In right this moment’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 dear. 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 more durable. As an alternative of regularly arising with new concepts, social entrepreneurs ought to take a look at what they have already got and repurpose their top-performing weblog posts, movies, studies, white papers and extra.
On this article, we’ll focus on repurposing content material for social media and tips on how to make your content material give you the results you want, as a substitute of the opposite approach round.
Why it pays to repurpose content material for social media
There are lots of strategic advantages to repurposing content material for social media.
What does this course of appear like in follow? The Sprout Social Index™ is our annual information report that speaks to your complete advertising trade. However we additionally embrace information factors which might be 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 constantly pull graphics from the report to incorporate in our social media content material.
Listed here 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. Nevertheless, it’s an effort manufacturers have to take in the event that they wish to stay related with customers. In keeping with Sprout Social’s 2024 Social Media Content material Technique Report, social media customers join and devour content material in a different way throughout social platforms. To succeed in your audience, you’ve received to submit related, entertaining and academic content material in a number of locations.
Nevertheless, with tighter budgets and decrease head counts, manufacturers have to determine tips on how to take advantage of out of each advertising useful resource they’ve obtainable.
When you have got a content material repurposing technique in place, you optimize your efforts and spend. After all, you must keep away from sharing the identical content material in all places, on a regular basis. It’s necessary to keep in mind every social community’s distinctive options and demographics so the content material you share aligns with what your audience is searching for.
Reinforces the model message
Sharing constant messaging throughout totally different codecs strengthens your model’s id on social, reminding followers who you might be and what you stand for. Keep in mind the “Rule of Seven”? Prospects have to see or hear a model’s message at the very least seven instances earlier than taking any motion to make a purchase order.
Once you repurpose content material for social media, you double down on key model messaging. In keeping with the 2024 Content material Benchmarks Report, manufacturers printed 10 posts per day throughout social networks in 2023. In some industries, the quantity doubled and even quadrupled. That’s a number of alternatives to seek 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 take care of regular content material manufacturing quantity, to allow them to keep 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 all the time on the entrance web page of search outcomes for social media influencers, for instance).
Once you repurpose content material for social media, you play the lengthy sport. It’s not nearly saving money and time, it’s additionally about rising visibility and authority over time.
What to contemplate: Finest practices for repurposing content material for social media
When you don’t have a method for repurposing content material for social media, it could actually really feel a bit overwhelming to start out. The place do you start? What workflow is true in your group? How a lot repurposing is an excessive amount of? Don’t fear—the next finest 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 must know that not all content material lends itself to this explicit artwork type. For content material repurposing success, you’ve received to pick out the fitting content material to reuse within the first place.
Put your finest foot ahead, because the saying goes: Prioritize content material that performs nicely, resonates together with your viewers and can meet your wants and targets. Having a aim in thoughts makes it simpler to find out which content material to incorporate in your curation technique. Targets can embrace:
- Elevating model consciousness in a sure trade
- Connecting together with your viewers
- Driving natural 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 aim is to extend engagement throughout networks, repurpose content material that has a excessive variety of likes, shares and feedback. In case your aim is to extend follower development, contemplate repurposing content material that has beforehand had probably the most mentions, feedback and shares. For manufacturers that wish to drive natural visitors again to a touchdown web page or web site, repurposing content material that has a excessive click-through fee makes probably the most sense.
Examine if the content material you wish to repurpose is evergreen or time-constrained. An article that performs nicely year-round could also be simpler to repurpose proper now, whereas event-specific or seasonal content material could have to be rigorously scheduled earlier than posting.
Select the fitting channels
Repurposing content material for social media additionally means that you must contemplate the place it’ll be posted. The proper channel makes all of the distinction—the way you inform the story is equally as invaluable because the story itself. Your repurposing technique wants to contemplate viewers community preferences, alongside together with your social targets for the yr.
For instance, in case your viewers is basically energetic on LinkedIn and one in every of your targets is to extend visibility on that community, then you definitely’ll wish to contemplate how finest to repurpose content material that’ll get extra eyes in your feed.
