The Best Ways to Repurpose Content on Social Media
Thursday 25th April
by Beth Perrin
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We all love creating content for social media - it gives us the opportunity to channel our inspirations, engage our audiences, entertain our followers and in some cases, even make a living. But whether you’re an influencer, marketer or simply a small business owner running your own page, it’s safe to say we all fall victim to a bit of writer’s block from time to time. Especially in today’s online climate where expectations surrounding the constant distribution of content are sky-high, it’s not uncommon to find yourself stuck for ideas or lacking motivation, leaving your fans and customers eagerly waiting for your next post.
That’s where repurposing comes in. Officially defined as “using something for a different purpose to the one for which it was originally intended”, repurposing - in the context of social media - means taking previous pieces of content and recycling them into something new in order to keep your audience satisfied. Let’s take a look at some of the best ways to repurpose your content!
Turn Blog Posts into Bitesize Content
If you run a blog for your business, one of the easiest ways to repurpose your posts for social media is to break them down into bitesize content pieces. This could involve taking the main topics from your latest post and sharing them as bullet points on Facebook, separating them into carousel slides on Instagram, or turning them into a multi-part thread on X or Threads. You could also create an infographic that makes the information quicker to digest - using coloured infographics in particular has been proven to boost a reader’s attention span and comprehensibility by as much as 82%.
Not only do these bitesize forms of content appeal to social media users who don’t have much time on their hands, they also help intrigue your audience and will make them want to read the full piece if they haven’t yet.
Split Long-Form Videos into Short-Form Clips
Do you create videos for your brand and upload them to a long-form video platform such as YouTube? Perhaps you have a podcast and share video versions of your episodes online? If so, you can harness the ongoing popularity of short-form video by splitting them into brief clips that can then be shared as Instagram Reels or TikToks. Whether you have access to professional software such as Adobe Premiere or prefer to use an online tool like Canva, it’s never been easier to edit videos quickly and painlessly, regardless of your skill level.
Bear in mind that Reels and TikToks are vertical (9:16) whereas traditional videos are landscape (16:9), so to make your long-form clips suitable for these formats, you’ll need to crop them into the right shape. While it is possible to upload landscape videos to these platforms, they’ll be displayed with a black space above and below them, which can look unprofessional and may cause users to scroll past, so it’s best to resize them - as long as nothing important gets cropped out of view.
Redeem Less Successful Content
It might seem counterintuitive to revisit a piece of content that didn’t perform well when it was first published, but it may not be the case that the content itself was poor - it could have just been presented in a context that didn’t work out at the time.
• You might have posted something at the wrong time of day to capture the attention of your target audience
• You might have shared a piece of content too soon after posting another
• The content may have been better suited to a different platform
• A photo you chose to share via your Story might have worked better as a feed post instead (or vice versa)
• Your chosen platform’s algorithm simply may not have been kind to you!
If this has happened, don’t panic - there’s nothing wrong with re-sharing an old post that you’d like to redeem. Before publishing it again, consider editing the content slightly if you think it can be improved, especially if you spot something that may have contributed to its lack of success - such as a broken link, a low-quality image or a spelling error. Consult your analytics and figure out what made that piece of content fail initially, then repurpose it into something fresh that will hopefully yield greater results the second time around.
Revisit Posts that Performed Well
On the other hand, reminding your followers of your best performing content can also be an excellent tool. As the saying goes, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”! If a previous post achieved exceptional results, don’t be afraid to re-share it to your audience or breathe new life into it by repurposing it into a new format. Just remember to wait a while before revisiting an old post, as you don’t want your page to become repetitive. Popular hashtags such as #ThrowbackThursday provide the perfect opportunity to reminisce on past successes or fill gaps in your content calendar when inspiration is scarce.
Record Webinars & Live Streams to Share as Videos
Does your business host webinars, live streams or conferences? If so, it’s a good idea to record them so that you can keep them on file as videos that can be repurposed on social media - either in full or as short-form highlight clips. This is especially useful if they are educational in nature (such as a product demonstration or tutorial), as consumers are 131% more likely to buy a product if a brand shares educational content. Recordings are also a great alternative for anyone who wasn’t able to attend the webinar or live stream at the time, and what’s more, they can give potential attendees a preview of what to expect if they decide to sign up for your next one.
Turn Blog Posts into LinkedIn Articles
LinkedIn has its own article publishing feature which is perfect for repurposing your blog posts. Simply click on ‘Write article’ in the share box near the top of your homepage, upload a cover image, add a title and input your copy. You can also add images throughout your article, include links and code snippets, and embed social media posts and YouTube videos. Plus, there are plenty of formatting options such as bold, italics, bullet points and dividers to help make your article more eye-catching and easier to read.
All members and admins of your LinkedIn page can publish articles on behalf of your company, and they are displayed in the Activity section of your profile. Articles are shared with your connections and followers in their news feeds (and sometimes through notifications), plus they can also aid your SEO as they are searchable outside of LinkedIn too.
Repost Content from Your Other Social Profiles
As mentioned above, sometimes a piece of content may have been better suited to a different platform than the one you originally uploaded it to. Don’t be afraid to share a previous Facebook post on X instead, or give TikTok a try if you aren’t seeing results from your Instagram Reels. You might find that your audiences on each platform are more receptive to different types of content as a result of belonging to different demographics, or that varying content formats are currently trending on each one. Alternatively, you may want to expand the reach of a post that has already performed well on another platform, and ensure it gets seen by anyone who isn’t following you where you originally uploaded it.
Testimonials, Reviews & UGC
Repurposing isn’t just about redistributing your own posts - positive testimonials and feedback from your customers can also be upcycled into fresh content. 90% of consumers read online reviews before visiting a business and 88% of them trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations, so you should take advantage of this by posting real-life success stories to show prospective buyers what they can expect from your brand.
Share them directly from Facebook’s Reviews panel or, if your business collects reviews via other platforms, create a designed graphic or overlay them on relevant images to make them even more eye-catching. Other forms of UGC (user generated content), such as photos and videos of your product or service in use, can also be repurposed into collages or highlight reels to further boost social proof.
Summary
While the creation of new content should always be a priority within your social media strategy, it’s evident that there are also numerous benefits to repurposing old content from time to time. It’s an easy way to fill gaps in your schedule because most of the work has already been done, and extra value can be added to previous posts that are just waiting to be revived. Give it a try today!
