content repurposing
Want to get more mileage out of your content? Check out our creator's guide on how to repurpose it for maximum results.
How to repurpose content: Start here (2023)
Learning how to repurpose content is one of the oldest ideas in marketing.
But what makes content repurposing more relevant today than ever before is that we live in a time where brands that do not create content virtually do not exist, and not every small business has the resources to keep up.
The good news is that by repurposing your content your brand will be able to create higher-value content in higher quantities, which gets better distribution and costs less per content piece.
This is why repurposing your content should be an integral part of your content marketing strategy and in this article, we’ll show you how.
In this guide:
- What is content repurposing
- How to repurpose content: easy examples to follow
- How to repurpose video content
- How to repurpose podcasts
- How to repurpose image content
- How to repurpose written content
What is content repurposing?
Content repurposing is a marketing strategy that makes it easier for others to discover your content and engage with it. Content repurposing relies on reworking your existing assets to create new spin-off content in various formats for various use cases.
Why does it matter?
Whether you’re working in marketing, sales, customer success, or virtually any other capacity that relies on content to communicate and convince others - learning how to repurpose your content allows you to get more mileage out of your assets.
This includes past, current, and upcoming content that you and your team create.
How to repurpose content: easy examples to follow
There are so many ways to repurpose content which can make it hard to know exactly what’s the best approach to take or example to copy.
Luckily, there is an easy framework you can use to accomplish just that, see below.
Regardless, it’s always helpful to understand the different types of content that can be repurposed, so here are some examples to get your imagination rolling.
How to repurpose video content
One of the easiest types of content to repurpose is video. Here are some of the most common use cases of this in action.
Repurpose webinars
Webinars are prime candidates for repurposing because of how much you can get out of them.
They contain valuable, long-form content that is often reserved only for those who tune in live or watch the on-demand video.
A quick win here is to repurpose your webinars into smaller video cutdowns, image carousels with step-by-step tips, an SEO-optimized article, and possibly an audio podcast for the parts that don’t require visual references.
If you’re repurposing webinars, I recommend you check out:
Repurpose video podcasts
Video podcasts are a repurposing double threat.
They combine some of the best ingredients for repurposing content: long-form, value-adding, visual, and entertaining.
As video podcasts are on the rise, creating snippets from your video podcasts is a great way to create channel-agnostic content and engage your various audiences on social in lockstep.
One of 6 easy ways to repurpose video podcasts is to scan for “Q&A” moments that may provide stand-alone value in and of themselves. For the rest, check out the article below.
Next, you can decide to create those as image quote cards for you and your show guests, or create micro-content videos that drive conversations with the people you’re trying to resonate with.
You can easily take the video podcast transcripts and turn them into articles, too.
For more on getting the most out of your video podcasts, check out the following:
Repurpose live streams
Live streams come in many forms.
You may be live streaming webinars, video podcasts, keynotes, gaming, or other forms of events meant for a live audience - and most all of them fit the bill beautifully when it comes to finding content to repurpose.
Unfortunately, some events are promoted as “live only” or “one and done”. We believe that’s a missed opportunity.
By making your live streams available after the event is over, in the form of new spin-off repurposed content, you breathe new life into it.
You also allow your brand to benefit from the same asset 3-10x times more while keeping your costs minimal.
Deciding how to repurpose your streams will vary greatly on the type of content in question.
Consider the other points in this article as you come up with the best way to repurpose the streams you have in mind.
One universal way to repurpose business live streams is to chop the parts that had practical tips or step-by-step instructions on how to do something.
People love practical value, and not having to watch hours of content just to get to the hearty parts.
For more on how to repurpose livestreams, check out:
Repurpose courses
Whether you're a solopreneur, small business, or corporate - you may have some free or paid courses that you’ve created for your community that can be easily repurposed.
Let’s find out how.
Quick note: If you don’t have courses, consider creating some to boost your thought leadership.
It’s free to start, and they can be as short as 20 minutes.
When it comes to repurposing online courses - you have your work cut out real easy here. A rule of thumb is to scan the chapters and modules you have already pre-planned and prioritize the ones that would
A) give people a taste of the full course and
B) provide standalone value.
A simple way to repurpose a course is to take the transcript of a specific chapter and rework it as a blog post.
Next, you can embed a video snippet from the chapter (or the whole module, if it’s under 3 mins) into the blog post to drive SEO benefits and also also for use independently on social.
