When done well, repurposing content helps marketing teams work smarter, not harder. Plus, there's no need to start every project from scratch when you've got winning content ready to reshape.
Making the most of what you have
Marketing budgets need to work harder than ever. Repurposing content stretches resources by transforming existing materials into fresh formats that reach new audiences. A single blog post can become a series of social media updates, an infographic or even fuel for a video script. This approach maintains consistent messaging while adapting content for different platforms and audience preferences.
Take HubSpot's approach. Their State of Marketing report gets repurposed into blog posts, social media graphics, video snippets and presentation slides. Each piece of repurposed content targets different audience segments while reinforcing key findings from the original research. Their 2024 report shows that 56% of marketers plan to invest more in short-form video content, demonstrating how one data point can spawn multiple content pieces.
Platform-specific content
Different platforms demand different approaches. TikTok's massive success with short-form video has changed how brands repurpose content. According to recent data, 73% of consumers prefer learning about products through short videos. It’s a shift that has pushed marketing teams to transform longer content into bite-sized pieces that work on TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts.
But it's not just about video. LinkedIn's professional audience engages more with data-driven content and industry insights. X (formerly Twitter) users respond to quick, memorable snippets. Instagram followers want visually compelling stories. Each platform offers unique opportunities to reshape existing content for maximum impact.
Winning strategies for data-backed transformation
Numbers tell the story of successful repurposing content. Around 94% of marketers use content repurposing to get more out of their marketing strategy. And almost half believe that content repurposing is more beneficial than creating it from scratch.
The most successful repurposing starts with analytics, so examine:
- Most-visited blog posts
- Highest-converting landing pages
- Top-performing social media updates
- Most-downloaded resources
- Best-performing email campaigns
Platform requirements will ultimately shape your repurposing decisions. TikTok's research shows users spend 197.8 million hours daily watching content—but nine out of ten of them use the platform with sound on, unlike other social platforms. This key difference means teams must adapt content differently for TikTok versus Instagram or Facebook.
Real-world transformations that work
Marketing teams have found several proven methods to transform existing content into high-performing pieces across different channels. Here's how successful brands squeeze more value from their content assets.
Blog posts to newsletters
SparkToro masters this approach by sharing key insights from their articles through their newsletter. Their content about high-quality writing reaches new audiences when broken into targeted snippets, while maintaining the original message's value. This method works especially well for data-rich content that can be parcelled into standalone insights.
Video content multiplication
Coca-Cola's AI-generated personalised ads demonstrate how one video concept can spawn countless variations. Their marketing team takes core video content and creates personalised versions for different audiences, increasing engagement and reach while maintaining brand consistency.
Long-form content breakdown
HubSpot's approach to their marketing reports shows masterful repurposing content. Their annual State of Marketing report becomes:
- Multiple focused blog posts
- Social media carousel posts
- Video summaries
- Infographics
- Email newsletter series
- Webinar content
Each piece targets specific audience segments while maintaining consistent data and insights. It’s a great way to take a significant piece of content and find multiple other platforms for it, so it grows and thrives while reaching an even larger audience.
Technical aspects of smart repurposing
Poor image sizing can lead to blurry posts, cropped content or distorted visuals that damage brand perception, and you certainly don’t want that. For that reason, you need to think about the technical side of repurposing content—resolution requirements.
They vary significantly across platforms, and getting these specifications right makes sure your content looks professional and performs well in each channel's unique environment.
Image sizes
- Instagram: 1080 x 1080 pixels for square posts
- Twitter: 1200 x 675 pixels for shared images
- LinkedIn: 1200 x 627 pixels for link shares
- TikTok: 1080 x 1920 pixels for vertical videos
Video length optimisation:
- TikTok: 21-34 seconds perform best
- Instagram Reels: 15-30 seconds
- YouTube Shorts: Under 60 seconds
- LinkedIn: 30-90 seconds for video posts
Measuring repurposing ROI
Measuring success helps refine your content repurposing strategy over time. By tracking key performance indicators across platforms, you can identify which repurposing works best and where to focus your efforts.
Track these metrics to understand how well your repurposed content performs across different platforms and formats, helping guide future content transformation decisions and resource allocation:
- Cost per piece of repurposed content
- Time saved versus creating new content
- Engagement rates by platform
- Traffic from each repurposed format
- Conversion rates across different versions
- Social sharing statistics
- SEO impact and search rankings
Reports show that companies using content repurposing strategies see significant benefits in marketing and sales. Data from a survey of small businesses reveals that properly repurposed content can reduce content creation costs and improve efficiency in multiple ways.
- 54% of small businesses reported saving valuable time through content repurposing
- 44% saw improved cost-effectiveness in their content creation efforts.
- 52% experienced improved brand visibility
- 44% enhanced engagement with their audiences.
These statistics demonstrate how content repurposing can simultaneously reduce costs and maintain or even improve engagement rates, making it a super handy strategy for businesses of all sizes.
