Digital marketers are creating more content than ever before. But are you getting more results from content marketing? In many cases, the answer is no! Organizations are learning the basics of content marketing and synthesizing its tools and techniques into a plan, but often doing so in inefficient ways. Lots of effort goes into new content, but old content isn’t used to the utmost.
In fact, 60%-70% of B2B content goes unused after it is produced.
Luckily, there are ways to make sure content remains valuable and effective:
Reshare Your Content
According to BuzzSumo, 50% of content gets eight shares or less. Content is most likely to be shared in the few hours immediately after it is published, especially if it is published at the right time of day for the target audience. After that, interest drops off – and often remains flat.
Although a single piece of content might no longer be brand new, the needs and problems it speaks to are still important. Most content can be safely reshared several times – weeks, months, and even years later – without inconveniencing those who may have seen it before.
Repurpose Your Content
All content starts at one particular place in the content ecosystem. For example, a blog post may have been conceived to introduce your brand. A free report wins leads and qualifies prospects. Luckily, all content can be made more broad or more narrow to serve new purposes!
You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Simply look for new niches existing content can fit into.
For example, that same old blog post could:
- … be narrated and turned into a YouTube video;
- … be illustrated and re-purposed on SlideShare;
- … be made into part of an audio presentation;
- … inspire a new infographic (or a series of them!)
Update and Expand Your Content
It might seem discouraging if “no one” is out there reading and sharing your existing content, but there is a flip side: It doesn’t take much effort on your part to rejuvenate that content.
If you have an e-book that needs a new lease on life, most of its content is probably just as useful as the day it was written. By adding a few updated statistics, charts, and a few new pages, you can bring it up to date and have a whole new reason to re-launch it.
Done several times over a period of years, this has the effect of creating powerful anchor content. That’s sophisticated, high-value content that testifies to your brand’s unique style and value – true thought leadership others will want to consult again and again.
New content is crucial, but old content has a role to play. Using it effectively gives you a better chance to get more results from content marketing.