What Can You Do with Old Blog Content? Guide to Repurpose Old Content

Content is king in the digital world, and it’s a well-accepted fact. But what happens when your old blog content lose their crowns? Should they be left to gather digital dust or deleted, or can they be revitalized, repurposed, and reused? The answer is a resounding yes to the latter. This article will delve into the concept of repurposing old content and how it can be a game-changer for your digital strategy. 

• Increased website traffic  
• Improved SEO  
• Expanded reach on different platforms  
• Reinforcement of key messages  
• Time and resource efficiency  

Repurposing Content Goes Back Hundreds of Years Ago 

The practice of repurposing content has a long history. One could trace back to the early days of print media, where newspapers would often republish popular articles in different formats or update them to reflect recent developments. In today’s digital age, this practice has become even more prevalent, with content creators constantly looking for ways to reuse and repackage their content to reach new audiences and keep their existing readers engaged. 

It also involves taking existing ideas or materials and using them in new, innovative ways. This approach allows creators to breathe new life into previously used content, making it more relevant and engaging for the current audience. Disney’s “The Lion King” and George R.R. Martin’s “Game of Thrones” are notable examples of this concept.  

In the case of “The Lion King,” Disney borrowed heavily from Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.” Both stories revolve around a young prince whose father, the king, is killed by his treacherous brother. The prince goes into exile, haunted by his father’s ghost, who urges him to take the throne back. Eventually, the prince returns and reclaims his rightful place as king. Similarly, George R. R. Martin’s “Game of Thrones” series was significantly inspired by the War of the Roses, a civil war in 15th century England. The conflict, which was fought between the houses of Lancaster and York, is mirrored in the series by the rival houses of Lannister and Stark.  

Relating these examples to digital marketing, finding new angles from old content is an effective strategy. It involves reusing existing content in a new way to reach different audiences or achieve new goals. Just as Disney and Martin repurposed old stories to create successful new ones, digital marketers can repurpose old content to engage their audience in new ways, extend their reach, and enhance their SEO efforts. This strategy is a testament to the timeless appeal of great ideas and their adaptability to different contexts and formats.  

In the digital marketing realm, repurposing old content is taking existing content and transforming it into a new format or updating it to suit the current market trends or audience needs. 

An Old Blog Content Presents Open Doors

Content creation takes time, resources, and effort. By repurposing old content, businesses can leverage previous work to generate more value. This practice not only helps in stretching the content budget but also enables businesses to reach new audiences, increase online visibility, and boost search engine rankings. 

Here are the key benefits of repurposing content every marketer should consider:

Keep your content fresh and relevant 

Trends change quickly, and what was relevant a few months ago might not be relevant today. By updating and repurposing old content, businesses can ensure they stay in tune with the current market trends and audience needs. 

How to repurpose content: If you have several blog posts on a similar topic, consider combining them into a comprehensive guide. This will provide your audience with a one-stop resource on the topic and establish your authority in your industry. If you have customer testimonials, consider turning them into case studies. This will provide social proof and demonstrate the value of your products or services. When creating new content materials from old blog content, it’s important to ensure that the new content is fresh, engaging, and relevant. This could mean adding new insights, perspectives, or examples, incorporating multimedia elements like images or videos, or tailoring the content to a specific audience.

Reinforce your key messages

It’s a well-known fact in marketing that repetition is key to getting your message across. By presenting the same information in different formats or from different angles, businesses can reinforce your messages and make them more memorable for your audience. 

How to repurpose content: Creating email newsletters from old blog content is an excellent way to extend your content’s life cycle. It serves as a reminder to your audience about the valuable insights your blog offers, and it can even attract new subscribers who may have missed your older posts. One technique entail taking snippets or summaries of your previous content, compiling them into an email newsletter, and sending them out to your subscriber list. 

Maximize the value of your content 

By transforming and reinventing old content, you can extend its lifespan and reach more people, thereby getting more value for your efforts. 

How to repurpose content: Consider breaking down your blog posts into bite-sized pieces and sharing them as a series of social media posts. This will increase your social media presence and drive more traffic to your website. Different platforms have different audiences, and what works on one platform might not work on another. Therefore, when repurposing content for different platforms, it’s important to tailor the content to the specific platform and audience.

Reach new audiences

Different people consume content in different ways. While some people prefer reading blog posts, others might prefer watching videos or listening to podcasts. By repurposing content into different formats, businesses can cater to the preferences of different audience segments and reach more people. 

How to repurpose content: Consider transforming your popular blog posts into other formats like videos, podcasts, infographics, or eBooks. This will allow you to reach new audiences and keep your existing audience engaged. If you’re repurposing a blog post for social media, you might need to shorten the content, add more visuals, and use a more casual tone. On the other hand, if you’re repurposing a blog post for a professional platform like LinkedIn, you might need to use a more formal tone and provide more in-depth information. 

On our website, you can find The Ultimate Guide to Content Syndication which we have decisively chopped down into parts for readability. However, our campaign to make it easier for our clients does not end there. The guide was also developed into a downloadable eBook which was distributed to our newsletter subscribers, and to top it all off, we have produced a pocket guide visual version of it as a video on YouTube. Practicing what we preach by repurposing our website content, adapting it to other content formats, and circulating them. 

