In immediately’s crowded social media panorama, social entrepreneurs understand how difficult it may be to get their model’s content material to rise above the noise. Throw in the truth that many social media algorithms prioritize relevance over chronological order and social groups discover themselves posting all types of content material to see what sticks and what doesn’t.
However attempting to establish related content material for a number of social networks on a regular basis is exhausting—and expensive. And, frankly, some days you don’t have the time to create recent social content material from scratch.
Relating to social content material creation, it pays to work smarter, not tougher. As an alternative of regularly developing with new concepts, social entrepreneurs ought to take a look at what they have already got and repurpose their top-performing weblog posts, movies, stories, white papers and extra.
On this article, we’ll focus on repurposing content material for social media and make your content material be just right for you, as a substitute of the opposite approach round.
Why it pays to repurpose content material for social media
There are numerous strategic advantages to repurposing content material for social media.
What does this course of appear to be in follow? The Sprout Social Index™ is our annual information report that speaks to your entire advertising trade. However we additionally embody information factors which are particular to sure disciplines and can be utilized to seize the eye of area of interest audiences.
With this in thoughts, we create new articles impressed by information from the Index to dive deeper into these trade insights. Plus, we persistently pull graphics from the report to incorporate in our social media content material.
Listed below are the important thing advantages of getting a content material repurposing technique:
Saves time, cash and energy
Social media content material creation for a number of networks is time-consuming. Nonetheless, it’s an effort manufacturers have to take in the event that they need to stay related with customers. In line with Sprout Social’s 2024 Social Media Content material Technique Report, social media customers join and devour content material otherwise throughout social platforms. To succeed in your audience, you’ve bought to put up related, entertaining and academic content material in a number of locations.
Nonetheless, with tighter budgets and decrease head counts, manufacturers have to determine take advantage of out of each advertising useful resource they’ve obtainable.
When you may have a content material repurposing technique in place, you optimize your efforts and spend. In fact, you need to keep away from sharing the identical content material in every single place, on a regular basis. It’s necessary to take note of every social community’s distinctive options and demographics so the content material you share aligns with what your audience is in search of.
Reinforces the model message
Sharing constant messaging throughout completely different codecs strengthens your model’s identification on social, reminding followers who you’re and what you stand for. Keep in mind the “Rule of Seven”? Prospects have to see or hear a model’s message no less than seven occasions earlier than taking any motion to make a purchase order.
If you repurpose content material for social media, you double down on key model messaging. In line with the 2024 Content material Benchmarks Report, manufacturers revealed 10 posts per day throughout social networks in 2023. In some industries, the quantity doubled and even quadrupled. That’s a whole lot of alternatives to search out inventive methods to repurpose content material and remind social followers about your distinctive worth proposition.
Builds share of voice on a subject
Share of voice is a metric for the way a lot your model dominates a dialog in your trade in comparison with your opponents. For instance, Sprout is a frontrunner in conversations about social media influencers. Repurposing content material permits manufacturers to keep up regular content material manufacturing quantity, to allow them to preserve and develop share of voice on social with out having to create a bunch of web new content material.
The following time your audience searches for that subject on social or in a search engine, your model could also be on the prime of their search outcomes—proving to your viewers why you’re the authority on this space. (We’re at all times on the entrance web page of search outcomes for social media influencers, for instance).
If you repurpose content material for social media, you play the lengthy recreation. It’s not nearly saving money and time, it’s additionally about rising visibility and authority over time.
What to contemplate: Greatest practices for repurposing content material for social media
If you happen to don’t have a method for repurposing content material for social media, it might really feel a bit overwhelming to begin. The place do you start? What workflow is true on your group? How a lot repurposing is an excessive amount of? Don’t fear—the next greatest practices will reply your questions so you are feeling assured when getting began.
Establish high-performing content material
Earlier than you dive into recycling your content material, you need to know that not all content material lends itself to this specific artwork type. For content material repurposing success, you’ve bought to pick out the proper content material to reuse within the first place.
