How to Repurpose Content Like a Pro (As a Small Business Owner)

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How do you stay relevant across multiple social media channels…while also keeping your website ranking at the tippy-top of Google search engine result pages…and also showcasing your expertise in a way that makes working with you the biggest no-brainer decision your ideal clients have made all day?

Easy: you repurpose your content like a pro. 

Actually, let’s back up. If content repurposing isn’t your thing, you could: 

1). Hire a virtual assistant at $15+/hour to turn the jumble of thoughts in your Notes app into multiple posts on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, and [insert newest fad social media platform here].

2). Hire a copywriter or other pro wordsmith to put together a new lead magnet, blog post, or email campaign every time work runs dry or you have a sudden wake you up in the middle of the night urge to get ahead of the game. 

3). Spend 10+ hours a week staring down the “Write Blog Post” task that’s highlighted in yellow on your calendar, while procrastinating by doing literally anything else because your sense of inspiration has run drier than the Sahara. 

But that’s why I’m really hoping that content repurposing is your thing. 

Because with a few clicks, you can stay relevant across multiple channels. While being seen by an engaged audience who is already buying into the value you’re selling. And being sent “can we please work together??” requests from clients you’re jumping at the chance to connect with. 

Woman smiling while looking at content repurposing examples | North Branch Copywriting Co.

Repurposing Content: What Even Is It? 

By “repurposing content” we mean finding creative ways to use existing content, or making a piece of content you just wrote do more, with less effort. 

This isn’t about cheating the system or pretending like you’re giving more value to your audience than you actually are. It’s about being strategic in how you’re using and promoting your content pieces. 

So that all the value you have to give is actually seen by the people who need it most. (Rather than being buried by the algorithm or accidentally lost to an over-stuffed email inbox.)

A Basic Strategy to Repurpose Content: How to Make the Most of One Piece 

You’ve just spent 5+ hours writing the best blog post of your life. It’s super-relevant. It’s super-valuable. It’s the kind of thing that won’t just intrigue your ideal audience, but will have a real impact on their lives and/or business. 

You post it on your website. And though you see some light organic traffic from it (if you even check on its traffic at all), you’re just not reeling in the eyes you want…

This, my friend, is what I like to call a missed opportunity. 

Because why keep that blog post buried, when it could be the newest topic of your email newsletter that you write in 15 minutes flat, the next lead magnet that brings in 1,000s of new “subscribes” to your list, or the featured idea in your next Instagram reel that has an impressions count thousands high?

Two woman pointing to the phone screen and engaging with content repurposed for social media | North Branch Copywriting Co.

Likewise, why bury your best content in lead magnet form when you could highlight some of the juiciest bits in a blog post that takes you or a member of your team just 30 minutes to write and post? 

When I write longer-form content for my business, I challenge myself to use it in at least two ways. 

With one blog post I might: 

  • Turn the content into a value-rich Instagram post or Instagram reel
  • Link to it through a Pinterest pin — or give an all-access look into the topic it dives into with a Pinterest idea pin
  • Send it out to my subscribers as part of my weekly or monthly newsletter
  • Make it a topic of my feed while posting on LinkedIn
  • Transform it into a lead magnet to attract new email list subscribers on autopilot
  • Let it guide a future webinar or podcast idea

Of course, not every piece of content I write feels like an equally good fit for all those repurpose content examples. 

To give a real-life example to this:

When I recently posted on Instagram about “101 Better Ways to Say Awesome,” I knew that it would fit the bill of what my ideal Instagram audience wants to see. 

Woman and man with phone engaging in social media content ideas | North Branch Copywriting Co.

I also knew that it would be a solid Pinterest idea pin, one I had to put about 0.01% effort into creating (score!). 

I was on a roll. So I decided to just keep my momentum going and turn that same content piece into a blog post to keep my website relevant and my SEO moving up in the ranks. (I mean, why not?)

But after about 2 seconds of staring in front of a blinking cursor, I realized my mistake. 

As much as I wanted to make a blog post work, there just wasn’t a keyword that would make the effort worth the reward. 

And on top of that, the topic departed heavily from the super-value-focused direction I was taking my blog content. Making it more of a distraction than a part of a solid content repurposing strategy. 

C’est la vie. 

But despite that hiccup, I still hit 3 content tasks with one stone.

With one blog, I was able to make:

  • 1 Instagram post
  • 1 Pinterest idea pin
  • 1 high-value email newsletter

Which I still 100% consider a win. (3 for the price of 1, yes please!)

So before posting your content, closing your computer, and forgetting what you wrote the second that “publish” button has been clicked, follow this flow to see if there are opportunities to repurpose content for social media. And/or repurpose content on your website: 

A content strategy flow for repurposing content | North Branch Copywriting Co.

Repurposing Your Blog Posts: How to Make Each Post Work Harder and Smarter

Blog Posts → Social Media Posts

When you repurpose content for social media, you might have to do a little bit of editing magic. But using your blog as the base for a high-value Instagram, LinkedIn, or Facebook post can cut down heftily on the “sitting at the desk and waiting for the lightning bolt of inspiration to strike” time. 

Adding your blog as a Pinterest pin or including it on a LinkedIn or Facebook post can bring new eyes to your site, as well as your account. 

And by cross-promoting your blog through these different channels (by mentioning, for instance, that they can check out the full post on your website to see all your tips in action) can boost site traffic as well as engagement on all your social media platforms. 

