Whether you call it repurpose or recycle, it doesn’t matter. According to brain science, you do not need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to your social impact marketing. (I know! We’re excited too!) At Social for Good, we help our clients learn how to repurpose content so they can save time and create more impact. Here are our favorite methods (and the science behind why).
Myth: To repurpose content is to cheat
Yeah, you’re cheating time! (See what we did there?) It’s efficient and you’re saving time so you can focus on the more important work that you do, like changing the world (NBD).
Just because every post on every platform isn’t a completely new or original idea does not mean it’s inauthentic or wrong. They’re still your original ideas and words, with a different spin on it to attract the attention of new people who need your message or products.
Myth: Recycling content is lazy
No, in fact you’re being diligent. Not everyone is on every platform that you are on. Plus, you are constantly gaining new followers and customers so you’re actually making sure that everyone gets the information you’re sharing.
The key: customizing the content for each platform. The followers you have on LinkedIn are different than the ones on TikTok, so the way the same content is presented to them should be different. Also, laziness doesn’t exist. Read up on it!
Myth: People have already seen it
Sorry to burst your bubble, but you’re not the center of the universe… Lol. But really though, no one sees EVERY social media post/email/blog you write. Even if they have, they only spent 3 seconds looking at it before scrolling on. They might have seen it, and even liked it, but don’t remember.
P.S. It takes someone on average 7-10 times of seeing the same thing before making a decision — whether that’s to purchase or sign up or reply. Google it — we couldn’t decide which article to link here, and went down a wiki rabbit hole instead. Either way, you can confidently keep pressing send.
Myth: But I’ve already shared that in my blog!
Information can be presented in many different ways, whether it is a blog post, an infographic, a video, a podcast, a meme, a short quote — everyone is drawn to different things and responds differently based on their personalities, schedules, and learning styles. So give your customers many different ways to process the information that you are sharing so they equally get a chance to absorb it all.
Myth: They think you post too much
We know you’re worried about oversharing, but did you know that when you share your latest “Top 10 List” it takes us a day to forget we saw it? (The Curve of Forgetting is really fascinating, if you’re into that sort of thing.)
So, expand that list into 10 single social media posts! Or, compile all your best social media content and advice into one format (such as an e-book or an e-newsletter) so your customers can download it all at once and refer back to it whenever they want.
Conclusion: Research is cool
Let’s summarize all the brain science we learned in a simple list, to maybe better remember it (but probably not…).
- The average person forgets 60% of what they learn without reinforcement within 2 days.
- The average person looks at a social media post for 3 seconds before scrolling on.
- A customer needs to see an advertisement 7-10 times before taking action.
Hopefully this made you feel better about your plans to repurpose content. It’s actually beneficial to your audience and makes your life easier. Go ahead and share this with others so they can feel the relief too!
