Imagine one of your B2B blogs really took off.
Thousands of impressions and potential leads are now coming your way.
So you go ahead and share this blog as a LinkedIn article.
But you run into a problem: It didn’t perform like you expected.
Which leaves you asking questions like:
Where did I go wrong? It should have worked, right?
Such is the confusing world of content repurposing.
Most B2Bs get trapped in this notion that “if my content works on one marketing channel, it’ll surely work on another too”.
While this approach sounds logical, it’s far from strategic and even further from guaranteeing results.
In this article, I’ll provide a robust framework to repurposing content for B2B businesses.
Using examples to demonstrate its effectiveness in B2B content marketing strategies.
Concluding with a step-by-step guide and best practices to help you build a strategy of your own.
Content repurposing is the strategic practice of taking existing content and:
To get a better idea on how content repurposing looks like, here’s a visual representation from Search Engine Journal.
The most common form of content repurposing using B2B blogs (Source: Search Engine Journal)
I’ll cover these examples in much more detail later on so do stick around.
In most B2B scenarios, content repurposing is done by taking a long-format content piece, like your blog, as the central point to reuse across multiple marketing channels.
Image Credits: Holony Media
The primary objective of content repurposing is to maximize the value of your B2B content by adapting it to resonate with various audience segments.
Instead of creating new content from scratch, repurposing allows B2B businesses to leverage their existing content pieces more efficiently.
Ultimately leading to outcomes like:
But you still might have your doubts on why even bother with content repurposing.
I’ll put your concerns to rest in the upcoming section.
In simple terms, content repurposing is important because it’s easy and reliable.
But if you want a more quantitative outlook, consider the following content repurposing statistics:
Here’s the deal.
Content repurposing isn’t just about turning your blog into social media videos or infographics so you can post them through your email newsletter.
It’s a set of principles that maximizes the impact of your B2B content no matter where you publish it.
Which brings us to the obvious question:
Where should I publish my repurposed content for maximum ROI?
That’s what I’ll discuss at length in the next section.
Now that you know why content repurposing should be a top priority for your B2B,
Now all you need is proof of concept that will inspire your efforts.
In this section, I’ll go over some powerful case studies on how content repurposing helped B2Bs drive business growth.
Let’s begin by exploring…
In February of 2024, Zendesk released a comprehensive report on emerging trends in the Customer Experience (CX) domain.
Aptly titled CX Trends 2024 and they made this standalone landing page for it as well.
The landing page for their CX Trends 2024 report (Source: Zendesk CX Trends 2024)
Using the report as their primary piece of content, they took the next step and decided to launch an online event that discussed the emerging trends in CX to working professionals in the field.
At this point, they had two goals:
Here’s where they used content repurposing to achieve their twin goals.
They first took valuable insights from their CX Trends 2024 report and repurposed it into this blog article.
An article on 2024 CX trends from Zendesk (Source: Zendesk Blog)
Using this blog as a reference, they repurposed important insights from the blog into a short social media video which they posted on Twitter.
They made another version of the short video and uploaded it to their YouTube channel here:
Zendesk’s repurposing strategy is what I would like to call killing two birds with one stone!
Our next example comes from Salesforce and the moment they made a breakthrough.
That breakthrough was Einstein Copilot, their new AI offering.
So they wasted no time and wrote a comprehensive blog on it titled, “Einstein Copilot In-Depth: What It Is, How It Works, and What It Can Do”
To spread the word about Einstein Copilot to more people, they repurposed this blog into a screencast animation explainer video.
But their repurposing efforts didn’t stop there.
In their blog, there was an insightful section on how companies can customize Einstein Copilot according to their business requirements.
Being a B2B leader in the CRM SaaS industry, this section was highly relevant for their target audience.
Taking inspiration from the production of the earlier explainer video I just mentioned, they created another explainer video that put the flexibility of Einstein Copilot on full display.
And to close the loop on their content repurposing strategy, they embedded the aforementioned video in the blog to attract website visitors and their YouTube audience to Einstein AI.
The reason why content repurposing hits close to home is because it’s something we use strategically too.
Let me demonstrate this properly.
Earlier this year, we wanted to quantitatively understand the trajectory of B2B video marketing and where it’s headed.
So we conducted a detailed survey, taking insights from video marketers to help us paint a bigger picture.
The result was our detailed 2024 Video Marketing Survey as a dedicated landing page on our website’s homepage.
The landing page for our 2024 Video Marketing Survey (Source)
We later repurposed some of our major findings into this explainer video:
This helped us attract our website visitors and YouTube audience to relevant insights on video marketing in 2024.
Here’s another example to drive my point home.
One of our best performing blogs is an article that goes over the 21 Best Free Animation Video Makers.
