Most people want to effectively repurpose their content. After all, why would you not want to make the most of the time you spent creating all of that incredible content?
But, no matter how much they want to do it, somehow it just doesn’t happen. It doesn’t stick. It takes time to get good at content repurposing but, if you take it one step at a time, it will be much easier to make content repurposing a habit instead of a chore.
That’s the secret — to become consistent we need to build habits that stick.
So, how do you turn content repurposing into a habit?
What is a habit?
A habit is “an acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary.”
A habit is “an acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary.”
(Thanks to my trusty dictionary for that one!)
Sounds about right. But don’t get the wrong idea, repurposing content is never going to be “almost involuntary”! No matter how strong your habit, you’ll still have to put in the work!
Consistency is key. If you’re serious about effectively repurposing your content, you’ve got to do it consistently until it becomes a habit.
Establishing a content repurposing habit is no different to developing any new habit (like eating healthier or reading more). It’s about making small changes, step-by-step, for long enough that they become second nature.
How to make content repurposing a habit
One of the best ways to set about creating a new habit is to tag it onto an already existing habit.
Ask yourself, what is something that you already do every time you create content? Is there a repurposing task that you could tag onto that process?
Below, I’ve put together a few easy ideas you can try to help you develop content repurposing as a new, lasting habit.
You probably already do many of the tasks below with your existing content, which is great, but I’m going to show you how you can add a new repurposing habit onto your existing content creation processes.
1. Video record your podcast recordings
If you have a podcast, before you begin recording yourself speaking into the microphone, why not set up a video recording too? That way, you can have video footage of your podcast, which gives you even more content to repurpose and share with your audience.
2. Write a blog post based on your podcast or video
After you’ve recorded your latest podcast episode, or published a video, why not start writing a blog post based on the key points you discussed?
It doesn’t have to be a Pulitzer winner by any means — a simple blog post will suffice!
But there’s just one rule you need to stick to — you can’t record your next podcast episode or video until you’ve written the blog post for your previous one!
Doing this will help you get in to the habit of repurposing your podcast episodes or videos into long-form articles, which will help improve your SEO performance too.
You may already write show notes for your podcast host, website, or YouTube. That’s great because you’re already in the habit of writing about your audio and video content. Now, could you take this habit a step further and write a longer-form blog post too?
Learn more about this content repurposing task on episode 70 of the podcast: 3 Smart Ways to Repurpose Video & Audio Content to Written Content
3. Create social graphics for every video (or podcast episode)
Would you like to get more eyes (or ears) on your content?
Creating graphics for every video, live video, or podcast you record is a great content repurposing habit to establish because it can help get you more engagement and traffic.
For every episode of your podcast and every new video you record, take five quotes or key points from it and turn them into creative social media graphics.
(Okay, you can do fewer, but 5 is a great benchmark!)
4. Create an Instagram story for every piece of content you publish
This is a great habit to develop because it doesn’t need to be perfect.
It can be a short selfie video where you’re letting people know that your latest blog post, video, or podcast episode is out and ready to consume or you can unleash your editing skills and create something more polished.
Talk a little about the topic discussed to help peak people’s interest and make a habit of creating a short video clip to post on Instagram Stories following the release of new content. Or, switch it up and do it before you publish. This way, you get your repurposing done early and you have some great ‘teaser’ footage to entice people to check out the whole thing!
5. Run an Instagram poll every time you publish an opinion piece
If you create opinion-based content, consider running an Instagram poll on the same day that addresses the topic you’ve discussed in your main content piece.
Ask a question based on the content you’ve shared and try to choose a question that has a black and white answer. This makes it easier for people to engage with you and take part in the poll because it requires a simple yes/no response.
Make this a habit by creating the Instagram poll immediately after publishing your main content. It’s quick, simple, and gets people thinking about the topic you’re discussing.
6. Create an audiogram from every podcast episode
Not everyone has a podcast but, if you do, why not repurpose it into an audiogram for social media?
This involves taking a snippet of audio from your podcast episode and pairing it with an image. Just like that, you’ve got an audiogram!
To make this step a part of your content creation and repurposing routine, it’s worth creating the audiogram after you’ve recorded your podcast while it’s still fresh in your mind.
If you need help creating audiograms for your podcast, check out the step-by-step tips I shared on episode 40 of the podcast: How to Create Audiograms For Your Podcast: Wavve Vs Headliner.