Whereas LinkedIn is a superb area for sharing thought management content material, remember to take into consideration what else social media customers wish to see on that channel. This may make it easier to enhance visibility on that community and enhance social follower retention as nicely.
Along with contemplating which of your networks are most energetic, concentrate on what varieties of content material customers are searching for as an entire throughout networks. Trade traits can shift and fade rapidly 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 signifies that social networks that assist and promote that format will seemingly proceed to see development.
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 constantly react nicely to short-form movies out of your model, repurpose extra content material into that format. Remember to shock and delight your viewers with one thing sudden from time to time too, akin to a GIF or meme, in order that your social community feed isn’t all the identical.
Contemplating the fitting 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 go nicely for YouTube, however is probably going too lengthy for X (previously Twitter). As an alternative, customers wish to see shorter movies underneath a minute on X, together with static pictures, text-only posts, GIFs and memes.
Don’t overlook rising networks you’ve not too long ago began utilizing. Repurposing content material could present a possibility to extend your visibility on these networks and set up your model as a number one voice within the area. Take Threads, for instance. Whereas solely 15% of our survey respondents have a Threads profile, there’s important potential for development.
Use AI to save lots of time
When you’re enthusiastic about tips on how to 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 Solutions 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 Solutions 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.
repurpose high-performing content material right into a social media submit
After compiling a listing of your finest items and figuring out the social networks to concentrate on, 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 finest to supply high quality over amount. Listed here are some concepts to assist kickstart your creativity, stand out from the gang and switch any piece of content material into a fascinating submit in your networks:
Publish X threads
Whereas one X submit is just 280 characters, you possibly can broaden your content material by posting threads as a substitute. Use X threads to share detailed and complicated info that doesn’t lend itself nicely to a single submit, akin to weblog content material. It’s additionally a great way to share sources, lists and suggestions and methods 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 submit or TikTok. You may as well use screenshots and quotes for non-video posts to seize your viewers’s consideration or tease what’s to return. The probabilities for repurposing livestreams are countless. 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 chunk 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 could be repurposed on different platforms. Create a static picture with the large query, for instance, or take the ballot route. LinkedIn Q&As and Fb and X Polls all create alternatives to interact your viewers with present content material or tease a brand new report that’s on the way in which.
We requested a query on an Instagram carousel which pointed followers to our LinkedIn dwell occasion on the identical subject.
Present a solution
Search your Fb and LinkedIn communities for questions you possibly can 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 possibilities of being discovered by others asking the identical query. This strategy additionally exhibits social followers you’re being attentive to their questions, preferences and wishes.
Amazon solutions a query within the video beneath, participating followers with a subject professional. Related content material is utilized in a weblog submit by Amazon as nicely.
Rework written content material for Instagram
Even written content material can discover a residence on a visible platform like Instagram. However don’t simply copy and paste a paragraph as your Instagram submit; 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 brief movies sharing key info. Instagram carousels are nice methods to share text-based content material—simply remember to implement design finest practices to inform the story visually.
We seen a rise in curiosity in constructing an government social media presence, so we wrote a information on it and created an Instagram carousel that includes three compelling causes for executives to concentrate on their social media presence.
Flip a webinar right into a video
Webinars supply informative and academic content material for social followers, however usually, followers want to observe them dwell. Why not flip a webinar recording right into a social video, much like what SAP has completed beneath. On this case, they’ve used the entire webinar as a video, however you may also slice and cube the recording into bite-sized items for various social channels.
Deal with the numbers
Stats on social media are likely to seize a number of consideration, particularly in industries the place constructing credibility and experience matter. Create stat-based static graphics or brief movies that use your model’s analysis from studies and white papers to showcase your authority within the area.
Use the facility of a memorable quote
Seeking to spark dialog, construct authority or drive engagement? A robust quote could make your content material stand out. Comb by means of your blogs, studies, 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.
Good 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 benefit from all their model’s best content material and cut back the content material technology workload. It’s a win-win.
Need extra tricks to make a long-lasting enterprise influence together with your content material technique? Obtain Sprout’s Community Content material Technique Report and get findings that can assist you prioritize your finances and bandwidth to ship the best return on funding out of your social efforts.