Originally this blog featured less than 10 tools and didn’t perform well.
Indicating that a much needed update in terms of content was imminent.
And after updating the content, we decided to repurpose the blog into this video that took the 5 best tools and explained what made them unique.
Next, we did two things.
Firstly, we included a link to the original blog in the YouTube video’s description.
This turned our video into a lead generation funnel that brought additional traffic to our blog and related landing pages.
And secondly, we embedded the video right at the beginning of the original blog to bring everything full circle.
This strategy skyrocketed the blog’s metrics beyond our wildest expectations:
Content repurposing helped revive an underperforming blog that struggled to get double-digit views to now becoming one of our top performing blogs that drives leads and organic traffic to our service pages.
Like we saw in the case for Zendesk,
B2Bs also use whitepapers like ebooks and case studies to further build on their authority.
According to the latest statistics, 67% of the most successful B2B firms rely heavily on whitepaper products to retain existing customers.
Which makes them a good central content piece that can aid in your content repurposing strategy.
Let’s understand this with an example from Hubspot.
Recently they produced a comprehensive report on the State of Marketing which people can download directly on their landing page through a CTA button.
An example of a B2B whitepaper product (Source: Hubspot’s State of Marketing Report 2024)
They went ahead and took some insights from this report and repurposed it into an article for their blog.
The State of Marketing ebook repurposed into a long-format blog article (Source)
On the social media front, they took relevant insights from their report and turned that into a carousel post for their Instagram account.
But they didn’t stop at Instagram.
They also published the same post on their LinkedIn account, taking the visuals directly from their Instagram post.
All of this came from a single whitepaper, with content repurposing helping Hubspot drive more downloads for their report.
Not to mention, also improving their online presence through organic marketing on their blog and social media.
It’s time to get up from the sidelines and take action.
So in this section, I will share the exact steps to building a content repurposing strategy for your B2B content.
Starting with:
Image Credits: Boldist
This step is essentially your way of finding diamonds in the rough.
Meaning, a content audit can help you identify which content of yours is performing and which is not.
Make a list of your best performing content through this audit.
Pro Tip: Always go with long-format content as that’s the easiest to repurpose.
That content could be one of your blogs, a recent email newsletter post, an educational explainer video, or an ebook.
Once you have a list, it’s time to move to the next step.
Image Credits: Asana
Ask yourself the quintessential question:
Why am I repurposing my content?
For B2Bs, the objective of content repurposing could be (but not limited to):
Whatever it may be, define your goals clearly here.
To further refine your efforts, try associating your repurposing goals to a specific stage in your customer’s buying journey.
That way, you know exactly which type of content to repurpose in order to attract the right audience to your B2B sales funnel.
But generally speaking, you need to have clarity on the content formats that get the most eyeballs.
And on marketing channels where you’ll get those eyeballs.
Let’s discuss that in detail in the next step.
Image Credits: Adobe
Here’s a fact about content marketing in general.
Not all content and marketing channels are the same.
A listicle post on LinkedIn will always be different from a thread posted to Twitter/X.
And these two will be totally different from short-form video content.
Even though all the 3 types of content I mentioned above are talking about the same thing.
Content repurposing is meant to bring coherence and eliminate disconnect.
It begins by understanding which format will be best suited for your B2B content.
Apart from blogs, B2B content has the best impact when posted as:
Similarly, where you publish your repurposed content also matters.
For B2Bs, some powerful marketing channels include:
Once you have clarity on the format and the channel, make a pairing of the two based on your content repurposing goals.
But to hit the mark every single time, you need to also pay attention to your target audience.
More on this in the next step.
Image Credits: Aim Technologies
The term “target audience” is actually an umbrella term.
What it should be is “target audience on a specific marketing channel”.
This is more specific and will be highly useful in your content repurposing strategy.
Begin by determining two things:
Once you get clarity on these two questions, it’s time to conduct an audience segmentation.
This analysis can include understanding your audience’s job profile, age, demographics, the industry they serve, etc.
I believe a knowledge of brand archetypes can significantly help you out here.
It will help you understand what makes a certain buyer take the action you want based on personality traits.
We have a dedicated video on this which you can check out here:
The point is, this step will help your content repurposing strategy be more specific and relevant to your target audience, having more impact as a result.
Image Credits: JotForm
Now it’s time to put the wheels in motion by building a content calendar.
Posting your repurposed content on random days at random times is not a good idea.
As it doesn’t tell your audience what to expect from you and when it’s coming their way.
A content calendar brings structure and intent to the madness that is B2B content marketing.
Start with a simple content calendar template on Google Sheets or an Excel spreadsheet.
For reference, here’s a simple template to inspire your efforts, courtesy of Smartsheets.