Common challenges and solutions
While content repurposing offers a whole bunch of benefits, marketing teams often encounter several roadblocks when trying to implement their strategies. Understanding—and getting a grip—on these challenges helps create more effective solutions and smoother workflows.
Platform algorithm changes
Social platforms constantly update their algorithms, and your marketing team needs to stay current with best practices for each platform. Facebook's recent shift toward video content means it might be wise to prioritise transforming static content into video formats, for example.
Brand consistency issues
When content gets repurposed across multiple platforms, maintaining brand voice becomes challenging. Create a clear style guide that outlines how core messages should adapt for different platforms while keeping brand identity intact. Not only is this great for your in-house team, but it also helps freelancers and contractors working on your content.
Resource allocation
Many teams struggle with deciding which content deserves repurposing investment. Use data to guide these decisions—content that performed well in its original format typically succeeds in new formats too.
Building an efficient repurposing workflow
Creating a systematic approach to content repurposing will help your marketing team maintain consistency and quality while maximising your use of resources. A well-structured workflow starts with understanding what content you already have.
- List all existing content assets: Catalogue every piece of content across your blogs, social channels, downloadable resources, videos and email campaigns to create a fleshed-out content inventory.
- Document performance metrics: Record key performance indicators like page views, engagement rates, conversion rates and time on page for each piece to establish baseline performance data.
- Identify gaps in current content: Analyse where content might be missing or thin across different topics, formats and customer journey stages to spot repurposing opportunities.
- Map content to customer journey stages: Connect each piece to awareness, consideration, or decision stages to ensure repurposed content supports the full customer journey.
- Prioritise pieces for repurposing: Select high-performing content that aligns with current business goals and has potential for transformation across multiple formats.
Create a systematic approach that structures your repurposing efforts, guaranteeing consistency and quality while making the process repeatable and scalable across your marketing team's content initiatives:
- Schedule regular content audits: Plan quarterly reviews of your content library to keep your inventory current and spot new repurposing opportunities as your content base grows.
- Set up tracking systems for metrics: Implement analytics tools and reporting dashboards that automatically gather performance data across all platforms and content formats.
- Establish platform-specific guidelines: Create detailed documentation about image sizes, character limits, and best practices for each social platform for consistent quality.
- Create templates for common formats: Build reusable templates for social posts, email newsletters, and visual content to speed up the repurposing process and maintain brand consistency.
- Document successful repurposing patterns: Keep detailed records of which content transformations perform best, including specific formats, timing and audience segments that drive engagement.
Tools that streamline the process
The right tools streamline content repurposing, saving time while maintaining quality. Take Canva. It offers quick creation of platform-optimised visuals, providing templates and sizing guides for every social channel.
Teams using Headliner can evolve a podcast episode and audio clip into engaging video content, complete with automated captions and waveform animations. Then there’s Descript, which makes audio and video editing feel like editing a document, with powerful transcription features.
Buffer simplifies scheduling repurposed content across multiple platforms, while HubSpot's analytics tools track performance and help identify which transformations work best. These tools together create a powerful ecosystem for efficient content repurposing.
Future-proofing your repurposing strategy
Content platforms never stand still. TikTok's explosive growth forced marketing teams to rethink their content strategy. Instagram's shift from photos to Reels changed how brands connect with audiences. Meta's constant algorithm updates keep social media managers on their toes.
Building flexibility into your repurposing approach means you'll be ready when the next big platform emerges or when current channels pivot to new formats. The marketing teams that adapted quickly to short-form video saw massive engagement gains, while those stuck in old patterns struggled to maintain their reach.
Stay current with platform changes:
- Follow platform announcement blogs
- Join beta testing programs
- Monitor competitor adaptations
- Track engagement patterns
- Test new formats regularly
These steps will give your marketing teams the edge to stay ahead of platform changes rather than scrambling to catch up. Regular monitoring and testing reveal emerging opportunities before they become mainstream, giving your content strategy a competitive edge.
Making repurposing sustainable
Successful repurposing starts at the beginning of your content planning process. Building transformation potential into your original content makes future repurposing more efficient and helps your team think strategically about multi-platform use from day one.
- Plan repurposing during initial content development
- Create modular content pieces
- Build resource libraries
- Document successful frameworks
- Train team members on platform requirements
Keep your content calendar organised with both original and repurposed pieces. This helps marketing teams track what's been repurposed, identify gaps and maintain a steady flow of content across all channels.
The future of content repurposing looks increasingly automated. AI tools help identify repurposing opportunities and even assist in content transformation. However, human oversight remains vital for maintaining brand voice and seeing to it that quality across all formats.
Back with a brand new layer of pain
Successful content repurposing isn't about simply reformatting content. Think of it as an art that requires thoughtful adaptation of valuable information for different audiences and platforms while maintaining your core message and brand identity.
And if you need a hand, Conturae’s Repurposer takes your existing content and helps you create new versions for different platforms—and it does it at speed. Try it out, along with our other services, and create top-notch content that reaches a number of different audiences.