Improve search engine optimization (SEO)

Search engines like Google favor fresh and relevant content. By updating and repurposing old content, businesses can improve their SEO, increase their online visibility, and attract more organic traffic to their websites. 

How to repurpose content: If you have blog posts that are still relevant but contain outdated information, consider updating them with the latest facts, statistics, or developments. This will not only make your content more accurate and reliable but also improve its SEO. 

Identifying Quality Old Blog Content for Syndication

Not all content is suitable for repurposing and even more so for content syndication, where you want to target specific people looking for useful information. You cannot afford to spray and pray away when it comes to syndicating old and repurposed content. Businesses should be strategic about which pieces of content they choose to repurpose.  

• Review your existing content – The first step in identifying content for repurposing is to review your existing content. Look for pieces that performed well in terms of engagement, traffic, or conversions. These are likely to be topics that your audience found interesting or valuable and could be good candidates for repurposing. 
   
• Check its relevance – Another factor to consider when identifying content for repurposing is its relevance. Choose pieces of content that are still relevant to your audience. This could be content that addresses a common question or problem, provides useful information, or discusses a topic that is currently trending in your industry. 
   
• Consider the format of the content – Some content formats are more suitable for repurposing than others. For example, long-form content like guides, eBooks, or white papers can be easily broken down into smaller pieces like blog posts, infographics, or social media posts. 

There are several metrics you can use to measure the impact of your repurposed content. These include: 

• Engagement: This includes likes, comments, shares, and other forms of interaction with your content. High engagement indicates that your content is resonating with your audience. 
   
• Traffic: This refers to the number of people who visit your website or view your content. Increased traffic indicates that your content is attracting more people. 
   

• Conversions: This refers to the number of people who take a desired action after viewing your content, such as signing up for a newsletter, downloading a resource, or making a purchase. Higher conversion rates indicate that your content is persuading people to take action. 
   
• SEO Rankings: This refers to your position in search engine results. Improved SEO rankings indicate that your content is being recognized by search engines as relevant and valuable. 

Once you have identified the content you want to repurpose and decided on the strategy you want to use, the next step is to start creating the new content materials. This could involve updating the information in your old blog posts, transforming your blog posts into a new format, or repackaging your blog posts into a comprehensive guide or a series of social media posts. 

When creating new content materials from old blog content, it’s important to ensure that the new content is fresh, engaging, and relevant. This could mean adding new insights, perspectives, or examples, incorporating multimedia elements like images or videos, or tailoring the content to a specific audience. 

In addition, it’s important to optimize your new content for SEO. This could involve researching relevant keywords, optimizing your meta tags and alt texts, and incorporating internal and external links. This will help improve your search engine rankings and increase your online visibility. 

When to Delete Old Blog Content and What are Your Options?

The next time you think of what to do with old blog content, reconsider deleting them as your first resort. Sure, there may be instances where it’s more beneficial to delete old blog content rather than repurpose it. This could be the case if the content is outdated, irrelevant, low-quality, or not aligned with your current brand image or messaging. 

Before deleting old blog content, however, it’s important to consider your options. One option is to archive the content, which means it won’t be visible to your audience but can still be accessed by you for future reference. 

Another option is to redirect the content to a more relevant or updated page on your website. This can help preserve the SEO value of the old content and guide your visitors to a more useful resource. This brings us to an important tip: look into forum community websites. 

Forum websites like Reddit and Quora are platforms where users can share knowledge and engage in discussions on various topics. Posting your old blog content on these platforms can significantly increase your content’s visibility and reach, resulting in higher traffic to your website. 

When you post your old content on these platforms, you’re essentially inserting your brand into conversations that are already happening. Your content becomes a part of these discussions, thereby exposing your brand to a broader audience. This can result in increased brand awareness, improved SEO, and possibly even lead generation. 

However, it’s not enough to merely post your old content on these platforms. You should also engage with the community, respond to comments, and provide additional value whenever possible. By doing so, you establish your brand as an authority in your niche, which can further drive traffic and conversions. 

Working with Content You Already Have is Easier Than Creating New One

Repurposing old content is not just a time-saver; it’s also a smart business strategy. Working with content you already have is easier than creating new ones because the foundation is already there. 

The research and planning phase, which can be the most time-consuming part of content creation, is already done. You already have the information, data, and insights from the previous posts. All you need to do is freshen it up, reformat it, or present it in a new way. 

Additionally, you know that the content was effective the first time around. It resonated with your audience, generated traffic, and possibly even led to conversions. By repurposing it, you’re essentially leveraging its previous success for continued benefits. 

Conclusion 

Repurposing old content is an effective and cost-efficient content strategy. It should not even be considered as an optional content marketing strategy anymore. It is as crucial as creating new content as the old ones have laid out the foundation where new content would, later on, thrive as well. It allows you to maximize your content’s value, extend its lifespan, and reach a broader audience. So, don’t let your old blog posts gather digital dust. Instead, unlock their potential by transforming and repurposing them for a greater impact. 

Visit our blogs for more information on syndicating repurposed content. Or you can talk directly to our DemandScience experts and let us bring back the luster of those old content together.  
 
 
Don’t hesitate to start the conversation.