As marketers, some of us often think that publishing lengthy blog posts or articles would work wonders for our site rankings. A more common notion is that the longer the post, the better its search ranking will be, according to serpIQ.
The first two positions in Google have a combined average of more than 2,450 words on a page!
The assumption behind the figures is that the more words in a page, the more valuable information it shares. By making each word in your post count, you provide immense value to your content. Not only will visitors come running down your site to read your content, but search engines will be more likely to rank you atop search results for your keyword.
Such is the power that a piece of content wields.
“Believe it or not, content is king,” says Mike Wallagher in his post. “You might drive thousands of people to your blog, but if there’s nothing to read, they will leave and most likely never return.”
Though this may be true in an SEO sense, it does not guarantee marketing success.
In other words, you cannot expect to rank atop search results overnight just because you wrote a lengthy post.
The statement above lies the problem with most SEO-focused campaigns.
I am not saying that there is no chance for you to rank, but your chances of ranking for your target keyword with your content are very slim.
There are many factors to consider when ranking for a keyword with your content: page quality, competition, the age of the post, backlink profile, and others.
Therefore, content quality is just one of the many factors that you have to meet so you can fully reap the benefits of your SEO efforts.
What most marketers fail to realize is that SEO is not the only game in town!
Since users share content across different platforms, it can also be re-made into something better and more interesting for your audience.
Think of it as a piece of an empty plastic bottle. Once it has served its purpose of holding a drink, it would be tossed into the trash can. However, as what most of us know, plastic bottles can be recycled into makeshift vases, pots, containers for small trinkets, and even home furniture.
What used to be something that is no longer useful can be transformed into something precious again!
Enter content repurposing.
Content Repurposing Basics
To repurpose content is to find new ways of how you would be able to ‘recycle' existing ones, so to speak. Many content marketers use this strategy to gain more site traffic by distributing content in different formats to various sites. It is helpful in generating more page views and improving your online exposure.
To give you an overview of content repurposing below is an infographic created by Cent Muruganandam.
By adapting the same content in a different format, you have the power to reach a wider set of audiences and make them appreciate your content more. You will also have the chance to bump into new audiences and introduce to them the kind of content that you do. You can achieve this without having to enter the ultra-competitive world of SEO!
Another benefit of content repurposing is that you can in a way revive content that you have done before but was not able to maximize. You could improve what you have written or composed, or even incorporate visuals to them. Do this technique if you do not want your content to be forgotten and kept in the deepest realms of the Internet forever.
Note: Reviving or repurposing old posts is different from “ spinning” them. The process of repurposing involves restructuring the content in a creative way for the purpose of attracting your audience.
In an SEO perspective, repurposed content attributes back to the old post. It lets search engines know that the content is not "original" in the strictest sense by linking back to the original post. Therefore, you are not violating guidelines set by search engines.
Finally, content repurposing lets you gauge how well your content performs. If it is not faring well, you would know what to do and what adjustments to make.
Your actions pave the way for better content promotion and give other people the opportunity to view your content piece in case they've missed it the first time you posted it.
Tools for Repurposing Content
The infographic was able to provide a comprehensive list of tools to use for repurposing content. However, I will list down my personal favorites below.
- Visme – I consider this tool the Swiss Knife of content repurposing. You can turn articles into slide decks, infographics, stand-alone images, and other visual content using this tool.
- Audacity – You can read out and record your articles using this tool. You can then upload the audio files to podcast hosting sites to drive
- Powtoon – Turn your content into compelling videos using this tool. Choose from different graphics and animation to bring your content to life.
- AI Video Marketing Automator – This app allows you to create videos from prompts using AI, automate video marketing for SEO and social media, and effortlessly convert blog posts into videos.
What are the Ways to Repurpose Content?
Visual content has done content marketers a great deal when it comes to online selling and advertising. Due to technological advances, people are becoming more receptive to visual content, so it is safe to say that it is currently the bomb in the content marketing world. Here are a few ways on how you can spin your content efficiently:
Webinars
If you've hosted a webinar before, then you can use this content piece and improve how you would market it to your prospective audiences. You may turn it into a YouTube video or a trendy blog tutorial. Your posted videos ensure that you stay connected with your readers and viewers.
Example: Internet Marketing Ninjas has a featured called the Jim and Ann Show hosted by CEP Jim Boykin and Ann Smarty (of MyBlogGuest and MyBlogU fame).
Aside from appearing as blog posts on the site, the show also has YouTube and SoundCloud channels where the content from the original post is recreated in video and audio formats.
PowerPoint Presentations
Who would have thought that slide presentations could also be recreated? The slide decks that you have made for your previous company presentations need not go to waste. All you have to do is update the information included if there’s a need for it, and upload it in SlideShare. In a matter of seconds and a few clicks, you’ve given your old slide presentations new life!
Example: While this is hardly repurposing content in the strictest sense, the slide decks of founder and former Moz CEO Rand Fishkin at Slideshare are some of the most impressive in the industry.
Embed if possible: http://www.slideshare.net/randfish/why-content-marketing-fails?qid=2be5aa0a-28ab-4125-bb03-24a6e7e981ea&v=qf1&b=&from_search=1
Most of the concepts he shares in his slides can be found in his Whiteboard Friday featured at the Moz Blog. Taking those ideas and turning them into slides (while taking a cue from Seth Godin on how to properly create slideshows), Rand can craft compelling content in the form of stand-alone presentations.
Image-Heavy Blog Posts
Blog posts look stale without images. If free stock photos do not cut it, and royalty-free images are too limited for you, then you need to learn how to create visual content on your own.
An excellent way to do this is by taking snippets and quotes from your blog post and turning them into images. This way, there will be a greater chance for readers to share the images on social media if the quote inspires.
Example: If you have created lots of image quotes from your blog posts, create a Pinterest board about words of wisdom and upload all images in there. Doing this allows you to create a social media link between you and your audiences.
Final Takeaway
In content repurposing, all it takes is a little creativity and flair. Suffice to say, the tips and strategies mentioned above are just the tips of the iceberg. With enough research and ingenuity, you can come up with new strategies that let you recreate your old posts into a different format to boost your online reach and remove yourself from depending too much on SEO.
More importantly, don’t just spin the content that you’ve previously generated. Add a little more value to each repurposed version so that viewers would always have something to look forward to. Once you've gotten the hang of it, you do not have to worry about being forgotten in the online world!