Ins and Outs of Repurposing Content for Social Media Posts

Repurposing old content is actually a time saver. Aside from that, you can also give your content a second chance by using it to create something completely new and original. In a way, it’s a really fun way to add a creative flare to existing images and text that you already have at hand. Repurposing content is also easier than you think.

12 Ways to Repurpose Content for Social Media

Not sure what to post? The ideas are there and waiting for you. Today we’ll look at ways that you can use old image posts, old blog posts, and other content to create something completely new. You already put a lot of time into creating blog posts, for example, and there’s a handful of ways you can revive that content, give it an extra boost. Let’s get started.

1. Use old images as backgrounds for quotes

All social media networks are becoming increasingly visual. If you’ve been posting photos, don’t be afraid to use them again! You can use VistaCreate to apply filters and string together some inspirational words to create a visual quote.

People absolutely love quotes. If it’s something they can relate to, you can be sure they’ll be sharing it. You can also use old images as header photos, use images from blog posts to fit quotes and simply crop old images in interesting ways. Slightly modify images, add a quote and you’ve just created a brand new post!

• This transformation using the same image and repurposing it for a quote took a few minutes. All you have to do is upload an image that you’ve used previously, find a font that goes with your quote and add the text to the image adjusting the placement.

2. Create evergreen content and repost

Most businesses keep up their blog as part of their marketing strategy. You can take one article, optimize it for search engines and create evergreen content. Evergreen content is the type of content that will always be relative for years to come and is quite niche in choice of topic. If you specialize in something, you can write a very detailed article that will be useful for people interested in the subject matter.  

• Once you’ve invested time into optimizing an article or two, you can change the featured image for the article and repost it again. This will add more value for your readers as they will be getting a more informative, in-depth article about your niche.

3. Compile posts to make a long read

As most blogs have a niche, you’ve probably covered topics from the tiny details to the big picture. You can take several articles that fall under one topic and create a long read article. Long read articles tend to be prioritized in Google. You not only get to repurpose content for social media by posting it, but also improve your chances of ranking higher in Google search.

• The key here for repurposing content and making it into a long read is reposting it in a way that will be fresh, and completely different from your initial post. This is done through visuals, presentation, and choice of words.

If you highlight the benefits to your readers, it’s more likely they will want to share the post and let others in on this very insightful article.

4. Use surveys or data to create infographics

To gain more insights about your users and listen to their thoughts and opinions, many marketers introduce surveys as part of their marketing efforts. Surveys are actually hidden treasures because you can make the insights visual. After you’ve conducted a survey, you can select some insights that you think might be interesting to your audience and make a short (or long) infographic.

5. Use content to create a small ebook that users can download

Written content in general is great for repurposing for social media. You already have all the information in front of you – images, quotes, statistics etc. If you’re constantly sharing something that appears to be a pattern,  you can take the content and create a little ebook that your users can download through social media channels.

6. Throwback posts

Now, there’s no need to wait for TBT. Just as we look back at statistics form social media to see what performed well in the past, the information might be equally interesting for your users. What did you post a year ago? 2 years ago? Was the content popular? You can repost old images on Instagram to compare reactions, and boost your Facebook stats by promoting posts that were popular in the past.

For example, Depositphotos reposted an old article with quotes, which performed quite well. This is like adding fuel to successful posts from the past – repost high performing content and see how much engagement it inspires.

7. Turn blog post into a podcast

Take one blog post that’s shown that the topic is of interest to your users and make it into a podcast. You can have a discussion with colleagues or other professionals on the same topic to elaborate on things that weren’t covered in the blog post. It’s like an extension of a blog post that once again can be more engaging than just a block of text.

Let’s face it, sometimes people get tired of reading. In the early hours of the day, or after a long day of staring at screens, users might actually prefer to listen than to stare at a screen some more.

Podcasts are an excellent way to repurpose written content and build on the existing foundation. You already have all the info, all you have to do is click ‘record’.

8. Use images to make Pinterest board, share it

All of the images that you post on Instagram, for example, could be made into a very appealing Pinterest board. Create a board and share it with your users on all your social media pages. Pinterest has about 175 million active monthly users, and it’s actually frequently overlooked by marketers.

Time to change things up. An overwhelming percentage of Pinterest users purchase products they discover on the website. It’s very influential in purchasing decisions so you should use this to your advantage. Besides, creating a Pinterest collection is really simple:

• Look over your photos and organize them by themes.
• Curate the collections to perfection and share them at different times of the month.

9. Quote from blog posts and interviews into an image post

Pick out the most important lines of text from your blog posts or interviews, and make them visual with VistaCreate. This can potentially provide you with content for months, as many of your writers have thoughts worth sharing. Alternatively, you can use quotes and pair them with images for Instagram.

10. Turn an infographic into a presentation for LinkedIn

Have you tried LinkedIn SlideShares? Take an infographic you’ve made and modify it for a new format – presentations for LinkedIn. SlideShare receives 70 million users each month, many stumble on them through organic search. In fact, this tactic will also give you a SEO boost.

• If you have infographics, use additional images to accompany the presentation. Make sure that the presentation is also mobile friendly.

11. Use informative articles to create a YouTube video

Once again, you can turn to your blog for content ideas to create videos. A lot is to be said about the popularity of video as a format. It’s a format that you can use for absolutely all of your social media pages by integrating it into them individually.

For instance, if you create video content, you can write a whole other blog post about it, share it on Instagram with a link to the video on YouTube, post it on Facebook and other platforms right away.

12. Use content to post relevant information to Quora

You know your niche well, and you’re probably very knowledgeable in a topic that’s widely discussed on Quora. You can track the different questions that are relevant to your business as well and answer them with links to your articles that help solve a specific question.

This hits two goals at once – you promote your brand on social media, leading people to your website and it’s also useful for acquiring new readers.

There you have it – 12 ways to repurpose your content. Of course, how you repurpose your content depends on what your brand’s focus with content marketing:

• If your focus is on images, you can work backwards and use visuals to create written content for your blog.
• If you write a lot on a specific topic, as you can see, you have so much to work with if you want to repurpose content for social media.

Think outside the box, and get creative when working with text and images. Read our social media marketing calendar for 2019 here.