In at present’s crowded social media panorama, social entrepreneurs know the way 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 making an attempt 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.
On the subject of social content material creation, it pays to work smarter, not more durable. As an alternative of continually 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, experiences, white papers and extra.
On this article, we’ll talk about repurposing content material for social media and learn 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 a lot of strategic advantages to repurposing content material for social media.
What does this course of appear like in apply? The Sprout Social Index™ is our annual information report that speaks to the complete advertising and marketing business. However we additionally embrace information factors which can 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 business insights. Plus, we constantly 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 shoppers. In accordance with Sprout Social’s 2024 Social Media Content material Technique Report, social media customers join and devour content material otherwise throughout social platforms. To achieve your audience, you’ve bought to submit related, entertaining and academic content material in a number of locations.
Nonetheless, with tighter budgets and decrease head counts, manufacturers have to determine learn how to take advantage of out of each advertising and marketing useful resource they’ve accessible.
When you’ve gotten a content material repurposing technique in place, you optimize your efforts and spend. In fact, you must keep away from sharing the identical content material in all places, on a regular basis. It’s vital 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 completely different codecs strengthens your model’s id on social, reminding followers who you’re and what you stand for. Bear 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.
Once you repurpose content material for social media, you double down on key model messaging. In accordance 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 loads of alternatives to search out artistic 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 a way a lot your model dominates a dialog in your business 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 internet new content material.
The subsequent 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).
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
For those who don’t have a method for repurposing content material for social media, it may really feel a bit overwhelming to start out. The place do you start? What workflow is true in your staff? How a lot repurposing is an excessive amount of? Don’t fear—the next greatest practices will reply your questions so you’re feeling assured when getting began.
Determine 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 specific artwork kind. For content material repurposing success, you’ve bought to pick the appropriate content material to reuse within the first place.
Put your greatest foot ahead, because the saying goes: Prioritize content material that performs properly, resonates along 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. Objectives can embrace:
- Elevating model consciousness in a sure business
- Connecting along with your viewers
- Driving natural site visitors again to your web site
- Supporting leads or trials
Contemplate 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 need to drive natural site visitors again to a touchdown web page or web site, repurposing content material that has a excessive click-through price makes probably the most sense.
Test if the content material you need to repurpose is evergreen or time-constrained. An article that performs properly year-round could also be simpler to repurpose proper now, whereas event-specific or seasonal content material could must be rigorously scheduled earlier than posting.
Select the appropriate channels
Repurposing content material for social media additionally means you have 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 worthwhile because the story itself. Your repurposing technique wants to contemplate viewers community preferences, alongside along with your social targets for the yr.
For instance, in case your viewers is essentially energetic on LinkedIn and one among your targets is to extend visibility on that community, then you definately’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. This can enable you to improve visibility on that community and enhance social follower retention as properly.
Along with contemplating which of your networks are most energetic, give attention to what kinds of content material shoppers are searching for as an entire throughout networks. Business developments can shift and fade rapidly for every community, so it’s additionally vital 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 probably 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 properly to short-form movies out of your model, repurpose extra content material into that format. Make sure to shock and delight your viewers with one thing sudden every so often too, similar to a GIF or meme, in order that your social community feed isn’t all the identical.
Contemplating the appropriate format for every social community is vital as a result of what works for one community isn’t going to be proper for one more. For instance, a three-minute video primarily based on an eBook may fit properly for YouTube, however is probably going too lengthy for X (previously Twitter). As an alternative, customers need to see shorter movies beneath 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 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 vital potential for development.
Use AI to save lots of time
For those who’re enthusiastic about learn how to repurpose content material for social media in much less time, contemplate the numerous AI instruments accessible 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 Ideas by AI Help instrument to generate customized copy that aligns with their model’s voice and viewers preferences, supporting their copywriting efforts.
To boost your repurposing technique with Ideas by AI Help, strive utilizing the instrument to remodel top-performing posts. This lets you create three recent variations of a confirmed format very quickly.
The best way to repurpose high-performing content material right into a social media submit
After compiling an inventory of your greatest items and figuring out the social networks to give attention to, it’s time to repurpose your content material for social media. However, watch out for social media saturation—social media customers are sifting via 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 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’ll be able to broaden your content material by posting threads as a substitute. Use X threads to share detailed and sophisticated info that doesn’t lend itself properly to a single submit, similar to weblog content material. It’s additionally a great way to share assets, lists and suggestions and methods with followers.
Cross-post your livestream
Lengthen 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 can too 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 will 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 current 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 current article. By repurposing content material and/or linking to it in your response to queries, you construct relationships and improve the probabilities of being discovered by others asking the identical query. This method additionally exhibits social followers you’re being attentive to their questions, preferences and wishes.
Amazon solutions a query within the video under, participating followers with an issue skilled. Related content material is utilized in a weblog submit by Amazon as properly.
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 greatest 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 give attention to their social media presence.
Flip a webinar right into a video
Webinars provide informative and academic content material for social followers, however typically, 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 may as well 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 loads 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 experiences and white papers to showcase your authority within the house.
Use the facility of a memorable quote
Trying to spark dialog, construct authority or drive engagement? A strong quote could make your content material stand out. Comb via your blogs, experiences, 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 just a little artistic reformatting and considerate placement, social media entrepreneurs can profit from all their model’s best content material and scale back the content material technology workload. It’s a win-win.
Need extra tricks to make a long-lasting enterprise affect along with your content material technique? Obtain Sprout’s Community Content material Technique Report and get findings that will help you prioritize your funds and bandwidth to ship the best return on funding out of your social efforts.
