Be a Content Chameleon

Do you spend a lot of time developing new marketing materials? According to a 2015 Marketing Profs article, two million new blog posts are posted online each day. That’s stiff competition for each of your posts!

Perhaps we need a “re-think” when it comes to writing: In today’s social media arena, it may be smarter to invest more of your resources in promoting your existing content, and to reduce thetime you put into writing new material. How does that work? By finding smart ways to repurpose and repackage your existing content. Here are some suggestions for developing a content marketing strategy that allows you to leverage your materials most effectively.

What are my objectives?

It’s basic. Don’t skip this crucial, preliminary step of any marketing activity: Set clear objectives. Before you get started, you’ll want to develop a structure and outline exactly what it is that you want your content, whatever its format, to achieve.

Who am I talking to?

A content marketing strategy is designed to drive action by addressing the needs and wants of your target audience. Research what kinds of topics are most interesting to your audience, and figure out what format they are most likely to engage with.

What should I discuss?

Content discovery tools like BuzzSumo allow you to:

• Figure out which topics are most widely shared
• Analyze the content that’s performing well on your own website
• Peek at what’s succeeding on competitors’ sites

Use tools to listen in on the current interests of your target audience, and choose topics of discussion accordingly.

How should I present my content?

Repurposing means changing around the style and format of your content, chameleon-style, to suit different kinds of presentations. You can package and repackage the same material first as a blog post, then as a SlideShare presentation, and finally as a video. If you keep your content connected to a theme, you can also repackage multiple posts in an e-book. Of course, by offering multiple formats, you naturally extend your reach. Your materials appeal to a wider variety of individuals.

When should I post repurposed materials?

Once you start repurposing materials, a content calendar is essential. Keep it simple: Create an Excel spreadsheet that lists your topics, content formats, planned publishing dates, and the channels you plan to use for promotion. The calendar helps you keep track of initial publication dates so that you can figure out when you to start repurposing materials.

How do I extend my reach?

One way is to contact industry experts, asking for a quote or an insight that you can attribute to them within your content. Why? Any experts you credit are likely to share your content with their own social media followers. This introduces your content to new audiences.

Where should I promote my content?

Several decisions need to be made when it comes to content promotion:

• Are you focusing on paid promotion, or are you more inclined toward organic?
• Do you want to experiment with a combination?
• Do you intend to use the content to capture new leads, or is it more important to you to utilize your materials further along the funnel, perhaps as part of a trigger email campaign?

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

The key to successful content repurposing is to have this eventual goal in mind each time you start creating new content. Certain kinds of materials lend themselves more easily to being re-organized in a variety of formats. These formats work well:

• How-to guides
• Videos
• Webinars

Keep them focused on strategy and technique. In contrast, news items or content that relates to specific tools can quickly become outdated. By effectively developing content that can be repurposed and repackaged, you can reduce your ongoing investment in content creation and increase your bottom line.