Ericka Lewis
"New Year, New You!" Like an overplayed pop song on the radio, I'm sure you're sick and tired of hearing this cliché. This my friends, is a great example of how not to repurpose content.
Repurposing content is not the equivalent of microwaving your leftovers that had been sitting in the fridge for ages. Rather, repurposing content effectively, equates more to creating a sort of awesome Poutine by "gypsy cooking" with your old ingredients to create a whole new entire dish -- another Plat de spècialite if you will.
If you find yourself having to repurpose content you have published in the past, don’t worry. Recreating content is common place in content marketing. But that doesn’t mean you have to serve up a bland regurgitated salad of your previous content (excuse the abundance of food metaphors in this blog lol I'm a bit hungry at the moment :D).
Don’t turn off your audience by creating lackluster photocopies of your old stuff. When it comes to repurposing content, innovation is key!
Here are a couple of ways to use and repurpose your old content to create head-turner content that sure looks shiny and new.
1. Flip It.
Don’t be afraid to go against the grain. Why not explore the flip side of your previous article? Instead of your usual ‘how to’, why not talk about the ‘how not to’? Even if you’re a writing about a topic you have already explored thoroughly in the past, you don't have to stick to the same ol’ script. Keep the same topic interesting by exploring the other side.
2. Think Outside The Box.
So you had an awesome post in the past that garnered quite a bit of attention and engagement from your audience -- it’s time to let your cute little caterpillar of a post turn into a butterfly! Why not turn your most popular posts into something really creative and fetching? Visual slides perhaps? Or an infographic? Or maybe a video blog? There are many ways to bring a whole new depth to articles and get your audience to react and engage with your content even if it’s not exactly new.
3. Put Your Sherlock Hat On.
So it’s been awhile since you’ve written about this topic, have there been any recent developments since? Repurposing your old content doesn’t mean producing a photocopy of your old stuff. Explore new ideas attached to your old content. Research what’s new and what’s coming. Give that old post a makeover.
4. Emphatize.
Before you go and recreate that post, take some time to tune in to the conversations surrounding your old post. Visit industry-related forums and check out what people are saying about that topic. Use this knowledge to your advantage by crafting your repurposed content around main points that resonate strongly with your audience. If you do this, your post will pack a much more powerful punch even if it’s been discussed before.
5. Anthologize.
If you have several popular posts occurring around the same themes, a good way to repurpose them is make definitive anthologies. Think of best of the best or a series-themed post. Using these posts collectively is a great way to entice your audience to read them with a fresh new perspective and a little bit of entertainment.
Just because you’re tapping into topics that are not new in any way doesn’t mean you can’t recreate them in a meaningful way that will grab the attention of your audience. Keep in mind that your audience are bombarded daily with content -- most are mundane and repetitive. Their attention and interest are precious and you can surely win them over by trying your best to be innovative no matter what you’re publishing.
Image Credit: Rakka