Already have some valuable content and want to create new content based on it? Great idea! Content recycling is used by both global brands and newcomers to a particular industry. It’s important that you already have content on the basis of which you will make another one, and that it is up-to-date. We’ll show you how you’ll use previously prepared content to grab your audience’s attention.
Why should you recycle content?
Reusing existing content saves time, and saves less effort while maintaining continuity in publishing. It allows your audience to see your company’s activity and gain more confidence in it. In content recycling, you don’t have to invent new issues and create everything “from scratch.” All you need to do is change the form of presentation of the prepared information and divide it into smaller parts or expand and update it. Content recycling brings many benefits not only to the company and employees, but also contributes to the interest of the audience.
What is the best way to use content recycling?
Insert eye-catching infographics based on existing data
Do you have reports with statistical data? Or maybe there are interesting facts about a particular topic on your site that you can refresh and transform in a different form?Prepare colorful infographics based on attractive content and publish them on social media.In this way you can promote previously prepared materials and inform audiences who were previously unfamiliar with your company about them. If you create graphics based on exclusive content that can be accessed only after filling out a form, you don’t need to use 100% of previous materials, but it’s better to add information that the full report is on the site (and insert a link to it).
Combine content with similar topics and prepare an e-book based on it
Do you want to get more leads and offer a free downloadable e-book in exchange for filling out the form? Just how to write it properly and what topics to stick to? The most popular articles on your blog will work best for this, along with the most read tips and advice on the site. Arrange the content thematically and see which categories are most convenient to create an e-book from, so that you don’t have to write each page from scratch.Users who have registered so much on the site will definitely prefer to get all the most important information in one file, instead of having to search and gather information from various sources themselves.
Make different kinds of videos based on case studies
Many companies forget the important role of case studies. This type of content appears on the site in an inconspicuous place, although customers love to see how effective your services are, and often based on such information they make the final decision whether to use your offer. Present case studies not only in the form of text, but also visualize some data, include customer feedback and publish such content as a short video. In it, avoid long sentences and incomprehensible technical wording, and focus more on specific examples of how your company helped solve the customer’s problem. You can also record so-called Shorts, or short videos, where, for example, you bullet point the most important uses of your products in a few sentences based on case studies.
Turn blog articles into podcasts
Just as you match your communication channels to your customers, you need to match your content to their preferences. Not everyone has time to sit down and read through your blog articles. Some people always turn on some podcasts and do their chores while listening to the content. Podcasts stimulate the imagination and make it easier for the viewer to remember the topics covered in them. The key here is to properly prepare such material and paraphrase it in such a way as to convey the information posted on the blog without graphics and images. Take care of the acoustics of the room so that the recipient will enjoy listening to your recording and not focus on other sounds. Don’t read articles, but base your podcast content on them.
Publish excerpts from the webinar on social media
Webinars don’t have to be treated as one-offs, so after you’ve finished broadcasting them live, it’s best to group the information you’ve gathered and use some of it as recycled content. You can split up the video and insert a discussion of some one thread in the form of a short piece on social media, and also make a transcription of the entire material and share it as a “lead magnet,” for example. With all sorts of video editing software, you have control over what you show and can edit the webinar recording at will, so it shouldn’t be a hassle, and in a few moments you’ll have a lot of additional content to engage customers. It’s also a good idea with a large number of social media followers to ask a question during such a webinar excerpt, such as: “Do you agree with the issues we discuss? Post your experiences in the comments!” – this way you will encourage even those who did not participate in the webinar and were not previously interested in such topics to focus on the material.
What’s worth keeping in mind so you don’t make mistakes?
- Make sure that the data used is up-to-date – it is not worth using and publishing on social media statistics from reports that have been downloadable on the site for many years. Recent events have shown us how much can change in a short period of time, so keep this in mind. Even news from 2020 will refer to other realities, and after all, you don’t want to be an unreliable company in the eyes of customers, so it’s better to check and update some of the information before reusing it.
- Provide variety by using a lot of content – even the most interesting articles or podcasts can tire your audience after a while if you publish on the same topic all the time. Recycling content doesn’t have to be boring, but no one likes to listen, read or watch the same thing over and over again. If you have a diet snack store, you don’t need to make an e-book, videos, social media posts and blog posts on the topic of sugar-free cereal bars right away. It’s better to gradually bring up the topic every couple of weeks to remind your customers about it, rather than pushily urging them to buy.
- Choose the most attractive content that has generated the most interest – in the first place, it is not worth taking topics that no one has read and forcefully making a video based on them. Of course, another form may be more appealing to your audience, but there is a risk that there are simply issues covered that do not fit your users’ preferences. Don’t base a newly written e-book on a single subreddit, but try more to find universal content from which another content can be prepared.
- Paraphrase and transform information and graphics – of course, you shouldn’t copy articles word for word and publish identical videos. The idea of recycling content is not to duplicate it all the time, but paraphrasing and making minor updates is enough to properly refresh the topic and remind users of it again.
Summary
Recycling content can effectively attract audiences and increase their interest, while saving a company the time and expense of creating content. Nowadays, most companies use previously prepared materials from time to time and refresh them in a more modern version and form. In recycling content, it is necessary to pay attention to whether the data is up-to-date, as well as to use different forms, not to repeat the same subject matter too often and to paraphrase the text.
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