Do you agree that creating quality content is tough? But, in this day and age, content is driving conversions. You can’t afford to neglect content, especially since content marketing gives assured returns at relatively low cost.
But here’s the sad part:
84% of B2B marketers outsource their content creation. This means additional expenditure with little or no guarantee of results.
Image via Content Marketing Institute
But there’s a smarter alternative:
If your brand works with influencers, you can repurpose their content and keep deriving value from it. With a bit of creativity, you can give your influencer’s content a new twist and extend its shelf life.
This beats creating new content by miles. Influencer content is high on authenticity. Plus, there are many other reasons why influencer content works like magic (but we’ll get to those later).
Let’s talk about the benefits of repurposing influencer content and the best ways of doing it.
Ready?
What is Repurposing Content?
Repurposing content means tweaking existing content to fulfill a similar or even a different purpose.
Let’s say you have an ebook on digital marketing. You can pull out content from the ebook and create tutorial videos about the best practices for digital marketing. Or, you can put together key takeaways in social media posts.
With a bit of creative input, you can reach audiences who consume content differently.
Imagine how great the results will be if you repurpose content created by influencers who have a pulse on the kind of content that clicks with audiences.
Why Repurpose Influencer Content?
Influencer content is a gift that can keep on adding value. Repurposing it won’t change its engaging, immersive quality. It would just be like putting old wine in a new bottle.
Here are some of the benefits you will derive:
Save Time and Effort
Influencer content works. By repurposing it, you can capitalize on a content idea that has already clicked with the audience. You won’t have to research new content ideas that may or may not have a good success rate.
Widen Your Reach
The learning styles of your audience may differ. Some may be visual learners who will find infographics and videos more appealing than a blog post. Others might be more inclined towards research-backed whitepapers.
By creating content in different formats, you can reach different types of people.
Target Buyers at Different Stages in Their Journey
Awareness, consideration, and decision are the three main stages in a typical buyer’s journey. In each stage, a buyer looks for a particular content type. Repurposed content helps you target buyers in all stages and move them along the sales funnel efficiently.
Image via SurveyGizmo
Boost Your SEO
Repurposing content can do wonders for your SEO strategy. As explained before, you can target the same high-performing keywords over and over again without duplicating content. In this way, you can maintain your rank and fulfill Google’s guidelines.
AdEspresso nails this tactic for the keyword “social proof marketing.” They created a blog post and a SlideShare deck for the same topic. They were able to secure two positions for this keyword on the first page of Google search results.
Image via Google
Establish Your Reputation
By creating many content pieces from successful influencer content, you can improve your online visibility. This strategy allows you to expose yourself to a new set of audiences.
If your influencers are thought leaders or industry experts, your repurposed content is likely to be of high quality. It can help you establish your reputation in your niche.
Redeem Unsuccessful Content
A content piece may have failed due to various reasons, such as incompatible format or wrong timing. You can breathe new life into it by changing the format or target audience.
Even after your influencer collaboration expires, you can keep repurposing campaign content if the topic is relevant.
Things to Keep in Mind While Repurposing Influencer Content
Do you need your influencer’s permission before you recycle and republish their content from your branded accounts?
Though most influencers won’t have an issue with being spotlighted, you do need to properly tag and accredit them. To avoid infringement disputes with your influencers, draw a binding collaboration contract that covers this area.
Influencer marketing platforms like Fourstarzz Media can not only identify influencers with prior experience in brand endorsements but also help you negotiate a favorable contract. You can seek their expert guidance for creating water-tight influencer proposals.
In your contract, you can also detail ways to credit influencers for different types of repurposed content. You may also want to save some original influencer content for later use.
How to Repurpose Influencer Content
So, are you ready to repurpose influencer content?
You’ll need effective ways for how to repurpose content. Here are some low-effort-high-return methods you can use:
1. Branded Social Media Posts
Brands need to post on social media consistently to remain visible. But creating new social content at scale can be a pain.
Since influencer content is optimized for social audiences, refurbish it and post it from your branded accounts. #Throwback, #ThrowbackThursday, or #TBT posts are a great way to do this.
Add branding elements and tweak the captions. Don’t forget to tag the original creators to keep them in the know and put yourself in front of their audience as well.
Image via Instagram
2. Online and Print Advertisements
Typically, you need professional camera crews, models, and production teams to churn out a single advertisement. But your influencer is a one-person production team.
Most influencers are great editors, photographers, or videographers. Using their stunning content, you can create advertisements for TV, print, and social media. You can pick content from influencer campaigns that performed well and micro-target followers who responded well to the campaign.
You can leverage Instagram’s Branded Content Ad feature that has become quite popular. Though the ownership of the ad content stays with creators, it enables partner brands to access insights about any increase in their engagement due to ad activity.
Image via Instagram
3. Product Pages/Testimonials on Websites
A big part of influencer content is user-generated content (UGC). UGC is social proof that can do miracles if placed strategically on your website.
Unboxing and walk-through videos are especially effective on product pages. They show undiluted footage of customers’ brand experiences. Website visitors who are exploring buying options on your product pages can find content shared by other users inspiring. This can be the trigger that makes them convert.
Another place where UGC fits well is a web page dedicated to customer testimonials.
Authentic product reviews have a strong hold over online customers who trust them more than paid ads and celebrity endorsements. In fact, 63% of netizens actively seek out websites that feature reviews. Your influencer campaigns will have ample material that can be converted into an impressive review.
4. Emails and Newsletters
If you want your marketing emails to meet the mark, use influencer content in them. Here again, you can leverage UGC. Names, faces, and stories of real people are more convincing than impersonal content.
More importantly, you can use your influencer campaign insights to drill down on contacts that are likely to convert. You can send them targeted emails, laden with personalized offers to improve your chances of making a sale.
Image via Email Tuna
Pro Tip: Leverage advanced tools for email marketing to design professional looking emails and newsletters.
5. Digestible Video Clips
Video content marketing is popular right now. Luckily, with an influencer by your side, you don’t have to be a professional video editor to create amazing videos.
You can break down lengthy blog posts or behind-the-scenes (BTS) influencer content into short video tutorials. Moz does this for their Whiteboard Friday series of posts. With videos, they target a different audience segment and establish their presence on yet another social channel.
6. Refurbished Blog Posts
There are numerous ways of reusing influencer content, but creating a post with influencer quotes is the simplest. Pull out oft-repeated quotes, tips, hacks, recipes, and illustrations from your influencers and compile them into a post. Place social media widgets nearby to enable quick sharing to social channels.
Don’t forget to tag relevant influencers. Chances are that the influencer will reshare the posts on their blog or social accounts, which will earn you valuable backlinks.
Ready to Get Started Repurposing Influencer Content?
Content repurposing is an effective yet underrated marketing strategy. It’s a practice that smart marketers should follow all the time. And, actually, it makes sense. You already have all the ingredients – brilliant content, target keywords, and passionate audiences. Why not whip up a new dish?
I would love to hear what you think about this post. Drop a comment below.
About the Author:
Shane Barker is a digital marketing consultant for 15 years with an emphasis on Influencer Marketing in the last 5 years. He is specialized in sales funnels, targeted traffic and website conversions. He has consulted with Fortune 500 companies, Influencers with digital products, and a number of A-List celebrities.