Content creation can be a daunting task for small business owners. The day-to-day activities involved in running a business can leave little time for digital marketing for home service companies. Even though you’re an expert at what you do, coming up with ideas to keep your audience engaged can sometimes seem cumbersome.
Enter a solution that will save you time as well as engage your audience—repurpose content. Repurposing doesn’t simply mean updating something that’s out of date and reposting it. Rather, it involves changing the format and/or tweaking the message to appeal to a certain target audience. Content repurposing is all about expanding your reach and boosting your impact.
Focuses on Quality, Not Quantity
Creating content takes time. Sometimes, when you’re determined to fill a calendar to reach a quota, the quality of the content you’re producing can slip. Repurposing content allows you to spend less time curating new ideas and more time refining what you know works. It’s not always necessary to reinvent the wheel if you have ideas that are already successful. Finding other ways to use great content enables you to continually improve so that the things you share are even more effective.
Saves Time and Money
To belabor the point: content creation takes time, especially when your goal is to produce quality content that matters to your audience (which should be always). When you repurpose content, you already have the core idea and know where it fits into your overall strategy. Essentially, you’ve already done the hard work. Finding a way to repurpose the content you already have—either to connect with a new set of people or update the format—will save you time and money.
Reach New People
Your audience is varied, and they will respond differently to various approaches. Maximize your reach by turning one content type into another. Let’s say you’re a plumbing business that writes a blog about the most common causes of clogged drains. This would be very useful to some members of your audience, but maybe some prefer a more visual approach. You could also change the format to reach buyers in different purchasing mindsets. Your blog could be targeted toward those ready to purchase, with calls-to-action asking them to call you peppered throughout, while your infographic may simply be for brand awareness, meant for sharing but not heavy on the sales aspect. No matter what, turning your blog into an infographic maximizes the hard work you put into creating the blog in the first place.
Target Specific Buying Stages
Your audience will contain buyers who are at different stages of the purchasing journey. Some will be just starting out in their search; others will be ready to buy. Though your core purpose and goal are the same in the end, your approach to attract each segment of your audience will differ. People in each stage have their own distinct needs and preferences, and the way you present your content should reflect that.
Strengthens Your Messaging
Consistency is key in branding. This applies to your messaging, too. Your audience wants to know what they can expect from your company. Repurposing your content not only maximizes its reach, it also increases retention, packs a stronger punch, and offers a different perspective on what you can provide. By telling your story in different ways, you can better connect with various types of buyers.
Getting Started: Ways to Repurpose Content
Now that you know why repurposing content can be great for your business, how do you get started? Here are just a few ideas:
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Turn a blog into an infographic
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Promote a blog on social media
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Turn a blog series into an email newsletter
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Cut a video into segments for video ads
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Pull graphics from blog for social media posts
The list goes on and on. The most important takeaway is to recognize that each marketing avenue you pursue should intersect with all others. Your content across platforms should complement your overall strategy and reinforce your branding. Overall, it comes down to connecting with customers.
Nathan Yerian
