A Creative Guide to Repurposing Content on Social Media
Introduction
Okay, you’ve got a ton of content. You’re regularly putting out blog posts or recording podcast episodes. Maybe you’re a YouTube content creator. Whatever your long-form content of choice, you’re doing a great job of creating it!
Yet, when it comes tine to repurpose content into social media-friendly posts on different platforms; social media posts, Pinterest pins, or newsletters, you get stuck. You don’t know how to utilize every single piece of your hard work strategically in a way that lets you show up consistently without feeling like you’re constantly on your computer or phone. Maybe you’ve tried repurposing, but feel like once you make 1 social media post from your long-form content you’ve used it up and you’re done.
You struggle with finding different ways to say the same thing.
Maybe the idea of repurposing content feels overwhelming? You don’t even know where to start, so you just avoid it altogether. And don’t get me started on social media content. You feel like all you do is create, create, create, but no one even sees all that work.
Sound familiar?
Good news: this guide will help you repurpose your content effectively, in different formats, across social media platforms, email newsletters, and more.
We’ll make it easy, actionable, and user-friendly so you can take your original content (and even your old content) and make it work harder for you, plus have it last longer!
Ready? Let’s dive in.
What even is content repurposing?
Well, in my opinion, it’s the only method of content creation mom business owners should be using because we quite literally don’t have time for anything else.
It’s simply taking one form of content and repackaging it into something else. This could mean you turn your blog into a Facebook post or you turn your podcast episode into a blog post. When you repurpose the content you’re spending hours creating, you’re essentially giving it a longer shelf life and making sure it works for you in many different areas.
Content repurposing tends to be an afterthought for many business owners, but I’m here to show you why it needs to be a HUGE part of your actual content plan; not just something you do when you don’t feel like showing up.
Repurposing needs to be a part of your strategy and your plan from the start! It’s a building block for you to create less from the jump, so when you do create, you know exactly where that piece of content will show up. This makes it easier to create the initial piece of content and helps you better serve your people.
Now that you’re officially on team repurpose, let’s talk logistics.
When I work with my clients, I always start with building out a content ecosystem for them. So, let’s start there.
What Is a Content Ecosystem, and Why Does It Matter?
Your content ecosystem is the backbone of your content and social media strategy. It’s a system that allows you to repurpose blog content, podcast episodes, or long-form videos into smaller, actionable pieces of content that reach your target audience, and a broader audience, in creative ways.
The goal? To save you time, boost brand awareness, and make the most of your initial investment in content creation. Doing more with less essentially, which every mom can understand. The fact that I’m writing this while nursing my 5-month-old after a night of very little sleep should be proof that we can do it all with less!
An ecosystem, according to Google, is a complex network or interconnected system. Your content should be an interconnected system! Let me say that again…YOUR CONTENT SHOULD BE CONNECTED. Yes, that’s why I’m constantly preaching about connected content.
The truth is, if your content isn’t connected, you simply aren’t showing up as consistently or purposefully as you could be.
Benefits of a Content Ecosystem:
- Fresh Content, Always: You can create numerous pieces of content from one longer piece of content, helping you stay focused on your mission while serving up fresh content regularly. You don’t have to keep generating new ideas because you’re working so much smarter.
- Reach Different Audiences: By tailoring content for various platforms like Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube, you’ll engage different types of users while maintaining the right messaging and driving brand awareness.
- Simplify Your Process: A solid content ecosystem streamlines your content creation process, saving you time and energy. It allows you to show up on different channels with content that is still connected to your core message.
- Boost Your Confidence: When you know your content is planned out and working for you, you’ll feel more in control of your business and less like you’re winging it every week.
When done right, your content ecosystem makes it possible for every single piece of content that you’re working hard to create to have multiple purposes.
How to Create Your Own Content Ecosystem
Building a content ecosystem doesn’t have to be complicated, but it does take strategy and planning to get it going.
Here’s a step-by-step guide of how I’m creating my own ecosystem to get you starting to think about how you should build out your own.
- Map Out Your Goals
Set quarterly goals for your business. Are you aiming to grow your Instagram following, drive organic traffic to your website, or increase email subscribers? The goals you want for your business are driven by your broader vision.
For this example, let’s use a goal I have while starting The Afternoon Cup Studio: grow my email list from zero to 100. You want to make sure you’re identifying why this goal matters to your business, your bottom line, and how it will personally affect you.
For me, growing my email list to 100 is a huge step in me getting the word out that we’re here. I want to make sure I grow my newsletter that I hope to monetize at some point, and I also know that email is the king of conversion, so I want a majority of my sales to come from my email list. In order for all of that to happen, I have to get it going first.
