Smart marketers (that's you!) know that businesses need to create consistent, compelling content. The potential benefits are huge - helping you rank better on search engines and develop a position as an industry leader.
But businesses are often faced with the dilemma:
“We are spending LOADS of time and money creating great content, but it just isn't performing that well"
There is great frustration in investing resources in creating useful, entertaining content, which just doesn’t seem to get the attention it deserves.
Content Promotion: The Problem
A big part of this problem is that we spend too much time creating the content and very little time leveraging that content to generate greater reach. In fact, in many cases, businesses are putting almost zero effort into promoting a piece of content.
Although the actual ratio will vary depending on several factors, as a general rule you should use a 1:2 split of content creation to content promotion. So, for example, if you spend 1 hour creating some great content, then you should allocate 2 hours promoting it.
After all, it doesn’t matter how incredible your content is, if it doesn’t reach anybody there is very little point to it at all.
But what should you actually be doing with that promotional time?
In this article, we cover some tips on how we can leverage and repurpose blog content to increase your business's reach. O, and it will save you a tonne of time in the process.
1. Start Simple
Before we dive too deep into some smart tactics, let’s start with the fundamentals.
Yes, it’s shocking, but many businesses actually fail to execute on the basics.
We can't say this loud or often enough...
When you publish new content - share it with your network!!
This is super easy, all you need to do is write a short update highlighting the benefits/relevance of reading the content and then share it across all your platforms including social media and mailing lists.
TOP TIP: Use a social media design tool to create a graphic that will make your social media posts pop.
This approach is simple but effective. People are part of your audience because they care about what you have to say. These are the best and easiest ways to leverage your blog content…so DO IT!
TOP TIP: Improve your reach by sharing both on your brand and personal social media accounts. If you have colleagues that use social - get them to post about it too.
2. Re-Share Content
Here is most businesses' content promotion strategy in a nutshell:
Share content on social media
Never think about or promote that content again
This, my friend, is INSANITY.
Moz put this approach into perspective:
“After all that work, it seems silly to share a post just once. Nobody crumples up an oil painting and chucks it in the trash after it’s been seen one time — and the same goes for your content”
But we get it. Consistently resharing the same piece of content can seem....well a bit 'spammy'. This is a very real concern and can be the case when not done carefully.
When re-sharing content you need to follow three simple rules:
Consistently create new content so that when you reshare the posts are broken up (so your social feeds aren't just the same content over and over again)
Every time you re-share content put a different spin on it (such as focusing on different lessons from the content)
Do not re-share content too often
Re-sharing is particularly powerful when that content becomes timely or newsworthy. For example, we often reshare articles here on BETTER BUSINESS TOOLS when their topic is being talked about again.
3. Develop Infographics
Infographics are a great way to turn the information in your blog posts into an engaging image. These types of graphics can actually be used in three ways:
Used in the article to explain a point
Used on social as a way to promote the article
Sent to other websites to develop backlinks to your content
In the case of your blog content being long-form, creating a snapshot of the most important points in an infographic acts both as a reminder of key information and as a way to drive traffic to your original blog piece to ‘find out more’.
4. Use Micro Blogging
People are inherently lazy - there, I said it.
So, even though long-form content is a crucial part of your SEO strategy, as well as an excellent way to position yourself as a thought leader - on its own it will not always secure you great results.
Why?
Because people want answers and they want them fast. That is a huge part of the reason why social media is so popular – because it gives people access to super-quick information.
Using a micro-blogging approach to content leveraging is an excellent way to increase your reach and give yourself a huge amount of social media content easily. For example, you may re-share a link to a piece of long-form content, but instead of simply highlighting what is included in the content you could outline just one of the most important aspects of the article.
By providing value in the social caption you create intrigue in the wider article and can create large amounts of traffic to your site.
5. Create Videos
Video is an awesome way to up engagement on your social media channels.
In fact, one study suggests that 90% of consumers say that video can help them make buying decisions. With those sorts of stats, can your business really afford to not be using video as a way to leverage your content marketing?
Sure, video creation can be a little daunting, but as a small business, you really do not need to think too much about the production value of your social media videos. Some of the best-performing videos online are simply recorded on a smartphone and create a real personal connection between the business and the viewer.
The next time you publish a blog post, try creating a short video covering some of the key points. If your blog has generated lots of questions you may even answer those questions in a follow-up video. This can take as little as 20-30 minutes and generates content across a number of platforms, including:
Instagram stories
Instagram post
Facebook story
Facebook post
Twitter post
YouTube video
6. Create a Podcast
The results of one survey published this year found that more people are listening to at least one podcast a week - going from 21% of respondents asked in 2019 to 33% in 2023. This goes to show just how popular this type of content can be.
Podcasts make it easy to digest content on the go. Driving? Put a podcast on. Working out? Upload your favourite podcast. Trying to get to sleep?...podcast.
You get the idea.
Using a similar approach to repurposing your blog content for video (above), you can use your articles as a basis for your podcasts.
TOP TIP: If you want to be really smart - you can create videos of yourself talking through the topic of your article then simply use the recording to release as a podcast. This is ab approach that many of the biggest vloggers/podcasts use consistently.
7. Take a Deep Dive
If you create a piece of content and it does particularly well, you may decide to leverage that attention and go even deeper. For example, you may create an accompanying webinar that touches on the subject and allows you to generate even more value, using your written content as a base.
Doing this also allows you to involve thought leaders and influencers from within the industry which not only generates great content but also allows you to leverage their audience and extend your reach even further.
Repurpose Blog Content: Summary
Blog content should be the beating heart of your content marketing strategy. However, by not leveraging other techniques and tactics you are only tapping into a tiny percentage of its potential.
By spending time generating and leveraging the tips we have highlighted above you will save time, generate higher engagement and ultimately drive more leads for your business.
Do you have any smart tactics for improving the reach of your content? Drop a comment below.