How to repurpose content for social media channels

Welcome to another post in our episodic marketing series, where we have been outlining the steps to creating a successful video series. The last post saw us explaining the different formats for repurposing content and now we are going to be looking at the different channels that you can keep in mind while repurposing content. We will be discussing-

1. The different social media channels 
2. Finding opportunities in not-so-obvious channels
3. Matching the efficiencies between channels
4. The culture of each social media platform
5. Web channels
   

Now when we say channels, we are referring to social channels like your social media platforms as well as websites. So as regards repurposing your content, in as much as you are genuinely creating an opportunity for you to have this content everywhere on the internet, you should also remember that less sometimes is more.

This means that it can be better to think about the places where your content would be most effective before posting them. If you can afford to do so, you should post this content as much as you physically can and in as many places as possible but at the very least just make sure that you cover the top channels that really matter to you.

The different social media channels 

So first of all when it comes to social media platforms, we have- Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and you could also add Spotify, Itunes, and Soundcloud. Those are the main ones that you may decide to use.

What you just have to keep in mind is that your target audience is already on these platforms. You could decide to prioritize Linkedin or Twitter or even say you are just going hardcore only after Linkedin alone but you don’t have to believe the myth that your customers are not on a particular platform because people are people, and they are everywhere.

Finding opportunities in not-so-obvious channels

So, from a social media perspective as well, try to think about the channels that are obvious to you but keep in mind that if these channels are obvious to you, then they are also obvious to your competitors.

This means that you will have to look for opportunities that might lie in the channels that are not as obvious. For instance, even though your business might be hardcore B2B, it is still  possible to find a unique angle that you can use to create content for Instagram or for other channels.

Match the efficiencies between channels

 In terms of channels, try to identify the content you're repurposing and then think about two different things:

- The actual aspect ratio of the content you're creating, whether or not it's compatible with the different channels that you're posting them on, and all the limitations of the different channels.

- But at the same time, look out for the efficiencies between them. For example, you can post a square video on Linkedin and you can also post a square video on Instagram and in other places so try to match these efficiencies in a way that will allow you to create content once and have it get posted on multiple platforms.

The culture of each social media platform

Something else to keep in mind is the cultural factor. Every social media platform has its own culture and you have to learn each one to get the maximum benefit from each platform.

For example, person X may have a LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram account. It’s kind of like going to different parties or restaurants. Even though it's the same person, they have to be in different mindsets so they can adapt to each platform.

If you are posting that content on Instagram, make sure that it has an instagram-like vibe and that it will appeal to the average Instagram audience. On the other hand, if it is something for LinkedIn, make sure that you keep that in mind when posting.

The lazy man's approach would be to just change the caption and leave the content intact but the ideal approach is to note that you are genuinely creating content from scratch for each one of these platforms, that is if you have the resources to do so. So make sure you come up with creative ideas and content that is relevant to each platform.

Web channels

And that's it in terms of social channels. So shifting gears to talk about web channels like your website. Think about all the different blog posts that you may have posted in the past that are somewhat related to a new episode that you have on your video series. You could have an episode and a blog post which are two separate things and say, you know what, this specific clip would actually be great to boost the time spent on certain pages such as the blog page on your website.

This is because watching a video or reading an image quote will make people spend more time on your website as video and image specifically are types of content that usually take more time to consume. 

But this is great for you because more time spent on your website sends positive signals to Google and other search engines that many people spend time on this page when they land on it.

Beyond blog posts, you can of course look at your services page(s) to see if there's anywhere you could embed some of those micro-content assets in. You could also consider putting some clips on your landing pages, especially if you are gaining some content behind the form. You could decide to put some clips alongside the copy which is next to the form as those could entice more people to actually fill out the form or get something related to that.

Ultimately, the key thing is to think about the various channels when you are repurposing your content and try to find the best blend that works best for you. Of course, at the same time, you have to be conscious of not putting too much pressure on yourself to get it perfect from day one. Always know that it's an iterative process and you can always change the mix of repurposed content as well as the mix of channels that you post on if the data is showing that you're getting more results from one approach as opposed to another.

And that’s all for this post. Next, we will be going further to look at content repurposing use cases. To get a head start on creating high-quality video series, have a look at our FREE video series course