If your business publishes blog posts on a regular basis, then you probably have a well-oiled routine. You put your last period on the end of another great post, hit publish, and reap the benefit of short-lived excitement before it is lost in an archive along with dozens of other posts and is forgotten. Kind of sad, but it’s true, right?
The biggest mistake most bloggers make
The biggest mistake most companies make when blogging is limiting the lifespan of their content. Blogging takes a great deal of time and effort, and you deserve to get more out of your work than a short-term spike in website views.
The key to preventing your posts from becoming old news is by repurposing your content. While it's important to generate new and exciting ideas to keep your readers interested, repurposing your old posts can breathe new life into past reads that are chalk full of stellar content that is still relevant.
How to repurpose your old content
There are countless ways to repurpose your old content, but it does require you to put on your creative cap. The key to refreshing your content is to present the information is a new way that engages your viewer and is visually appealing. Help them understand what you are telling them by presenting the information in a different way.
Your goal should be to establish a new relevance for your old content and also drive traffic to the original blog post.
4 ways to put a new spin on old content
1. Infographics
An infographic is a visual image like a chart or diagram used to represent information or data. These visuals are a powerful way to take a large sum of information and organize it into a visually appealing way that helps enhance the reader’s understanding. Instead of having to explain your concept in words, you can add pretty pictures, easy to read typography, and graphics to visualize your information. Here are a few pretty impressive infographics!
Original blog: “7 Foolproof Ways to Provide Excellent Customer Service”
Using sites such as Piktochart, Canva, and Infogram, you can create custom and professional infographics at an affordable price. Choose between existing templates or start from scratch to create a design that is completely yours.
Where to share: Infographics tend to get the most traction when shared on Pinterest. Although, they still get a lot of interaction on Facebook and LinkedIn, so be sure to share them there as well! You can also create an “infographic blog” to publish on your page. Check out this awesome example.
2. Picture quotes
Similar to pulled quotes from a magazine article, browse your old posts and highlight quotes that make a bold statement. Then, using design programs such as Canva, PicMonkey, Photoshop, or Illustrator, you can create a custom image to showcase that particular quote.
Original blog: “Captivate Your Readers With Descriptive Language”
Where to share: Pulled quotes are a fantastic piece of content because they can be shared on a multitude of platforms. Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook are all places in which picture quotes are best shared.
3. Video content
Try repurposing your blog content into a short 1-3 minute video, like this. Videos generate high levels of exposure and engagement. Compared to a picture or link, videos often accumulate more likes, shares, and comments making them a valuable way to communicate with your customers. Think about it, are you more likely to read a full article while you are scrolling through Facebook at work or watch a quick 1-2 minute video?
Original blog: “Strengthen Your Business with Quality Content”
Videos enable you to connect with your customers in a more personable way. But of course, we are all human, and most of us get nervous in front of the camera. While you will most likely do better on camera than you imagined possible, if you find yourself a bit camera shy, don’t be afraid to explore alternative routes such as creating a PowerPoint or Prezi with a voice-over recording. The key to a successful video is to make it authentic, as professional as possible, and engaging.
This isn’t an area where you want to skimp on quality. Check out our five tips on how to create great videos for your business.
Where to share: There aren’t many places that video won’t do well (As long as it is a quality video!). For the best results, we encourage you to publish the video on YouTube and then share it to other social sites accordingly (LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, Twitter, etc.).
When publishing your video content to Facebook, you’ll want to upload the original copy straight to the site, that way the video will automatically play when a user scrolls past it. Be sure to link to your original blog post within the description.
4. A follow-up blog post
When resurrecting blogs from your archive, why not write a more in-depth follow-up post? Perhaps your initial post merely skimmed the surface of its subject matter, and there is room to dig deeper and provide more value. Challenge yourself and don’t be afraid to incorporate new insight and personal experience. Doing this will help enhance the quality and credibility of your post.
Who knows! Maybe you have enough content to turn your original post into a series or an E-book!
Where to share: Publish your follow-up blog on your company’s blog page and then share it on your various social platforms. Be sure to link to the original post in case your readers missed it!
Repurposing your old blog posts is the best way to get the most out of your content. Hopefully, these suggestions inspired you to dig into your archive to find posts worthy of being revisited, redeveloped, and shared again! Happy blogging!
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