5 Ways to Dust-Off Old Content in 2018

Content is still king in 2018, and the Content Marketing Institute’s B2B Content Marketing: 2018 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends – North America reports that 91 percent percent of survey respondents are doing content marketing—to do that, you need great content. 

Investing in the work it takes to create this content doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated, especially if you’ve already spent time writing great articles. Much of that content is likely collecting dust, unseen after your first round of promotion. Rather than reinvent the wheel, use your time and effort to dust off the best pieces you’ve already written and turn them into newer, more valuable lead-generating assets.

 

Develop an eBook or Guide

Do you have 3 to 5 pieces of engaging content centered on a similar topic? Has it already been well-received by your audience, with a lot of engagement and traffic? Combine those pieces of content into one value-packed eBook or guide.

This is an excellent way to give your readers a deeper look at a particular topic without doing a lot of extra work. Not to mention, gated eBooks serve as a great tool for generating leads if you avoid these rookie mistakes, according to Hubspot:

• You don’t identify a target audience.
• Your topic isn’t valuable.
• You made the cover with MS Paint (or another low-quality software).
• You don’t promote it.
• Your landing page is hard to find.

 

Create Multimedia

A white paper or case study sets the foundation for a great piece of multimedia. What’s more, people prefer multimedia over other digital media forms. According to Wyzowl’s State of Video Marketing Survey, when both video and text are available on the same page, 72 percent of people would rather use video to learn about a product or service.

Here are a few ways to turn your educational content into video and more:

• Create a video with case study interviews, using animation to display stats and call out important quotes.
• Develop an infographic to break down information from a recent study, especially if it involves numbers.
• Schedule guest spots on related podcasts, where you can dive into the information as support for a related topic.
• Turn study information into a PDF that you can send out for media placements.

 

Turn It into Paid Advertising

Paid advertising is a great way to make your content work harder for you, using the topics and keywords as the backbone of new campaigns. The key is choosing blog posts or articles that have consistently performed well over time.

To determine the best content, look at the top three pieces that drive leads and sales organically. Pull apart the content to find engaging text and keywords for your campaigns. As you do this, remember that your ads will perform best when you add negative keywords into the mix as well, allowing you to drive more qualified leads. Consider this example from 3 Tips to Consider With AdWords in Digital Marketing.

“If you sell desk calendars, you’ll want to include the obvious terms people will use to search for the type of calendar you sell. These would include ‘desk calendar’ and ‘calendar,’ of course. But people might also search for ‘free calendar’ or ‘printable calendar, and they’re probably not looking to buy the type of calendar you have.”

Those terms that don’t describe your service, product or topic, would then be negative keywords. Using this tactic, your content-based PPC ads are more effective.

 

Leverage Social Media

Boost your engagement with customers and prospects across various social media channels. Do this by turning pre-written content into graphics, polls and live streaming inspiration.

For example, choose an evergreen blog post that consistently ranks highest each month. Consider the main focus, along with three underlying or related topics. Now brainstorm: how can this one piece, with all of these variations, be turned into newer content?

For example, a jewelry store may have a blog post on most popular engagement ring styles. Underlying or related topics could be:

• How to choose an engagement ring without asking your S.O. what they want?
• What stones are most popular for engagement rings?
• What’s the difference in the varying metals?

From there, they may decide to do:

• A Facebook Live Q&A on differences in metals
• An infographic on stones, including where they come from, average cost, etc.
• A series of “Choose the Ring” tips from past customers

 

Send More Emails

Email newsletters are a great way to engage and nurture existing and future customers, and nearly 50 percent of consumers want to hear from you weekly with promotions and discounts.

To create engaging emails, use timely content as inspiration. For example, if the same jewelers from the example above saw that their How to Choose A Diamond guide was most popular during the Valentines holiday, they might send an email with a ring promotion that’s also paired with call-outs from the guide.

Using content to educate your customer in this way is a great way to build trust, which then drives sales. “We use our articles to educate leads and potential customers about our industry. We often highlight topics related to a specific time of year to add value to the reader. Our content helps us establish trust with leads at every stage in our pipeline,” says Christian Valiulis, of Automatic Payroll Systems.

 

Dust Off the Old Content

Don’t spend your days trying to re-do all the work you’ve already done. Instead, dust off your old content and repackage it in a way that’s both interesting and relevant to your target audience. The five ideas above can be used in both B2B and B2C companies to engage, educate and inspire customers and clients with the content you’ve already created.

If you’re ready to dive in, check out my brand new SkillShare course, “Increase ROI With Content Repurposing.” You’ll create six new pieces of content, while getting all the tools and tips you need to succeed with repurposing on your own.