7. Create short video teasers from longer videos
This one is for all of the video creators who want to make their video content go further.
A great content repurposing habit to cultivate is to create a short video teaser from your longer video.
This can be done during the initial video editing process, where you’re reviewing the footage and pick a few stand-out clips you want to share on social media. Focus on inspiring moments, chin-stroking quotes, and funny snippets — anything that will make people stop scrolling and pay attention!
If you include this as part of your editing process, it’ll soon become second nature and you’ll be questioning why you never did it originally.
8. Create a short ‘preview’ video
Each time you create new content, think about taking the time to create a short video of yourself explaining what your content is about.
It doesn’t have to be very long, one minute should give you enough time to share some information about your content that’s going to make people want to find out more.
This is something that I do after I record a new podcast episode and it’s usually less than one minute. Keeping it short enough to share on Instagram is important to me, but it also means less work for me and asking less of the viewer!
You can tag this habit onto your existing content creation process. Just as with number 2, make it so that you can’t create your next content piece until you’ve completed this step! It’ll become a habit in no time.
Watch the short trailer video we created for this episode below:
9. Go live on social media
Going live on your favorite social media platform at the same time every week is a fantastic habit to establish.
It brings you closer to your audience and vice versa. Plus, it gives you the chance to talk about things that you’re passionate about. You could even talk about topics you’ve discussed on your most recently-published content. You could host a Q&A session, invite a guest to join you, or publish a live stream based on your core content.
Consistency is key here, so, choose a consistent publishing day for your core content and follow it up with a day and time of the week where you host a live video on social media.
For more tips on repurposing your core content into companion content, listen to episode 118 of the podcast: Repurposing Your Core Content into Companion Content.
10. Turn testimonials into promotional marketing content
Repurposing testimonials into promotional marketing content is a great way to help build credibility and social proof.
You can do this for any testimonial, whether it’s a written, video, or audio testimonial. If you have a podcast or have written a book that’s received some positive reviews, make a habit of taking the ones that stand-out to you and using them to market yourself and your content further.
For example, you could take a positive podcast or book review and add it to your website.
You could also create graphics from your testimonials and share them on social media, in your email footers, or as part of your podcast.
Don’t leave your testimonials and positive reviews to collect dust — use them to promote and market yourself even more!
Bonus tips!
The best way (in my opinion) to establish content repurposing as a habit is by tagging new, smaller habits onto your existing content creation routine. Here are a few things you can do to help with this:
Keep track of your new habits
Track and manage your new content repurposing habits using a project management tool such as Trello, Asana, or Basecamp.
You can use tools like these to manage repeatable processes (such as your exciting new content repurposing habits!) that you want to develop and maintain as part of your wider content strategy.
Consider using rewards to stay motivated
Keeping up with new habits can be difficult, which is why it can be a good idea to mark the achievement of completing a new repurposing task with a reward.
If you’re someone who likes to create one video (or blog post, podcast episode, etc.) after the other, create a rule for yourself where you can’t move onto the next piece of content until you’ve completed each of your content repurposing tasks.
If the thought of more work doesn’t seem very rewarding, why not make it so you treat yourself to an extra biscuit with your next cup of tea? Or if you’re sticking with your New Year’s resolution of healthy eating, maybe a carrot stick will do…
Be realistic
When you’re thinking about all of the new content repurposing habits you can form, it’s easy to get carried away and bite off more than you can chew.
To avoid feeling overwhelmed, try to be as realistic as possible about the new content repurposing habits you want to develop. Make sure they are achievable and sustainable.
Pick one or two at a time to focus on, don’t try to do it all at once because the only habit you’ll develop is giving up!
Create an accountability plan
Holding yourself accountable is one of the best ways to help make sure that you see something through.
In this case, you might want to find yourself a content repurposing partner, it could be a friend, a member of your team, or someone in your professional network.
Agree what your new habit is going to be, set yourselves goals and deadlines, and hold each other accountable for completing them!
Need help creating new content repurposing habits?
If you’d like to make content repurposing a key part of your content marketing strategy, we can help!
To find out more about our content repurposing services, click here.
You can also read my book, Content 10x: More Content, Less Time, Maximum Results for more tips and advice to help you reach more people through the power of content repurposing!
Originally published at https://www.content10x.com on January 30, 2020.