So, now that we’re clear on goals, we can keep creating our ecosystem for the quarter.
- Decide on Your Strategy
Once you’ve decided on your big goals for your business, it’s time to get strategic. This is the “how” you’ll reach those goals. This step will involve more than simply mapping out which days you’ll post, which tends to be what a lot of people think of when they think strategy.
With my email example, this will be how I’m going to reach my goal of 100 email subscribers this quarter. Here are ways I’m going to strategically reach that goal:
- Building a waitlist for my studio launch
- Creating a unique newsletter (you really should be on it because it’s a behind-the-scenes of my biz with what’s working and what’s not. Come hang with me here.)
- Blogging linking to my newsletter (you’ll see this at the end and above)
- Posting on social media with CTA to join waitlist
- Joining networking groups driving to waitlist
- Engaging with lots of others’ content to build trust and brand awareness
That’s a lot, and let me tell ya, I’m tired! But, I’m in launch mode, so there’s a lot of work upfront. This strategy has many pieces, but everything is about building my email list.
- Identify Your Content
Pick one type of long-form content for your CORE content – blog posts, podcast episodes, membership content, course content, or video content—to serve as the foundation of your ecosystem. This is your starting point for creating smaller pieces of content.
The long-form content you choose to create will be driven by the goals you chose in step one. Every topic or piece of content you go to create should be filtered through this step. Ask yourself, “does this topic help me get to this goal?” If yes, awesome. If no, table it for next time. Knowing your goals will also guide your repurposing strategy.
I’m choosing to focus on blogging. I know that my ideal clients are searching for specific keywords around content creation, content planning, and content strategy. I also know that if you’re reading this, you’re a perfect fit for my newsletter which means my blog will drive my email list. Then, I’ll get to serve you and our other mama biz village on that email list.
Then, you’ll choose your ACCESSORY content forms – pins, social media, newsletter.
For me, I’m choosing Instagram, Threads, newsletter, and Facebook Groups right now.
- Messaging
This step will be the most unique to you. You want to make sure you’re connecting your brand’s message across each piece of content. This step requires a lot of upfront work to tease out pain points and problems your ideal client is having and how you solve them, but if your content is going to work for you, your messaging needs to be extremely dialed in.
The content you create must all come back to the same messaging. The words and phrases you use around a problem should all be similar, and the way you approach speaking about it has to stay consistent. This is how we reach our perfect people, make sure our content works for us to generate sales, and it builds awareness of our personality and brand.
- Create Your Content Workflow
Finally, you’ll choose how to repurpose your content! This step is where repurposing the content you’ve already created is key.
It’s also a fun step because you get to be super creative. I love a good diagram for this step! For example, a blog post published on Monday can turn into an Instagram post by Wednesday, a Pinterest pin by Friday, and an email newsletter the following week, plus multiple threads.
Think about each platform’s unique needs. Instagram thrives on visuals and quick captions, so create an eye-catching graphic and a succinct caption highlighting your main point. Threads might be perfect for pulling a one-liner or question to spark a conversation. Pinterest pins can be designed with a teaser for the blog post, and your email newsletter can give a behind-the-scenes look into the creation process, paired with a call-to-action linking back to the blog.
Conclusion
You’ve learned how to build a content ecosystem that works for you.
Repurpose content into various formats for different channels.
Tap into creative ways to keep your content feeling fresh and exciting.Now, here are your next steps:Outline your content goals for the next quarter. Choose your core content type and brainstorm how to break it into smaller pieces.Start implementing templates and creating series for your platforms.
If this feels overwhelming, don’t worry—that’s normal! The effort you put in now will pay off every quarter, making your content creation system practically effortless.And if you’re still feeling stuck, I can help. Let’s chat about how the studio can create a custom content ecosystem for you.
You’ll have more time to focus on what you love—whether that’s serving more clients or spending time with your kids—leave the content strategy to me.
Ready to make your content work harder for you?
Pro Tip: Leverage analytics tools to see which pieces of repurposed content perform the best. Sometimes, a single sentence from your blog might resonate deeply with your audience on Instagram, while a detailed graphic could go viral on Pinterest. By analyzing and iterating, you can refine your workflow and make your content even more impactful.
Don’t Forget About Evergreen Content!
One of the best things about repurposing is that it breathes new life into evergreen content. Evergreen content is any blog post, podcast, or video that remains relevant long after its initial release. For example, “10 Tips for Organizing Your Content Calendar” might have been written six months ago, but it can be reshared on Instagram or included in your newsletter this month without feeling outdated.
Repurposing evergreen content means you’ll never run out of ideas, even during busier seasons. And let’s face it, as a mom, every season is busy.
