Upcycling. It’s a word that’s growing in popularity and one I kept hearing over Christmas. For the unknowing gift-giver, it’s sometimes called regifting - giving an unwanted present to someone else. However cheeky it may seem, it’s also viewed as responsible shopping by positioning the gift where it is most useful.

The concept of upcycling in content marketing is one of the principle benefits of adopting a content marketing strategy. Content providers avoid a ‘one-stop shop’ mentality of creating a solo video or podcast. Increasingly content-savvy brands realise there is more opportunity to maximise budget spend by recycling existing content and repackaging into new formats.

Photo by Mary Anne Enriquez

Brad Zomick discusses the benefits of recycling and repurposing content in his article ‘Content Recycling 101: 11 Ways To Repurpose Old Content’

“Repurposing is a long-term strategy, something you should think about at the outset of any given piece….. you want to stick with content that is durable and long-lasting, what is called “evergreen.”

Benefits of Recycling Content:

  • Ability to reach new audiences through the different channels in which the content is placed (i.e., LinkedIn has a different audience than YouTube).
  • Repackaging gives you the opportunity to find an alternative purpose for the content, or a different angle.  This creates more value for more people. It means you can stretch the content and explore new avenues for distribution.
  • It allows you to refresh time-specific content, making it current and more relevant. It increases the life expectancy of your content.
  • As consumers are consistently bombarded with content through various forms, many of the messages tend to filter through without sticking. By repurposing existing content, you can push your message to the forefront and heighten visibility.
photo by Steve Garfield

photo by Steve Garfield

How Do I Start My Recycling Mission?

There are many paths to follow when repurposing but there are two major routes:

1) Adapt and repurpose the content to target a new audience.

2) Position the content on a different media platform to reach a new audience. For example, someone who listens to content through a podcast might not read an article from LinkedIn.

Take an existing blog article.

You could rewrite and tweak the article to make it suitable for a new audience. You could then divide the content into sub-divisions and write a rich-text update on each section. These can then be positioned on different social media channels.  You could also record a podcast, create an infographic or even an animation with the same information contained in the blog post.

Repurposing a blog post into video

Here is an example of how an existing blog post is repackaged into an animated video.

The post was adapted and reworked into a short script. Relevant imagery was incorporated to complement and animate the content.

Animation:

Not everyone chooses to read blogs; some people barely read at all.

For someone who lacks interest in reading, or for someone who is attracted to images more than words, the animation would be the preferred way of digesting the information.

For guidance on how to explore the full potential of your existing content, please give us a call. We will happily advise you on how to make a bigger impact with what assets you already own.

-Lucy Helliwell