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Written by: Beth Smedinghoff
A content marketer’s dream: drive traffic, build brand, and generate more leads while spending less time creating content. Right?
But it doesn’t have to be a dream. While the phrase “work smarter, not harder” may make your skin crawl, there’s something to it. And no, we’re not talking about repurposing or recycling content. We’re talking about creating content that does more for you, so you don’t have to create so dang much of it.
Give it a try with these seven ways to get the most out of your content:
1. PUT PORTIONS OF YOUR BLOG POSTS IN YOUR NEWSLETTER
Not the entire post, just the first 100 words or so, with a “Read More” link to the actual post. As a bonus, you can also track the traffic from your newsletter to your blog and see if your newsletter is generating any visits.
2. SHARE SNIPPETS OF CONTENT ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Similar to tip #1, this tactic will not only provide you with solid social content, but it will also drive traffic to your blog and gated resources.
3. PUBLISH PODCAST SHOW NOTES AS A BLOG POST
If you do an industry recap type of show, talk about different stories, websites, and tools, and link to each of those sites in your show notes. If you do regular interviews, let listeners know how to get ahold of them via their website and social networks, as well as links to any websites and tools they mentioned.
4. GO LIVE
If Instagram, Snapchat, or Facebook is already part of your social strategy, record a quick video announcing your new content to the world. Keep it simple – show the content pulled up on your laptop and add a text overlay with the link. Or film yourself giving a little teaser and let your audience know where they can find the full piece of content.
5. CROSS-POST YOUR CONTENT IN MORE THAN ONE PLACE
Embed YouTube videos on your blog. Post Instagram photos to Facebook and Pinterest. Republish blog articles in your LinkedIn industry groups or to your industry trade journals. Your audience doesn’t follow you around from network to network, poring over your content. They split their time between the networks, and don’t always see you on the same channels.
6. SHARE “HIDDEN” CONTENT
If you have content that doesn’t normally get a big audience, find a new avenue to share it. If you give a talk somewhere, your entire audience didn’t get to see it live. So share that talk as a podcast episode or video. (This can also serve as a sample video if other conferences want you to speak as well.)
7. WRITE A RELATED ARTICLE (OR TWO)
Okay, so this one technically involves creating more content, but hang with us. If you’re dedicating the time to produce a high-value piece of content, chances are you’ve done your homework on the subject at hand. Make the most of your expertise and create a few related pieces of content while you’re in the zone. You could then turn them into a blog series or e-book, or offer them to other publications as a way to build brand awareness and establish thought leadership.