Repurposing Content: How to Make Your Content Work Harder
Magazine journalism aficionado, of the Tank content hub. Honed her writing talents on the battlefields of Peterborough’s A&E and beauty counters.
Creating content – especially long-form reports and digital PR campaigns – can take weeks. You have to gather data and interview experts, even before the writing and editing begins. And while it might perform well when pushed out on one channel, how can you help draw out even more value?
What is content repurposing?
Content repurposing, or content recycling as it is sometimes known, is a strategy used by marketers to get more from the content they create – helping to save time and amplify your message further.
The original content, whether a case study, whitepaper, blog, video or podcast, is repurposed into channel-friendly formats, so it can be seen by a wider audience. You can repurpose or update content across your channels but it’s important to give it a fresh take.
This strategy is regularly used by news sites like The Sun, Daily Mail and BBC to target different demographics as it means they don’t need to create fresh content as often. The BBC, for instance, may publish an online news article, followed by a TikTok video a day later. The content will be in a different format, like a piece-to-camera video designed specifically for that channel to boost engagement.
You can also convert blogs, reports or whitepapers into image carousels or teaser style videos on LinkedIn.
Some topics will remain relevant for a long time – so repurposing may simply be a case of updating your content at regular intervals.
If certain content is performing really well, pick the most newsworthy angles to boost engagement across social channels and your website. At Tank, our digital PR account director, Rebecca Peel, delivered an industry talk at the Nottingham Digital Summit. The content of the speech was repurposed into a blog, Using Internal Data Sources for Digital PR, to make it more accessible.
Why you need a content repurposing strategy
Repurposing blog posts into different formats can get you better results. That might be more leads, sales, interactions, clicks or traffic.
It also has search engine optimisation (SEO) benefits as more content in a variety of formats means you can improve visibility across different channels and organic traffic.
So, content shouldn’t just be recycled on an ad hoc basis such as when you’re short of ideas. It should instead form part of the content creation process, so teams are always thinking how it can be adapted for different channels. For example, when drafting a new blog, think about creating a supporting infographic, video or image carousel.
Your strategy also identifies the best channels, content types, how to tailor it and when to publish it to get the best results. It can improve:
- Content’s lifespan
- Reach
- Engagement
- Traffic
- SEO performance
“The way users search and engage with content is constantly evolving. We’re seeing people of all ages turning to TikTok to search for information, so consider video content too. As always, conducting keyword research, understanding your audience, and creating useful content should be at the forefront of your strategy. This can give you a competitive edge within your market, beyond the realms of traditional search engines such as Google.”
– Connor Dowling, SEO manager at Tank
Repurposing content for social media
LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube are some of the best social channels for repurposing content because there are a variety of content formats available – from written posts, reels and carousels, to infographics and short and long-form video.
Take a key statistic from your newly published report and create an attention-grabbing infographic for LinkedIn, or post a snippet of your video on YouTube Shorts.
Consider what content type is popular on each channel too. Video on LinkedIn jumped by 36% in 2024 so it’s a great option to boost interactions, while slideshows are being pushed on TikTok.
You can then schedule and post it when your audience is most active. Hootsuite revealed the best time to post on social media for engagement, which is 8am on Wednesday mornings, but each channel has more specific times:
| Channel | Time | Day |
| 7am–8am | Monday–Friday | |
| TikTok | 3pm | Thursday |
| 7am | Saturday | |
| 11am | Wednesday |
As of Feb 2025
How to repurpose your content
If content repurposing is a new strategy – or if you’re launching a new channel – follow these three steps.
Step one: Content audit
Identify evergreen and high-performing content. Content with high engagement is ideal to repurpose as your audience has already shown an interest in it. Is the content still relevant? How can it be repurposed?
Step two: Choose channels
Social media might be better for more visual content like pictures, infographics and video, while websites are more generally suited to long-form content like blogs, press releases, podcasts and reports.
Step three: Repurpose content
Edit your original content into eye-catching graphics, engaging videos or condensed carousels. Adjust your tone and writing style to appeal to each channel’s specific demographic.
Tools like Canva and Descript will speed up the content creation process and give your posts flair. The messaging will remain the same, but consider how you can present it differently – could you break it down into three handy tips, or ask one of your experts to do a quick explainer.
Common mistakes to avoid
Not tailoring to each channel: Repurposing isn’t a case of copying and pasting existing content. It needs to be presented in a format that will attract attention on each channel.
Not listening to analytics: Where marketers can go wrong is ignoring their data and analytics. Social media analytics tools tell you how well a user has interacted/engaged with your content, so you can figure out the best content types and topics. If a LinkedIn image carousel has a lot of interactions, consider sticking with that format.
Not balancing with fresh content: Avoid overloading your channels with repurposed content as this can lead to fatigue. It’s all about balance – publish fresh content along with it to stay competitive and improve visibility.
Tips for repurposing content at scale
Repurposing content saves you time and ensures that you’re getting the most value from original pieces. It can be an efficient way to produce content at scale to get your brand noticed, grow your following and hopefully push opportunities through the marketing funnel. To ensure scalability, you or your team can:
Build repurposing into your processes: Create alternative formats during the content creation process to save time and ensure your content is ready to be scheduled.
Use templates: Create a simple template for each channel and format, so content can quickly be dropped in and pushed live. For example, a LinkedIn image carousel template for any blogs where key messaging can be repurposed.
Measure performance: Check how your repurposed content performs so you can make any tweaks or use a high-performing template again. If a written post isn’t performing how you expected it, consider a video or infographic instead and measure again.
Get more value out of your content
Content repurposing can help you get more value from your content, as well as increasing its reach, engagement and lifespan. Have a look at your content library and start developing a strategy mapping out your channels and content formats.
Need help making your content work harder? See how Tank can support your content marketing strategy.
Related Posts
