I Recycled Content…The Opposite Way

MarketingBlogging

May 29

Tired of creating content? Recycle it!

Recycling content reformats something you’ve already created into a new piece of content. This is most common with long-form to medium or short-form content.

Types of Content

Long-Form

Examples: Blog posts, longer videos

Purpose: Builds trust; positions you as an expert; encourages conversions (purchases)

Reach: Specific

Medium-Form

Examples: Email newsletters, case studies

Purpose: Entice the viewer to read/watch long-form content

Reach: Selective

Short-Form

Examples: Social media posts (graphics, reels, threads, tweets)

Purpose: Engage audience; attract more viewers/followers

Reach: Wider

Recycling Example

Blog post (long) → Email newsletter (medium) → Social media post (short)

I often include a story pertaining to the subject of a blog post in my weekly e-newsletter, medium-form content, linking to the blog post for further information on the topic.

Numerous versions of short-form content can be recycled from a blog post. I could design a social media graphic summarizing the main points of the blog post, record a reel that does the same thing, or create a graphic with a quote from the blog post.

It’s easy to create condensed versions (medium and short) from a long-form piece of content because you have plenty of source material.

Expanding a short-form piece of content to long-form takes more work, but it can be worth expanding your thoughts on a popular short-form post.

I posted the following graphic to social media, a short-form piece of content, on May 22, 2023.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Meg | Your Zillennial Biz + Marketing Mentor (@missmegabug)

I’ve seen the issue of brain picking come up again and again since posting. It’s happened to me, and several of my small business friends have reached out asking how to respond to a brain picker.

As a result, I decided to expand this graphic into a blog post, a long-form piece of content.
Now that I have a new long-form piece of content, I can recycle it into an email newsletter as well as an Instagram reel.

Recycling content helps you stay off the content creation hamster wheel, reducing the amount of time you spend marketing your business.

Because as small business owners, our focus should be on the actual running of our businesses.

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