You can extend this further by providing an audio-only snippets series of your course and making it available on platforms like Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
If you’re repurposing courses, don’t sleep on our essential guide:
- How to repurpose courses: The essential 2022 guide
Repurpose virtual events
Virtual events are here to stay and are growing especially after remote work went mainstream, and they are great for repurposing content.
Whether your virtual event came with a slide deck or not, you can easily repurpose it by turning a key moment from each talking point into a separate social media cutdown video.
You can then take the parts that include step-by-step instructions or practical value and turn those into image carousels that people can swipe through.
For more in-depth tips, check out:
- How to repurpose virtual events: The step-by-step 2022 guide
Repurpose other long videos
Of course, the video types discussed above represent just a small subset of the video content that you can easily reuse.
You can mix and match some of the ideas from the above video types and apply them to other long videos that you believe you can get more mileage out of.
This includes testimonial videos, case study videos, expert interviews, explainer videos, and so on.
How to repurpose podcast content
When it comes to repurposing audio content, the most practical form of audio to leverage is, you’ve guessed it: audio podcasts.
Podcasts provide a hands-free experience for your audience and over 80% of people listen to most if not all of an episode.
Side note: If you’re creating an audio podcast, consider switching on the camera to greatly multiply the potential of repurposing each episode and getting it discovered in more ways.
If you’re dealing with an audio-only podcast, you can repurpose it into audiograms, image quote cards, and articles based on parts that contained meaningful stories, funny and human moments, or even practical value.
For more in-depth tips, check out:
- How to repurpose podcasts: The step-by-step 2022 guide
How to repurpose image content
Image content comes in many forms, but not all of them can be repurposed practically. We’ll cover two of the easiest ones that can be repurposed into meaningful content below.
Repurpose slide decks
If you’re working on a webinar, virtual event, course, or even some live streams, chances are you will need to create a slide deck anyway.
Here are some easy ways to repurpose that content:
You can start by making your slide deck available as a downloadable asset. You can gate it behind a form or embed it in a related web page for others to link back to.
You can also clip specific slides with graphs or visual info and re-present them in the form of an image carousel. You can also create an animated video snippet previewing some of the key moments in the video.
Want more ideas on how to repurpose slide decks? Hit us up in chat.
Repurpose infographics
Infographics naturally require a lot of research, and although they can be useful by themselves - you can multiply their potential by repurposing it into more content.
One not-so-easy thing you may consider is to use the main points in the infographic as inspiration to create new, in-depth content.
Perhaps the simplest way to repurpose infographics is to turn them into image carousels that your audience can flick through on various socials.
Stuck with an infographic you can’t repurpose? Chat to us and we’ll help you brainstorm!
How to repurpose written content
Written content has been the bedrock of content marketing since the ancient Egyptians (trust me, I’m Egyptian). It’s not going anywhere any time soon.
Written content comes in various forms, and the more value a written piece of content contains, the more potent it would be for it to be repurposed. Let’s jump into some of the common ones.
Pro tip: Want to learn how to turn 1 hour into a full month of content? Grab our free content repurposing crash course.
How to repurpose blog content
Most online brands have a blog. Blog content serves to educate, inspire, or both - making it excellent for content repurposing.
One of the quickest ways to repurpose your blog is to create an audio version of it.
The narrated version of it can be embedded at the start of the blog, and also be an awesome content piece for Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Another way you can extract more content out of your blog post is to turn it into an animated text explainer video, or image carousel based on the main practical takeaways.
If your article contains a lot of statistics, consider turning it into an infographic instead.
If you want to learn how to repurpose blog content, check out the following:
- How to repurpose blog content: The step-by-step 2022 guide
How to repurpose ebooks and whitepapers
Not unlike blogs, ebooks and whitepapers are also long-form written content that adds value worth repurposing.
Because whitepapers and ebooks have more specifically designed elements within them, it makes sense to separate the written content from the graphic content to see how they can be repurposed individually as well as together.
For instance, you can turn the graphs, statistics, quotes, and models in your ebooks into material for image carousels. The same goes for the whitepaper.
If you believe the content you created can also be broken down into smaller articles, this can be an efficient way to drive more SEO juice to your website.
- How to repurpose ebooks: The step-by-step 2022 guide
Content repurposing platform
If you’re looking for a way to semi-automate or fully automate your content repurposing, check out chopcast.
chopcast is our very own AI video repurposing platform that helps you turn long videos into clips for social, automatically.
You can use chopcast to do useful things like:
- Repurpose your webinars into key moments
- Search for topics and keywords and automatically create clips around them
- Create your own clips
- Auto-subtitle your clips
- Resize your clips for various social media platforms
- Export ready-made transcripts,SRT, audio versions, and more
Want to repurpose your video content with chopcast for free? Get a free 60 minutes when you start your trial today.