A simple content calendar template for illustration purposes only (Source: Smartsheets)
Of course, your calendar will look different based on the previous steps I’ve covered along the way.
But a content calendar that’s personalized and flexible to your content repurposing efforts is effective.
Image Credits: Media Logic
Once you’ve published at least a week of repurposed content, it’s time to take a step back and analyze your performance.
Which type of content worked best for you? Where did it perform the best?
Gather data in as much detail as possible.
Such a quantitative analysis achieves two things for your content repurposing strategy:
You can use tools like Google Analytics or CRM software like Hubspot to look at content analytics and scope for optimization at the same time.
Image Credits: Single Grain
From the previous step, list down the areas of optimization in your B2B content.
Look for ways to:
And once you have a clear path ahead, reiterate these steps to refine your content repurposing strategy further.
All this to say that content repurposing is not a one-time effort but a continuous process.
It’s not about “one size fits all”.
It’s about adapting your content in a way that it fits across any size you put it through.
And these steps will help you do that effectively and efficiently.
I covered some actionable tips in the steps we saw above.
But to do this long term requires following these best practices:
Focus on repurposing evergreen content that has long-term relevance.
Topics that remain useful over time such as:
Allow for multiple uses across different formats without losing their value.
Avoid content tied to short-lived trends unless you're revisiting a trending topic for a timely update.
Sounds cliche, but it’s true.
Just like we saw in Step #1 in the previous section, having an objective is crucial for your content repurposing strategy.
But when you repurpose content just for the sake of it, it defeats the entire purpose.
Ensure each piece of repurposed content serves a clear objective, whether it's B2B lead generation, nurturing prospects, or brand awareness.
Every repurposed asset should align with the target audience’s needs and support your overall B2B content marketing strategy.
Adaptable content is effective content.
But it’s up to you to adapt it based on where you’re publishing it.
Change the tone, length, and format of your B2B content for the platform it will go out on.
What works as a long-form blog post might need to be condensed into an infographic or series of social media videos to have better impact.
For B2B businesses, platforms like LinkedIn may call for more professional and in-depth content, while Twitter might benefit from concise, digestible insights.
Wherever you repurpose your B2B content, make it personalized to that platform to have maximum impact.
When it comes to addressing a B2C audience, your approach should be personalized as you’re addressing an individual customer.
But in a B2B scenario, your business is addressing another business.
So your approach should be strategic as well as personalized.
And when you’re trying to achieve this through content repurposing, consistency should be the main focus here.
Ensure that the core message remains consistent across all repurposed formats regardless of where you publish them.
Even though the content is being transformed, it’s essential that your brand voice, value proposition, and key takeaways remain aligned with your overall business goals.
Avoid diluting your message just to fit a new content format or content platform.
It never hurts to get more eyeballs on your content.
To do that, leverage multiple styles of content formats to diversify your B2B content.
But make sure to research properly on each format before picking one so as to aid in your repurposing strategy.
Consider turning blog posts into podcasts, webinars into short videos, or ebooks into bite-sized social media graphics.
I have laid out a comprehensive strategy in the previous section to help you get started.
This multi-format approach allows you to engage with prospects in ways they prefer consuming content.
Numbers are your friend.
What you can measure, you can improve.
And what you can improve, you can get results out of it.
For repurposing your B2B content, your analytics are the perfect feedback mechanism.
Continuously monitor the performance of repurposed content to identify what works and what doesn’t.
Look at metrics such as engagement rates, traffic, and conversions and study them on a weekly and monthly basis.
Additionally, gather feedback from your audience to understand what type of content resonates most, then optimize future repurposing efforts based on these insights.
Evergreen content can simplify your content repurposing efforts.
But to scale it to more channels and content formats requires integrating it across new content as well.
When creating new content, think ahead about how it can be repurposed in the future.
Develop specific content with repurposing potential in mind.
Ensure it’s modular enough to be adapted across various formats, from blogs to whitepapers to B2B explainer videos.
Too much of anything isn’t ideal.
The same applies to content repurposing as well.
Overexposing your audience to recycled material without adding new value can lead to content fatigue and diminished engagement.
A good rule of thumb is to repurpose only those pieces of content that are performing well if you’re just starting out.
Once you’ve developed a reliable content repurposing strategy, apply it to new content as well.
In both cases, however, make sure you’re not overdoing it to the point of redundancy.
All the examples and insights we saw point to one thing.
Content repurposing is all about identifying the adaptability of your B2B content and using it in your favor.
Which involves building a strategy to determine how, when, and where to reuse your content for maximum impact.
This approach attracts your target audience across all your marketing channels to drive your bottom line.
I hope this guide gave you the insights needed to take the right step.
And steer your content repurposing efforts in the right direction.
No Comments Yet
Let us know what you think