It’s becoming more challenging and more expensive for brands to create engaging content, but reusable content could be the answer. Users now expect online content to not only be of higher quality but also to be more relevant and personalized to their needs.
Consumers also expect content to be available to them in the format they prefer. They’re not prepared to go and seek out information in an ebook if they want to read it in a blog post, for example.
These expectations mean that content creators have their work cut out for them, but it’s not all bad news.
Content management platforms have also become more sophisticated. This makes it easier for content managers to create reusable content, organize content assets, and reuse them at a later date.
If you’re not already reusing your existing content, you’re limiting its value and reducing your potential ROI. So, there’s no better time to start reusing content than the present.
What Is Reusable Content?
In basic terms, reusable content is simply content that can be republished in a different format or at a different time. This means that you can maximize content creation resources and improve your content marketing ROI.
While any piece of content has the potential for reuse, reusable content should be specifically designed for reuse. This means structuring and categorizing it in a way that makes it easy to find, reconfigure, and adapt at a later date.
The Benefits of Content Reuse
Reusing content offers several benefits to content marketers, particularly when the process is partially automated. These benefits include:
- Reduced content development and maintenance costs
- Improved quality and consistency
- Potential to reach a wider audience
The first point is perhaps obvious. Rather than spending a specific allocation of budget and resources on a single piece of content, you can use these resources to create multiple pieces of content to publish in different places.
Reusing parts of content at later dates also means that reviewing and updating it regularly is naturally built into the content cycle. This constant reviewing and reusing of content means that quality and consistency naturally improve over time as a result.
If the content reuse process is automated, for example by pulling content extracts from a database, there are even more efficiencies. Content can be updated in one place only and will automatically update wherever it is being used.
Finally, reusing a single piece of content in several places and in several formats means it has more exposure. For example, you could use an infographic in several blog posts, eBooks, emails, white papers, and so on. This gives you the potential to reach a much wider audience than a single piece of content published in one place.
Types of Content Reuse
There are several different types of content reuse that you might want to consider using in your content strategy.
Linked content – where a single piece of content is stored in a single location such as a database. This content can then be pulled into various different content formats and used in different places.
One example of commonly used linked content is website images. Images are generally stored in a single folder but may be used in several different web pages or hot-linked from external sites.
Boilerplate content – commonly seen on websites as a standard disclaimer or terms of use. This text might be used across several web pages and sites without any change to the content.
CTAs at the end of blog posts are another common form of boilerplate content that you may use in many locations.
Content reuse in multiple formats – this may require more work than simply cutting and pasting a paragraph or pulling it from a database, but it offers huge benefits. With a little more work, a single piece of content can be used to create several new pieces of content in different formats.
Content reuse for multiple audiences – this may involve just slight changes to the content to make it more suitable for a wider range of users. For example, a piece of content for internal use could be adapted to use for external marketing.
Image Source: Storyneedle
Adapting Your Content Process for Reusable Content
If you’re planning to adjust your content strategy to reuse your content, there are a number of factors to keep in mind to keep the process efficient.
- Have multiple platforms and formats in mind when creating content. For example, don’t refer to “this blog post” or “the image above.” This allows for more flexibility when reusing content and means you can keep changes to a minimum. Likewise, when storing image assets, keep them uncropped with minimal edits so you can resize and adjust them later.
- Create multiple headings. Writing multiple versions of your headings when you first create content means that it’s quicker and easier to reuse at a later date.
- Provide a content summary. A summary of your content means that it can be assessed quickly without the need to read through the entire piece. This makes things easier when you’re looking for information at a later date. Content summaries can also be used as meta descriptions, blog post previews, and chapter summaries.
How to Get Started with Reusable Content
While technically you don’t need any special software or procedures in place to start reusing your content, it certainly helps to have a system in place that enables content asset storage, management and easy search-ability.
A good content marketing platform will not only make it easier for you to organize and store your content but will also keep track of where content assets are being used.
If you’re serious about reusing your content and maximizing ROI, a content marketing platform like DivvyHQ can prove to be a sensible investment.
With a robust content platform in place, it’s simple and efficient to tag, categorize, and file away content for later use. Built-in content automation and duplication functionality also means that content assets can be reused automatically.
To find out more about DivvyHQ and how you can use it to make the most out of your reusable content, request a demo today.