Canva is “a graphic design platform, used to create social media graphics, presentations, posters, documents, and other visual content”.
You can use Canva to create things like quote cards, image carousels, and videos with ease.
If you already have videos ready to chop and repurpose, drop them in chopcast.
Content repurposing service
Sometimes you may just be looking for a done-for-you service to take content repurposing off of your plate.
If that is the case, you can look no further than chopcast services.
Whether you’re a small business or scale-up, get your very own dedicated repurposing team that will take your existing content and create bespoke and on-brand new content in video, audio, image, and written form.
It comes with a 30-day risk-free guarantee so you can try it out and see how it improves your workflow before committing.
Content repurposing terms to know
Types of content to repurpose
Webinar
A webinar is an online presentation given by a person or a company with the aim of teaching something or sharing a concept with an audience. Webinars are one of the most common long-form videos that companies adopt as a means of long-form content creation. The format lends itself to sharing valuable content to many at once. Repurposing webinars multiplies their benefit by allowing companies to extract multiple segments that can provide standalone value to their audience after the event is over, and can also help drive attention back to the webinar and the company.
Video podcast
A video podcast is the video version of an audio podcast. Video podcasts normally have a central theme that their conversations revolve around. They can feature 1 or more hosts and any number of guests. Video podcasts are great for repurposing into social media content.
Live streams
Live streams refer to any online event that allows audiences to tune into live. These can include (but are not limited to): workshops, webinars, virtual events, video podcasts, keynotes, and so on. Live streams allow their creators to promote their content twice. First, it allows them to promote attending the event live, often with benefits such as being able to ask questions or engage first-hand with the content. The second is when the content is made available on-demand, which is a perfect time to repurpose the content.
Online course
An online course is a structured, educational set of videos revolving around a topic. It normally follows a curriculum or course plan set by the creator. In a sea of content, online courses stand out as being curated and organized, which attracts those looking to learn more about a subject. Repurposing online courses can be more straightforward than other types of content as the content is already organized into chapters that can be mined for meaningful key moments to share.
Virtual event
Virtual events are the online equivalent of in-person events. They can comprise of one main event, or several events with respective breakout rooms. In addition to the content presented by the speakers, virtual events often enable attendees to network on their own.
Keynote speech
A keynote talk or speech is usually a headlining talk given by a subject matter expert, top-ranking executive, or other forms of influencer. Keynote talks are typically delivered in person but are very commonly recorded for online distribution as well. Because of that, they are great candidates for repurposing and often are leaned on to help build a person’s personal brand online - by sharing social cutdowns of the keynotes they’ve delivered.
Workshop
A workshop is a hands-on offline or online training organized by an individual or a company that involves active participation. This can involve completing steps together, or generally engaging with practical material that shows them how to achieve a specific goal. Because of the workshops’ practical nature, repurposing content from it can drive a lot of value to others who have not had a chance to attend the workshops.
Video testimonial
Video testimonials are public video messages of endorsement from a business’s clients to show their support or satisfaction with a product or service they’ve been using. Although they may have slight variations depending on the use case, they generally serve as social proof for prospective customers. Some video testimonials can be great for repurposing as means to distribute them farther and share with a wider audience.
Case study
Case studies provide an in-depth look at a client’s transformation after having used a product or a service. It usually involves an overview of the situation, challenge, solution, and outcome. Because case studies help build trust with prospective customers with data, they can easily be repurposed for maximum exposure by turning them into social assets such as images and animated videos.
Expert interview
Expert interviews are recorded interviews with subject matter experts on a topic that is deemed valuable to an audience. Content from expert interviews can be turned into various formats.
Audio
Podcast
Podcasts are online recorded conversations between 1 or more people revolving around a central theme. Podcasts are popular for many reasons. They are a great way to create and consume content because of their hands-free nature, allowing audiences to tune in to the podcast while on the go or doing a different activity. They also enable creators and audiences alike to go more in-depth than other content formats may allow. Because of their long-form, entertaining nature - podcasts can make for highly engaging repurposed content for social channels.
Image
Slide deck
Slide decks or slideshows are visual aids that can be used to help presenters deliver presentations with a lot of information or visual reference. Slide decks are often made available after a presentation is done, but can also serve as a great asset to repurpose new content out of in image, video, and written form.
