Reduce. Reuse. Repurpose.

With more social media, less time, tighter budgets and higher consumer expectations, managing a successful digital marketing campaign can be quite challenging; however, the idea of repurposed content can serve you well. Repurposing content is similar to the concept of recycling. It’s simply a matter of finding ways to reuse the content you’ve already created rather than creating more. I think Salma Jafri, CEO of WordPL.net, put it best when she stated, “creating is not as crucial as promoting.” The amount of content you create doesn’t matter very much if it’s not getting to the right audience. So why not redirect our focus there instead?

First, understand that there is a difference between repurposed content and duplicate content; be sure to avoid the latter. There’s nothing beneficial about publishing the exact same information across multiple channels. Repurposing content means giving new life to an existing body of work. You’ve patched old jeans, bedazzled a Blossom-inspired hat, and you’ve eaten Thanksgiving’s turkey in the form of brown bag lunches as well as dinner casseroles, so why avoid reinventing content? When presented in a well thought-out manner, not only can repurposed content save you time and lower your marketing costs, but it can also help you reach a larger audience. Consider the following: Pinterest and SlideShare are two completely different outlets. The friends you have on Facebook may not be your followers on Twitter; your connections on LinkedIn may not even use Instragram. Therefore, redistributing existing ideas creatively across various channels helps you reach out to multiple audiences, which, over time, can boost your credibility as a thought leader in your industry. When you think of it in those terms, it doesn’t make sense not to repurpose.

A good example would be to launch an existing PowerPoint presentation on SlideShare. The key to repurposing your content (successfully) is being sure it is adjusted appropriately for the intended medium. For example, your LinkedIn updates should not look like your Twitter feed, so take the time to re-word your thoughts as necessary. Did you notice a really clever slide used in a recent presentation? Tweet it as a lone image or post it to your Instagram with a buzzworthy caption. Choose a thought-provoking line from one of your blog posts, use it as a Facebook status update, and then invite your friends and followers to read more and comment. Have you hosted any conferences or Google+ Hangouts? Share that video, create an infograph highlighting some key points, or expand on them in the form of a White Paper.

As with any campaign, be sure to consider your audience. Who is your target demographic? Where do you encounter them most and how do they interact with each other? These are things you’ll want to take into account before engaging because you’ll need to use different language and methods for different markets. What’s trending now and what questions can you answer? If you see an opportunity to contribute to the conversation, there’s no shame in using what you’ve got to get what you want.

Tori Chambers – Content Specialist