You are responsible for promoting the company and brand in various marketing channels.
The annual budget includes a new website design, digital marketing in PPC ads, email marketing—even some PR. But social media is your No. 1 marketing channel.
Because social media has become the new word of mouth, you use it for many important things, such as thought leadership, sales promotion and employee recruitment.
But here’s your pain point: Where do you find all the content to keep posting again and again? Where do you find all the time? Studies show that a single post on social media channels has a relatively short half-life on Twitter (15-20 minutes), Facebook (5-6 hours) and Instagram (48 hours). In other words, once you post, you better start thinking about your next one.
That said, you also have email campaigns to develop as well as ads. There’s a timely press release that needs to go out and that web refresh project isn’t going to start itself.
You need a solution.
And it’s called repurposing content, which means much more than recycling old content. Think about it as reimagining the content to make it new again.
From a social media perspective, there are several reasons why it makes sense to reshare old content in its original form—so make sure to add this tactic to your mix. Resharing the same content can generate more traffic and shares probably because the reshares at different times are reaching different people in multiple time zones. In addition, the additional reshares are also getting in front of new followers and connections as you build your tribe.
But if your followers like reshares, then they are going to love repurposed content, which presents the original content in a different way to capture more attention for your brand with a fraction of the effort.
To turn this into a teachable moment, let’s take a look at one piece of CMA content that we can repurpose to give you some ideas, so you can incorporate with your company’s content. For example, CMA recently developed a press release about launching a new website for Federally Employed Women, which is a new association client for the full-service communications, marketing and association management firm. (Here’s the link to the release so you can follow along.)
So we turn that press release into a social media post on several channels. And we’re done, right? Nope. If you quit now, you’d be right back where you started.
Let’s change it up and throw a little creativity into the mix. Often, the missing ingredient isn’t the lack of time but not enough creative juice—which is understandable because you’re constantly moving in different directions to keep the marketing program moving forward.
However, let’s start with the easy stuff first so we can turn one piece of content into 22 different social media posts.
More Visual Elements
Social Media Post #1: Take a look at the second paragraph in the press release: “We look forward to sharing our 30+ years of experience growing associations with FEW, which is one of our new clients,” said Jeffrey Barnhart, CMA’s CEO and founder. “CMA has a strong track record for building education programs, creating memorable events, supporting legislative victories and communicating in meaningful ways that foster an enriching experience for members.”
Now, use Canva, or another app, and turn it into a visual element along with the company logo and headshot of CMA’s CEO and founder.
Social Media Post #2: Make sure you give the third paragraph some special attention. It’s a client testimonial: “CMA has created an exciting, exhilarating and empowering website for Federally Employed Women,” said Karen Rainey, FEW’s president. “Our visual presence is now eye-catching and impressive, ready to attract the next generation of federal employees. I would highly recommend the design and management team of CMA.”
Add a headshot of FEW’s president along with the organization’s logo and turn it into another graphic. Remember, salespeople don’t sell your brand; your customers do.
Social Media Post #3: See the preceding social media tip. You should spend a little extra effort and create a second visual look to give this glowing review a longer shelf life on your social channels.
Social Media Post #4: Please turn your attention to the two paragraphs in the middle of the press release: “CMA transformed FEW’s website, adding membership value by optimizing the visitor experience through improved desktop and mobile engagement. Thanks to the revamped website, the association quickly communicates its four-pillar program (i.e. training, legislation, diversity and compliance), as well as its advocacy for equity and diversity for women. Since 1968, FEW has worked toward advancing women in government with cutting-edge training, nationwide networking and invaluable insight.
“In addition to the website build, CMA’s ongoing campaign includes key messaging, PR, blogs and social media to create awareness and engagement among members, prospective members and the community at-large. From an association management perspective, CMA will build sustainable programs that protect women from discrimination and empower them to change working conditions for all, while delivering more market share among core audiences for FEW.”
You can turn that part of the content into an infographic with apps like Piktochart and Visually.
Social Media Post #5: Wait a minute. We’re not done yet with this content. Now, transform those same two paragraphs into a slide show that you can promote on several channels, including SlideShare.
Social Media Post #6: Want to monetize the content? Put your copywriting hat on and write some ad copy that captures the value while driving prospects to your landing page.
Social Media Post #7: There’s a graphic element hiding in this sentence toward the end of the press release: “Since 1987, CMA has developed 300 websites, created 315 brands and won 378 industry awards.” Highlight the fact that the company just developed its 250th website in a social media post.
Social Media Post #8: Numbers really resonate with people. They tend to remember the digits. So take a look at the boilerplate at the end of the release: “Community is central to CMA, with more than 3,000 hours dedicated to volunteering, fundraising and pro bono services over the past three decades.”
Goodwill is good for business. Make the 3,000 hours part of a visual element that will capture eyeballs and some likes.
More Engagement
Social Media Post #9: Video is king. Use the press release as a script, add some enthusiasm and energy and give the world a 30-second video that will get more shares on your social media channels.
Social Media Post #10: Ask a question that relates back to the press release to encourage a response. How about something like, “How do you increase engagement at your organization?” with a “Here’s how we did it” in small print linking to the press release.
Social Media Post #11: Try a fill-in-the-blank post. “For associations, member outreach begins with _______.”
Social Media Post #12: Create a multiple-choice graphic that connects the available icons on a specific social media channel to one of the answers. So every time someone responds, they are doing their part in turning your post into a viral one.
Social Media Post #13: Turn the press release into a webinar that will transform the written word into an event that will build thought leadership for your organization. That’s worthy of several social posts.
Social Media Post #14: Keeping with that thought, launch a podcast if you have many examples of helping organizations with their websites.
More Story
Repurposing content also means building out your brand story by using existing content as inspiration. Yes, this means creating new content, but you’ll be saving time on the whole brainstorming part of the process.
Social Media Post #15: So how can we make the press release about CMA helping an association part of a bigger content effort? Well, how about we turn the press release into a case study—and post it on social media?
Social Media Post #16: Now that we have a case study for FEW, let’s create a new blog post that highlights how CMA helps other associations grow their brands. In addition to FEW, we can add the New Jersey State Nurses Association, the American Pediatric Surgical Nurses Association, the International Card Manufacturers Association, the Event Service Professionals Association and the Rental Staging Network to the story.
Social Media Post #17: Using information in the press release, draft a trends story about the latest website development to improve your thought leadership and post it on social media.
Social Media Post #18: Do some research and write a blog post on the pain points that associations encounter by not investing in their website on an annual basis. (In a “buyer’s journey” content scheme, this type of content targets the “Awareness” stage, which speaks directly to prospects early in the buy-cycle. The objective is to “sell” the problem to motivate prospects to take action.) And once it’s posted on your site, post it on social media.
Social Media Post #19-#22: This idea will get you a lot of mileage. Turn the press release into a checklist that will help your prospects solve their problem. Take another look at the release. See the sentence that reads: “key messaging, PR, blogs and social media to create awareness and engagement among members, prospective members and the community at-large.” Now, turn it into a checklist blog—“4 Ways To Build Awareness, Engagement for Associations.” But here’s the best part: Turn each item into its own social media post. So there will be one that highlights key messaging that drive prospects back to your website and another for PR and another for blog and so on.
You don’t have to spend sleepless nights, trying to come up with ideas for your next social media post. Just look at what you have—and repurpose it.
Do you want to learn more ways to repurpose social media content for your business? Contact us today, to start the conversation.