Infographic
Infographics are image representations of statistics, facts, and steps that act as an engaging visual reference to make information recall easier. Due to the level of research that naturally goes into gathering data for an infographic, brands often seek more ways to boost their reach. One way to do this is to reuse the infographic as an image carousel or to do a write-up based on the key points shared in the infographic.
Written
Blog
Blogs are written articles published on a personal or a company website. Depending on the nature of the content in a blog, it may merit getting repurposed into various, non-written formats.
Pillar page
Pillar pages are authoritative blog posts written on a broad topic, that serves as a gateway to more subtopics cascading under it. Pillar pages tend to be much longer than standard blog posts, which makes them a popular choice to repurpose due to the density of information presented that can be benefited from in multiple ways.
Ebook
Ebooks are commonly marked as premium pieces of content prepared by a brand that go in-depth on a particular topic. Ebooks often involve special design and curation and are often found gated behind a landing page. Not unlike pillar pages, they too lend themselves to being repurposed into new content due to their long-form nature
Content repurposing examples
Video
Video microcontent
Video microcontent is an umbrella term to describe bite-size video segments selected from a larger video that serve to engage people and bring focus to a specific point of conversation. When used on social media, they commonly feature subtitles and a distinct design to drive attention. Below are a few more examples of video microcontent.
Social media cut-downs
Social media cut downs, often synonymous with video microcontent as a whole, are subtitled video snippets extracted from video podcasts, webinars, and other long-form videos. They are popular because they are easy to consume, bring education and entertainment value on social, and are normally between 30 and 180 seconds long. A characteristic of social media cut-downs is that they provide stand-alone value in and of themselves.
Video teaser
A video teaser teases a preview of a piece of content, leaving the audience wanting more by following through on a link. They are commonly very short in nature and are designed to pique curiosity. Video teasers are repurposed from a larger piece of content, such as a webinar or video podcast, or keynote.
Trailer
In the context of content marketing, a trailer is a short video designed to preview a long-form video content or video series. They normally have high-production value and are between 60 to 90 seconds.
Video highlight
Video highlights are video microcontent snippets that are centered around the main topics in a video. For example, if a video has 10 main topics, a video highlight can be made for each of them. They are a practical way to repurpose content when dealing with structured content such as a webinar or a workshop.
Text animation video
As the name implies, text animation videos are videos that feature a text narration of an audio snippet, designed to drive more engagement on social media. They can commonly be used as a content type to repurpose from videos, but are more commonly used when dealing with audio-only content, such as audio podcasts (related: see audiograms below).
Whiteboard explainer video
Whiteboard explainer videos are typically animated videos explaining concepts using a whiteboard and guiding hand. They are great for simplifying complex concepts, and providing a visual aid to audio narration thus helping improve memory retention.
Audiogram
Audiogram content refers to animated videos that feature soundwaves of text being narrated, commonly alongside running subtitles. They are a popular format to repurpose audio-only podcasts into in order to create engaging social video content from them.
Image
Image carousel
Image carousels are a set of images displayed in succession that convey a larger point. They are designed such that the user can engage with the content by swiping through the images. They commonly feature steps, lists, statistics, and other content displayed in a certain order. Image carousels are an easy way to repurpose long-form content into sequential takeaways.
Quote card
Quote cards or image quotes refer to image content that features a quote from a person of interest. Common examples include quotes from subject matter experts, influences, high-ranking executives, clients, and more. Quote cards are a great way to repurpose content from longer videos where practical or inspiring takeaways were shared by a speaker or guest.
Written
Subtitles
Subtitles, or captions, refer to text commonly shown at the bottom of a video that transcribes a narrative between one or more speakers. Subtitles are very popular to add when repurposing video microcontent as they improve accessibility and engagement.
Transcript
In content marketing, transcripts are the text extracted from a video or audio asset, made available in text form for the purpose of reading alone or complementing the original asset.
Show notes
Show notes, commonly created for podcasts, provide a written overview or summary of the key points discussed in the podcast. They are designed for an audience to get a general idea of the topics covered in a particular podcast and are often accompanied by timestamps (see below).
Timestamps
Timestamps are a digital record of a point in time, commonly used in video and audio recordings to mark the start and/or end of a segment.
Learn how to repurpose content and multiply your results
So there you have it! An overview of how to repurpose content to hopefully give you some ideas on where you can begin repurposing your content. Keep in mind that the ideas we discussed today can be applied retrospectively to any evergreen content that you’ve created in the past. In the same way, you can use these ideas to plan your content repurposing strategy with future assets in mind.
Repurpose your videos in minutes with chopcast