpose. Feature substantial content your audience cares about, design and deliver it in a variety of impactful formats and on a variety of platforms your audience desires, and discover ways to take your message—and your sales—to the next level.