Blog Posts → Email Newsletter 

High-value content reigns supreme in email newsletters.

Not as the only thing you send, but as a complement to any product, course, or service pitches you’re already doing. With an email marketing strategy that puts value at the forefront, you build authority, nurture relationships of trust, and leave your audience eagerly awaiting your name in their inbox every week. 

Person writing in notebook as part of their email marketing strategy | North Branch Copywriting Co.

Use your blog post as the feature of the next newsletter you send out, with a link to view the full post on your website that will continue to bring interested eyes to that page. 

Blog Posts → Lead magnets

Lead magnets can fill your email list with engaged subscribers, giving you a fast-track way of pitching new products or service options to people who are already invested in the value that you have to give. 

By turning your newly-written blog post into a checklist, a how-to guide, a free ebook, or the basis of a free video tutorial you offer in exchange for an email address, you can make your best content pieces work overtime. 

Repurposing Email Content: Using Your Emails as Inspiration

Email Content → Blog Posts

I could talk for hours about how cool your email newsletter analytics are. And while I’ll save you from that rabbit hole, I will just say…

Email analytics give you an inside look into what your audience is most interested in. Which helps you determine what topics to write more about. 

Person staring at blank screen while thinking about email marketing strategy | North Branch Copywriting Co.

Click Through Rates (CTR) are one of the biggest indicators of interest that we have as email marketers. 

If you find that a specific email topic has consistently high Click Through Rates, consider leveraging that into a fuller-length blog post that can be pitched across your social media channels. 

Email Content → Lead Magnet

If someone has taken the time and energy to pop in their email to your newsletter sign up form, it’s because they want to hear more

And though it might seem counterintuitive to use the habits of your current email list to attract new subscribers in the future, Click Through Rates can give you a heads-up on what future subscribers might want to see. While also cluing you in to what might motivate them to click that “Sign me up!” button too. 

Consider building a new lead magnet that expands upon the topics of some of your highest-performing email newsletters. Then invite your current list to join in on the fun too. 

Repurposing Social Media Content: For Boosted Engagement Across Channels 

Social Media Posts → Blog Posts, Lead Magnets, Email Newsletters, Etc. 

Social media posts are short. We’re talking 11-17 seconds for a TikTok video, 2,200 characters for Instagram, and 500 characters for a Pinterest caption.

Which does not exactly give you a ton of content to work with if you’re ready to turn your social media posts into the kind of high-value content that will actually rank on Google or attract new subscribers to your list on autopilot. 

Women laughing at example of repurposing content for social media | North Branch Copywriting Co.

But that’s okay. Because when it comes to repurposing social media content, inspiration is what it’s all about. 

Coming up with blogging ideas can sometimes feel like a serious chore. And so can figuring out a lead magnet concept or keeping to a consistent schedule when doing an email newsletter. 

So skip through the “thinking” phase of putting these content pieces together, and use some recently-loved posts to skip all the time it takes to normally think of what to write about next.

Repurposing Video Content: Setting the Stage for a Subscriber Influx 

Video content → Social media posts 

When it comes to video content, the world really is your oyster. 

A staggering 91% of consumers want to see videos from brands. And not just through one channel, but through numerous of the channels that bring in a total of 82% of the world’s internet traffic

A full-length YouTube video can easily be:

  • Edited down into several YouTube shorts
  • Included on your TikTok page
  • Used an authority-builder on your LinkedIn or Facebook
  • Posted on Instagram as a reel
  • Added to Pinterest as an idea pin
  • Featured in a relevant blog to give readers another way to engage

And any short-form content you make can gather a following by being easily reposted across the many channels that work well for that medium (aka: all of those listed in the bullet points above). 

Video content → Lead Magnet (Email Challenge or Webinar)

With a little savvy, you can transform your short-form or long-form video content into the foundation of an email challenge or a free webinar. 

Empty desk and microphone while repurposing video content | North Branch Copywriting-Co.

For an email challenge, you can send a series of short videos to your interested subscribers over the course of a few days or weeks. (For instance: sending 10 videos across two week as part of a “Double Your Email List in Two Weeks” challenge, or sending 7 video recipes as part of a “Learn to Cook the Basics in (Basically) a Week” challenge). 

And for a webinar, you can turn your existing video script into a starting point for a longer 30-minute or hour-long topic that is of particular interest to your audience or niche. 

In both cases, interested eyes will need to use an email address to opt-in. Which will fill your email list with engaged subscribers while letting pre-existing video content work overtime. 

Is Repurposing Content a Good Thing Or…

I’m a copywriter by trade. Which means you can find me on the daily speaking into a megaphone about how important it is for original, high-value content to be part of your greater marketing plan. 

(As some additional voices of support:  81% of marketers view content as a strategic business cornerstone, with about 82% of marketers investing in it actively. )

Typewriter with word "goals" | North Branch Copywriting Co.

But despite the fact that I am all about original content as part of your marketing plan, I also am all about finding smart ways to repurpose content. And so are 94% of all marketers.  (The 6% of marketers who aren’t repurposing? Yeah, they have it marked as a “to-do” item for the near future.)

Because the quickest way to generate demand and scale up is to be present for your audience. And being present means showing up through all the mediums and channels they want to see you most. 

So to repurpose content like a pro, start by choosing one of your audience-loved content pieces and flip it into something new. Then streaming your repurposing flow as you go. 

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