How to Repurpose Content on Social Media
Are you spending too much time on social media? Specifically, are you spending too much time creating social media content? It’s easy to get stuck in the hamster wheel of constantly creating new content. But there is a better way! Focusing on repurposing your content – whether into a different format or on a different social media channel – will not only save you a ton of time, it will also get more eyes on your content.
Repurposing content allows you to maximize the time you spend on social media. Instead of feeling like you’re constantly needing to create more and more content, you’ll create less content that's of really high value. Then you’ll break that piece of content down into five, 10 or even 15 other pieces of content. You may have heard of this as “slicing and dicing” or “creating snackable content.” It doesn’t matter what you call it - what matters is that you are smart with how you use your time on social media. Here are three steps to follow to help you successfully repurpose your content.
Create one piece of longer-form content. I say “longer”-form because it doesn't have to be super long. Three minutes is considered a long video these days. So this could look like a video, a blog, a vlog or a podcast. Just be sure it’s original content – you create it with your own voice and your own ideas.
Create shorter (snackable) content from longer-form content. Break that longer-form content into shorter, bite-sized pieces of content. This could look like an article, meme, graphic, image, infographic, quote, or even just other posts. The more you can break it down, the better!
Distribute all of that content across different social media channels. Plug those “bites” into your content calendar. You can likely use them across Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Twitter. Just be sure that you’re hitting all of the platforms that you're on.
So often I see someone take the time to create a great video, put it up on Facebook - and that's it! They then feel like they need to go and create another video. Instead, take that video and create lots of other content from it.
Let me give you an example of how I do this myself!
I record a video. (Because video is my favorite medium and also best for engagement.) I then upload that video to Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn.
Next, I take that video and transcribe it into a blog (like this one!), which goes live on my website, along with the original video. This way, people can read the blog or watch the video, and I am more likely to get my message across by providing both options.
Once the blog is finished I share a link to it on Facebook and repurpose as an article on LinkedIn.
I share that video and blog in my weekly email.
Finally, I create graphics from that video or blog. I usually pull three or four quotes and any “quick tips” that I share in the video. So from just one video, I now have a blog and 10 different images that I can put out on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
And then lastly, I use Stories to promote this content!
{Bonus Tip}: Create evergreen content. Instead of creating content that's only going to be relevant for a few weeks, create content that is going to be relevant for months - or even years. For example, this blog is relevant today, but it'll still be relevant a few months from now, which means I can reshare it in the future.
A great first step to repurposing content is to go back and look at what evergreen content you’ve already created. Then, reshare it – or repurpose and share it in a different format. The goal is to extend the life of our content and, in the end, save yourself time!
The next time you’re creating content ask yourself: What's next? How do I break it down? Where does that content go and where is it being distributed? Each piece of content you create should have its own posting plan – that is replicable! That is how you can really get smart and save time when it comes to social media.
Does this motivate or excite you? If so, let me know how you plan to start repurposing your content in the comments!