As a marketer you might have experienced it; creating compelling and relevant content on a regular basis is a daunting process. 80% of your efforts will translate in 20% of your footage. Only for it to disappear into the clutter within one, maximum two days. It sounds rather depressing. However, there is a way to extend the lifespan of your content and get more out of that 80%. It’s called: repurposing.
What?
Repurposing, also referred to as ‘repackaging’ your content allows you to alter content that you’ve already published and give it a new look. The latter allows you to repost it on another or even the same platform, increasing your return on investment. Moreover, it improves your SEO, increases your views, extends your reach and improves the efficiency of your audience targeting. In order to reap those benefits, the following article will look into several ways that your videos can be repurposed.
How?
Audio Podcast
Extracting the audio track from your video to mould it into a Podcast. The latter might sound far-fetched but it allows you to create two different media products from the same content and, thus, diversify your reach. Moreover, audio is easier to consume as it does not require the full attention of your audience. The consumer can listen to a podcast while doing other things at the same time. This is harder when watching videos.
Transcriptions
Likewise, your video can be transcribed and translated into written pieces. Transcription can be used for multiple purposes. Transcriptions of interviews and talking heads provide great content for a Q&A and FAQ on your webpage whereas transcriptions of explainer videos will do well for a “How It Works” page on your website. Other than that, quotes from your CEO, other inspiring leaders or even your customers can be extracted and used as references on your webpage. Finally, transcriptions can be used as the basis of a blog post. Self-evidently, the latter involves a bit more effort but allows you to reach consumers who prefer reading over watching and listening. However you decide to use your transcriptions, they will boost your SEO as Google indexes captions but not visuals.
Multiple Shorter Videos
You can also decide to stick to the medium but alter the product by cutting it into multiple shorter videos. The latter is especially fruitful when you want to distribute your content on your socials. Short and concise videos work better on social media platforms and, thus, you may be able to cut and recreate several videos from the original video that you’ve created for you e.g. your website. Examples are short six-second vine camera videos, looping boomerang videos, time-lapse videos, etcetera, etcetera. No matter what form you decide to mould your original video into, short videos make your content easier to digest and are more likely to be consumed completely. The latter increases audience engagement. Besides that, you could make a trailer or social media stories out of your original video to spark the viewer’s curiosity and, thus, leading them from your socials back to your website or video channels.
One Long Video
With various pieces extracted from different videos, you can create a completely new video. Take for example the customer testimonials from your old footage and create a case study out of it. Or, collect footage from your old corporate video(s) to showcase different elements of your company culture to create a behind-the-scenes, a founder film or a recruitment video. Similarly, you can stitch together footage to create an overview of the company’s highlights from previous years for both internal and external usage or combine quotes from experienced employees into an interesting thought-leadership piece.
Behind The Scenes Video
Behind the scenes videos are thriving nowadays as they provide the viewer an exclusive look into the production process. They engage with and educate the viewer and, at the same time, offer them transparency, integrity and intimacy. This strengthens the connection between your brand and your customer. A behind the scenes video can be created by extracting footage from the respective marketing video or compiling footage from different videos which were shot in the past. The same can be done to create a compilation of funny moments such as the bloopers shown at the end of a film. Such videos help to make your brand more human and relatable. Whether you opt for a BTS video or comedy piece, both will significantly improve your engagement with the audience.
Images
Most of the videos are shot at 30 frames per second. This means you can extract a lot of stills from them. The images taken from your video can be used on your socials or website to either give this an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look or lead traffic to your video.
Update Footage
Never delete old footage! “Old footage” does not necessarily mean that it is outdated and when it is, there are often easy ways to update or modernise it. Firstly, the outdated parts could be replaced. For instance, the statistics in your animated explainer videos can be replaced by the newest data. Or, an interview with your former CEO can be replaced by a new interview snippet. Secondly, old footage can function as a silent clip on the background of your website, to give visitors a first impression on who you are and what you do. Finally, old footage might look outdated but it may still contain relevant information. To solve this, the video can be modernised by adding 3D animated elements such as motion graphics or the edit can be redone by subjecting the footage to a different piece of music, colour grading or more creative cuts and transitions. Thus, old footage is extremely valuable for re-usage!
Why?
There are more different and creative ways to repurpose your content but the message must be clear by now; Repurposing your video does not only extend the shelf-life of your video but also uses your marketing budget, time and effort more efficiently to increase your traffic, extend your reach and improve your audience engagement. Why start from scratch every time your boss wants a new marketing video if you have content available that has proven to perform well? Creativity is not coming up with something new every time but it is about finding ways to keep your content fresh and build on what you’ve published in the past by simply repacking it!