Tips for Successfully Repurposing Your Content

Is the content of your e-newsletter the same content you put on Facebook and Twitter?

Repurposing content makes sense. It gives you extra mileage for your investment in content creation. But it’s gotta be done right.

Putting the content from your e-newsletter on your Facebook Page verbatim gives users an incentive to unsubscribe from your email. If also tells Facebook Fans who aren’t email subscribers there’s no incentive to become one.

Translation: You lose. Efficiency that works in your favor is a win. Efficiency that works against you is just laziness.

If you’re repurposing your content, remember these tips:

For Every Channel, a Unique Benefit

Your customers should get an exclusive perk for being a Facebook Fan: Discounts, gifts, VIP access, etc. You should offer a different benefit for subscribing to your email list, and still enough for following on Twitter. Make it worth my time to listen to you everywhere.

Customize Your Message

If your message is identical across all channels, why would I follow you on all channels? Wouldn’t I just listen to you on my preferred channel? If you offer me content that is unique to each channel, I’m more likely to see each missive as worthy of my time.

Tailor Your Message Format to the Channel

If users want long-form content, they’ll read a blog; don’t put a novel on your Facebook wall. Consumers have different expectations of content for each sandbox. Facebook works well for photos, video, and conversation — but keep it digestible. Blogs are good for more thorough exploration of topics. Twitter? Keep it short. If you’re repurposing your content, adapt it to fit the container.

Engage Everywhere Your Content Goes

This should go without saying, but many marketers still miss this point: If you’re going to blast your message out to 173 spokes (outposts?), have the decency to meet your readers out there. Engage. Connect. Converse. Respond. Otherwise, you’ll just look like an automated pusher. We can see you take shortcuts, and we’re not impressed.

Other Ideas?

These are my top tips…what did I miss? Any other suggestions for making repackaged content better?

http://my-creativeteam.com/blog Harry Hoover

Scott, nice piece. A lot of people don't think about how to repurpose content by channel as you have suggested. You also can repackage it for use in the same channel. For instance, let's say you have blogged several times on a topic. This content could become a white paper on a topic. Bust it up into several manageable pieces and develop podcasts and videos from the material, all available from your blog. Others may want to see the information in person – so, develop a seminar on the topic from the white paper. Take a 20,000 foot look at your audiences, your channels and your content to determine how best to package it.
http://my-creativeteam.com/blog Harry Hoover

Scott, nice piece. A lot of people don't think about how to repurpose content by channel as you have suggested. You also can repackage it for use in the same channel. For instance, let's say you have blogged several times on a topic. This content could become a white paper on a topic. Bust it up into several manageable pieces and develop podcasts and videos from the material, all available from your blog. Others may want to see the information in person – so, develop a seminar on the topic from the white paper. Take a 20,000 foot look at your audiences, your channels and your content to determine how best to package it.
http://mediaemerging.com Scott Hepburn

Good points, Harry. It often surprises me how many people don't get more mileage out of good content. Of course, I'm also surprised to see what people consider good content, so what do I know?
http://mediaemerging.com Scott Hepburn

Good points, Harry. It often surprises me how many people don't get more mileage out of good content. Of course, I'm also surprised to see what people consider good content, so what do I know?
http://www.twitter.com/Graytuna Graytuna

@Harry Hoover
Oh, I loved your comment and points. Personally (From what I've seen in Social Media) the ones that are REALLY good content-creators (Copywriters, bloggers, PR Pro's) are able to use their content and develop it further. As you mentioned: into Podcasts, eBooks etc. Now, that's potential variation and creativity!

By the way Scott, I'm new to mediaemerging (Hello Hello!) and I'm really impressed by this blog post. What do you think about the time aspects of all this , for let's say a beginner within Social Media. I'm a bit curious about how you're doing with all this. Haven't followed your strategies and work on all these channels , maybe it's time to do so :)

Cheers!
http://www.twitter.com/Graytuna Graytuna

@Harry Hoover
Oh, I loved your comment and points. Personally (From what I've seen in Social Media) the ones that are REALLY good content-creators (Copywriters, bloggers, PR Pro's) are able to use their content and develop it further. As you mentioned: into Podcasts, eBooks etc. Now, that's potential variation and creativity!

By the way Scott, I'm new to mediaemerging (Hello Hello!) and I'm really impressed by this blog post. What do you think about the time aspects of all this , for let's say a beginner within Social Media. I'm a bit curious about how you're doing with all this. Haven't followed your strategies and work on all these channels , maybe it's time to do so :)

Cheers!
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http://www.mynotetakingnerd.com/blog Lewis LaLanne aka Nerd #2

One re-purposing content idea I’ve only begun to explore is turning blog posts into videos and posting them to popular video sites.

Well, not the whole post in my case because I tend to go long, but I’ll give the highlights which takes 5-7 minutes and then give people a link at the end directing them where they can go to read the full story.

When creating these videos I strive to appeal to people who like the big picture and then also let the detail people know where they dive deep and tickle themselves pink in the minutia.
http://mediaemerging.com Scott Hepburn

Good tip. The tools are there for us to use it with relative ease…consistency is where so many of us struggle.