Put your greatest foot ahead, because the saying goes: Prioritize content material that performs effectively, resonates along with your viewers and can meet your wants and objectives. Having a purpose in thoughts makes it simpler to find out which content material to incorporate in your curation technique. Objectives can embody:
- Elevating model consciousness in a sure trade
- Connecting along with your viewers
- Driving natural site visitors again to your web site
- Supporting leads or trials
Take into account which social media metrics you’ll use to find out your best-performing content material. For instance, in case your purpose is to extend engagement throughout networks, repurpose content material that has a excessive variety of likes, shares and feedback. In case your purpose is to extend follower progress, contemplate repurposing content material that has beforehand had essentially the most mentions, feedback and shares. For manufacturers that need to drive natural site visitors again to a touchdown web page or web site, repurposing content material that has a excessive click-through fee makes essentially the most sense.
Examine if the content material you need to repurpose is evergreen or time-constrained. An article that performs effectively year-round could also be simpler to repurpose proper now, whereas event-specific or seasonal content material might should be rigorously scheduled earlier than posting.
Select the proper channels
Repurposing content material for social media additionally means it’s good to contemplate the place it’ll be posted. The proper channel makes all of the distinction—the way you inform the story is equally as helpful because the story itself. Your repurposing technique wants to contemplate viewers community preferences, alongside along with your social objectives for the 12 months.
For instance, in case your viewers is basically lively on LinkedIn and certainly one of your objectives is to extend visibility on that community, you then’ll need to contemplate how greatest to repurpose content material that’ll get extra eyes in your feed.
Whereas LinkedIn is a good house for sharing thought management content material, remember to take into consideration what else social media customers need to see on that channel. It will enable you to enhance visibility on that community and enhance social follower retention as effectively.
Along with contemplating which of your networks are most lively, deal with what sorts of content material customers are in search of as an entire throughout networks. Trade developments can shift and fade shortly for every community, so it’s additionally necessary to have a pulse on the place social goes. For instance, short-form video is at present king, which implies that social networks that assist and promote that format will seemingly proceed to see progress.
Tailor content material to every platform
Know your viewers. Take into consideration what your viewers on every community expects to see from you. For instance, in case your Instagram followers persistently react effectively to short-form movies out of your model, repurpose extra content material into that format. Be sure you shock and delight your viewers with one thing surprising once in a while too, equivalent to a GIF or meme, in order that your social community feed isn’t all the identical.
Contemplating the proper format for every social community is essential as a result of what works for one community isn’t going to be proper for an additional. For instance, a three-minute video primarily based on an eBook may fit effectively for YouTube, however is probably going too lengthy for X (previously Twitter). As an alternative, customers need to see shorter movies underneath a minute on X, together with static photographs, text-only posts, GIFs and memes.
Don’t overlook rising networks you’ve not too long ago began utilizing. Repurposing content material might present a chance to extend your visibility on these networks and set up your model as a number one voice within the house. Take Threads, for instance. Whereas solely 15% of our survey respondents have a Threads profile, there’s important potential for progress.
Use AI to avoid wasting time
If you happen to’re desirous about repurpose content material for social media in much less time, contemplate the various AI instruments obtainable that may assist.
AI instruments can improve social media content material creation by making new variations of examined codecs. For instance, entrepreneurs utilizing Sprout Social can use our Strategies by AI Help software to generate customized copy that aligns with their model’s voice and viewers preferences, supporting their copywriting efforts.
To reinforce your repurposing technique with Strategies by AI Help, strive utilizing the software to remodel top-performing posts. This lets you create three recent variations of a confirmed format very quickly.
