Content repurposing: Save time and energy creating content
This is originally a podcast episode. Listen to it on different platforms!
If you’re listening to this on Friday, the 26th of May, I am still in London, probably having an amazing time with Travis Brown and Dan Thomas at the Podcast Show. I am recording this more than a week in advance, and let me tell you. It’s a bit crazy over here, trying to finish up everything on time. 😀 Today we’re dealing with the creating part of the process and we’re talking about repurposing content on Instagram.
Did you know that you don’t have to create every piece of content from scratch every single time? Pffff mind blowing, right? You can save so much time with this little thing called content repurposing. It was all the rage a while back on Instagram, but people have kind of stopped talking about it recently. I truly think this is worth repeating.
What is content repurposing?
Content repurposing means that you’re using fragments or all of existing content to expand its reach, often in a new format.
A subcategory here I would like to add is content reposting. Content reposting means that you post the exact same content once again.
How does content repurposing work?
Let’s say you have a blog, an Instagram account, a TikTok account, a YouTube channel and a podcast. No, you don’t have to have it all, this is just an example.
You go to create a new podcast. You write a script for it- boom! You have a blog post. You film yourself while recording a podcast- boom you have a Youtube video. You take the most interesting 30-90 seconds- boom you have an Instagram reel, a TikTok video and a YouTube shorts video! All you have to do is tweak each piece of content, so it works on the intended platform, like adding headings, links and photos to your blog post, adding captions to your short videos, and you’re done! It really is as easy as that.
Content repurposing can take many different forms, and it doesn’t have to look like that at all. For example, I am scripting this podcast, so this script is going to be a blog post (see, I told you). But instead of doing an Instagram reel, I am going to create a carousel post or a single post about content repurposing. So, one topic, 3 different pieces of content on 3 different platforms.
So, when you create your next piece of content, think about how you could use it in other formats and on other platforms. It might be easier than you think.
Repurposing a viral post
Content repurposing is also cool if you notice a piece of content did really well on your profile. Let’s say you created a reel that went viral. Think about how you can repurpose that reel. Could you make it into a carousel or a single post? Could you write a blog post about it? Could you post it again on other platforms? If it did well as a reel, that means that the topic was interesting, and it might to well again as another type of content.
You may have heard that Instagram has decided to push static images more than before. That means that we no longer have to rely on reels for potential viral content. Singles and carousels are actually predominant on the explore page!
Here is what I recommend you do:
One, go to your analytics or insights on every platform and find your best performing content. For Instagram, if this content was posted over 5 or 6 months ago, you can definitely just post it again. Reposting is huge on Instagram, because the life span of each piece of content is very short. Most people (and when I say most, I mean 99.9% of people) will not remember it, and no one will mind you posting something from 6 months ago again. If you don’t want to simply repost it, create a new graphic with the same message, and then post it. I don’t recommend doing this for other platforms, except maybe TikTok, unless you have a new take on it, or something to add to the topic.
Two, think about whether you can start a series based on your top performing content. Is there a part two? Is there another perspective? Maybe you could talk about something similar? Create that type content again. If something worked the first time, it has a much better chance of working again.
My example of a viral post
Let me give you an example of my own. I recently posted a reel where I talked about an influencer who couldn’t sell 36 T-shirts to her audience of 2.6 million. That reel went viral and got over 12k views. Now, it was clear to me that my audience enjoyed that story, so I decided to look for more stories like that. I already posted one of them, and, while it didn’t do as well, I knew it had potential. I am going to keep creating more stories like that and one of them might do as well, if not better in the future!
*UPDATE*
My Instagram account (@proleda.media) got suspended. So, I started a new one, @nika.proleda.media, and I reposted that reel to that account. With less than 100 followers, it got around 1500 views, which is pretty awesome!
How can you repurpose content on Instagram and other platforms?
- An Instagram reel can become a Facebook reel, a TikTok, a Youtube shorts video, a Pinterest video or a Clapper video. You can even create it as a carousel or a single post later on.
- A carousel can become a Facebook post, an Instagram reel, a LinkedIn post, a podcast episode or a blog post. You can even make it into an email to your newsletter subscribers, or you can post it on Quora.
- A single post, especially an infographic, can become a reel. Just use B-roll footage and add the on-screen text with a good hook.
- A blog post can become a podcast episode, a carousel or a reel on Instagram, or a YouTube video.
Lifespan of content on Instagram
Remember, Instagram is a platform where content doesn’t have a long lifespan. It’s totally okay to repurpose or even repost a piece of content that did really well. Especially if it’s been more than 4 months since you first posted it.
Just avoid directly reposting anything that’s more recent than that and you’re good to go. You really don’t have to create every single piece of content from scratch! But please make sure you adapt the content to the platform you’re posting it to. For example, you wouldn’t use 30 hashtags on TikTok, but you might want to do that on Instagram. Or your Instagram caption might be longer than on other platforms, but you can’t use any links.
Conclusion on repurposing content on Instagram
That’s it! I hope I helped you understand content repurposing and have encouraged you to try it yourself.
If you haven’t listened to my last two episodes, you may not know that I have a 10-day engagement challenge. If your engagement is low, or you believe it could be higher, you might want to join! I am sharing a bunch of tips and insights throughout the challenge. The first group will already have finished the challenge by the time you’re hearing this, but I decided to make it something you can join any time.
Thank you for joining me on this episode, and I hope you’ll be here next week, when I’m going to talk about the posting part of the Plan-create-post on Instagram process. Have a wonderful weekend! Bye bye
