Sometimes it’s not enough to simply boost a post on social media to reach a broad audience and to draw attention to a desired number of targets. That scenario is called “revamping”. In this case the content is used for the same purpose as it was used for originally.
Since the content we want to communicate seems important to our brand or a specific service/product, it is most likely information focused, written to be understood by the audiences who will make the most use of it, whether that means sharing it or engaging them to some sort of action. We spent a lot of time creating the initial post, for example, so why not reuse it with updates to keep it interesting? When the information is to be delivered a second or third time, a different channel of communication is the way to go. When we repurpose, we want to keep our subject attractive and relevant. We are changing the format of the content and we are in some instances, changing the target audience.
There are multiple options for repurposing content, but take into consideration, that learning styles of individuals vary, and that ties closely to the way a person should be approached with our messages. A safe and economical use of content is most likely to engage more frequency with different people. Visual-, aural-, verbal-, physical-, logical-, or social learning styles can be catered to with the right tool. The goal is to be most influential and efficient, so the audience remembers and is interested in our actual content.
Assuming the first use of the material was for a blog to create awareness, it can now be communicated a second time with modifications using a daily email series to push the audience into a state of consideration and can then for example be molded in an in-depth webinar to trigger a decision.
Let’s say you own a painting company, and you want to target high-end homeowners who are renovating their older homes. You have two audiences but can often repurpose content for both and even engage both in some of the same content. What can you develop from that original visual of your work or message you posted about completing work within three days? How do you explain that because of your expertise, experience, and techniques you will save them the pain and time of doing it themselves? You will need to dive deeper into content. What does it take to strip a wall with old wallpaper? How do you decide what color schemes will have the most impact in painting a room? Once you have enough content, you can create a series on a theme and then deliver it in a timely manner. Each key message can then be expanded and repurposed for other media such as a podcast, a video or the content for a webinar.
These are only three examples of presenting content to potential customers. “You can take that blog post and make it a GIF, or a Periscope, or a Tweet, or an Instagram Story, or an infographic, or a podcast.” And much more.
Different learning styles are tied to different persona segments and different stages of buyers, so it can be tricky to find the right mix. Only certain target segments can be catered to at the same time. The painting company would probably also like to engage the construction companies who renovate the structure of rooms in these homes to gain referrals or direct contracts. With every repeat and refocus of content we ideally reach a new audience with our multi-channel marketing.
Start thinking of all the different channels we have for repurposing content. The best way to handle this is to research what your target audiences read or where they spend their time. Select one or two new channels and monitor the results. Here are some of the channels to consider:
- Articles in publications
- Presentations
- Infographic
- Instructographic
- Social media platforms
- Repost on Quora
- Daily tips for any channels
- eBook
- Guest post or blog
- Podcast
- Webinar
- One pager or case study for your website
- Slide share
- Template with guide
- Video
- How to Checklist for Landing Page