The right way to repurpose high-performing content material right into a social media put up
After compiling an inventory of your greatest items and figuring out the social networks to deal with, it’s time to repurpose your content material for social media. However, watch out for social media saturation—social media customers are sifting by means of a ton of social media content material, so it’s greatest to supply high quality over amount. Listed below are some concepts to assist kickstart your creativity, stand out from the group and switch any piece of content material into an attractive put up on your networks:
Submit X threads
Whereas one X put up is just 280 characters, you’ll be able to increase your content material by posting threads as a substitute. Use X threads to share detailed and complicated info that doesn’t lend itself effectively to a single put up, equivalent to weblog content material. It’s additionally a great way to share assets, lists and ideas and tips with followers.
Cross-post your livestream
Prolong the lifetime of your livestream occasion by saving and importing movies to YouTube, sharing snippets to X or trimming clips for an Instagram put up or TikTok. You too can use screenshots and quotes for non-video posts to seize your viewers’s consideration or tease what’s to return. The chances for repurposing livestreams are infinite. You may even flip memorable moments into GIFs and memes for extra shareability.
Make it a GIF
Have a video clip or animation that brings a smile? Flip it right into a GIF. Loads of free instruments exist to do that, and GIFs make for eye-catching posts that can be utilized to advertise a bit of content material or a brand new product. Starbucks, for instance, created a easy GIF that showcases the chilly foam of their new product in a enjoyable approach.
Ask a query
The identical questions used to spark feedback on the ends of movies and weblog posts might be repurposed on different platforms. Create a static picture with the massive query, for instance, or take the ballot route. LinkedIn Q&As and Fb and X Polls all create alternatives to have interaction your viewers with present content material or tease a brand new report that’s on the best way.
We requested a query on an Instagram carousel which pointed followers to our LinkedIn reside occasion on the identical subject.
Present a solution
Search your Fb and LinkedIn communities for questions you’ll be able to reply with an present article. By repurposing content material and/or linking to it in your response to queries, you construct relationships and enhance the probabilities of being discovered by others asking the identical query. This method additionally exhibits social followers you’re taking note of their questions, preferences and wishes.
Amazon solutions a query within the video under, partaking followers with a topic professional. Comparable content material is utilized in a weblog put up by Amazon as effectively.
Rework written content material for Instagram
Even written content material can discover a house on a visible platform like Instagram. However don’t simply copy and paste a paragraph as your Instagram put up; contemplate pulling out salient information factors or quotes to construct a visible social narrative round. A prolonged report additionally works as fodder for a sequence of quick movies sharing key info. Instagram carousels are nice methods to share text-based content material—simply remember to implement design greatest practices to inform the story visually.
We seen a rise in curiosity in constructing an govt social media presence, so we wrote a information on it and created an Instagram carousel that includes three compelling causes for executives to deal with their social media presence.
Flip a webinar right into a video
Webinars provide informative and academic content material for social followers, however usually, followers want to observe them reside. Why not flip a webinar recording right into a social video, just like what SAP has finished under. On this case, they’ve used the entire webinar as a video, however you too can slice and cube the recording into bite-sized items for various social channels.
Concentrate on the numbers
Stats on social media are likely to seize a whole lot of consideration, particularly in industries the place constructing credibility and experience matter. Create stat-based static graphics or quick movies that use your model’s analysis from stories and white papers to showcase your authority within the house.
Use the facility of a memorable quote
Seeking to spark dialog, construct authority or drive engagement? A strong quote could make your content material stand out. Comb by means of your blogs, stories, interviews and different text-based content material for a quote that’ll seize your viewers’s consideration. Share it as a static graphic in your networks.
Sensible content material repurposing generates exponential returns
If you have already got high-performing content material, it’s time to make use of it throughout channels. With somewhat inventive reformatting and considerate placement, social media entrepreneurs can take advantage of all their model’s biggest content material and cut back the content material era workload. It’s a win-win.
Need extra tricks to make an enduring enterprise impression along with your content material technique? Obtain the 2024 Social Media Content material Technique and get findings that can assist you prioritize your funds and bandwidth to ship the best return on funding out of your social efforts.
