Repurpose content (content recycling)

Published by Stefan Nordström on

Repurpose content - content recycling

Don’t forget to repurpose content as a part of your content marketing work. Sometimes, it’s even better than creating new content. In this blog post we’ll have a look at the advantages of repurposing content, and how you can do it.

In my opinion, it’s definitely something content marketers should be doing more. It’s easy to always think new, new, new, and of course new is good. But sometimes it’s even better to repurpose content.

By Stefan Nordström

Stefan Nordström - frilansande konsult inom digital marknadsföring som copywriting och SEO

  • Freelancing digital marketing consultant
  • 8 years of in-house and freelance experience
  • Expertise: SEO, copywriting, newsletters, conversion optimization, digital strategy
  • LinkedIn | Mail | Instagram

How do you know what to repurpose?

Repurposing content is usually a very good strategy. But how do you know what content to choose? My advice is to start by having a look at the content on your digital platforms.

Some of examples of good content to repurpose are:

  • Popular or engaging content (check Google Analytics and social media statistics)
  • Old content that might need to be freshened up anyway
  • Content with a format that would fit on other platforms
  • Content that might drive traffic, e.g. from social media to a website

This blog post will explore seven ways to repurpose content:

  • Update and improve existing blog posts
  • Compile your existing content
  • Repurpose web content on social media
  • Turn your content into infographics
  • Video content
  • Don’t forget about evergreen content
  • Turn your content into e-books, courses or downloadable pdfs

Update and improve existing blog posts

Old blog posts rarely equal obsolete content. And when it does, you can usually fix it by updating and improving them. It’s not a huge effort, but it can make a difference in how both users and search engines view your site. A good way to start is looking at your 20-30 oldest blog posts; are they as good as your recent content?

When you change the content, you can also change the date. Suddenly, you have a new blog post, instead of an old one dwelling deep down in the feed. Not to mention that it’s an excellent time to improve the overall quality of your content. When you do this, you might also find inspiration for new content, which can be really valuable.

Compile your existing content

When you work with content marketing you usually wind up with a lot of material around some topics. Why not make a whole new posts where you compile your existing content? Maybe you can whip up a “5 great SEO lessons” that simply compiles five blog posts and links to them? Or maybe just compile popular posts or some content that you’re really proud of on a personal level?

There are many ways to do this, and no matter which method you choose, you wind up with more content, more links and more visitors. If you post a lot of content, you could even it make it into a recurring thing.

Repurpose web content on social media

Blog posts and other long-form content usually works really well on social media. A typical way to repurpose content for social media is to post list content from blog posts on Facebook or Instagram. It also gives you the opportunity to drive traffic from social media to your website.

If you have a site with a lot of content, it really is a great way to repurpose it. It doesn’t require that much work, and you can capitalize on your previous content efforts.

Turn your content into infographics

Is your content educational and informative? Why not turn it into an infographic? It’s an easy way to convey the overall message in a simple way. Infographics have several upsides. It helps people who prefer to learn in a fast, visual way to pick up the important parts, and it can also be an image that improves your content in the eyes of both readers and search engines.

Turn your content into e-books, courses or downloadable pdfs

Many blog posts and other digital content can be turned into excellent e-books and pdfs for download. Some content marketers sell these versions, making it part of their business model. It’s a great idea, and definitely something you can do yourself, if you have a lot of content to repurpose.

If you have a lot of educational content you can also make it into a course, something that’s very common in digital marketing and other related niches.

Video content

Video is a great way to make your content more personal and unique. It’s also a way to be seen on other platforms, like YouTube. And if you’ve already written and posted the comment, the script is pretty much there already. The video material can also be posted on your site, improving your previous content. Don’t forget that you can also repurpose content by doing the opposite – turning video into text or images.

Don’t forget about evergreen content

One of the most common examples of content recycling is evergreen content. It’s often seasonal, e.g. Christmas, Easter or other holiday content. Most people are aware of it, but it’s still good to remember to update your evergreen content when needed, so it has maximum impact.

Do you need help with content or SEO?

Content recycling is one of many methods a good content marketer should know. Are you looking for someone to help you with your digital content? Then you’re in the right place! I’m a freelancing digital marketer that has helped many companies with copywriting, SEO and other content-related tasks. Interested? Get in touch with me by adding me on LinkedIn or e-mailing me at nordstromstefan86@gmail.com.

More posts about digital content:

How do you perform a content audit? ->

What is a content manager and what does one do? ->

How to find and fix bad content ->

Is being paid per word a good idea for copywriters? ->


Stefan Nordström

Digital marketing freelancer and consultant originally from Stockholm, Sweden.

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