The Difference Between Repurposing and Reusing

You've probably heard that repurposing content is how you get the most mileage out of everything you create. In fact, we’ve probably said that a couple of times. But do you know the main difference between reusing and repurposing? Is there a chance you're doing it wrong?
Reusing Vs. Repurposing

But all too often, Re-USING is mistaken for Repurposing - and that isn’t the same thing at all. Reusing content is taking something you have created for one context and using it in another context without making any real changes. Repurposing is taking content you have created, and turning it into something new. 
If you record a video for your YouTube Channel you might RE-USE it by uploading it to your Facebook group, including it in the member's area of your course for a bonus, or linking to it in emails to leads that you’re nurturing. 
You might RE-PURPOSE the video by pulling the key bullet points out and using them in a blog post, or taking the main idea of the video and writing a twitter thread about them. 
Re-using changes the context, and re-purposing changes the content. Both are good! But choosing when to do which is important, because the experience of your audience has to come first. 
Here are some questions you should ask yourself when you’re looking at a piece of content and deciding how to re-use or repurpose it.
What impact does the platform it was made for have? Here’s what that means. Let’s say you’ve created a YouTube video. The expectation for that content is that it’s easily shared, easy to click links to learn more and SEE - with their eyes - what you’re discussing. If you’re going to RE-USE it, it needs to be in a place where they can still see, share, and click, like Facebook. If you’re going to repurpose the video, you need to rework it for platforms where your audience might only be reading or listening, like social media or podcasts. 
How much does the content need to be altered? There’s a big difference between a blog post and an Instagram story - but the same idea, facts, research, and even phrasing can be used in both. If content needs a lot of altering to work on a different platform - you’re looking at repurposing, not re-using. 
What do I want people to do because of this content? Every piece of content needs to have a clear purpose - and that purpose will often be tied to the platform you’re creating it for. If you want your audience to do the same thing on different platforms, you can often re-use! An example might be an infographic that demonstrates a strategy. That infographic can be re-used in a video, on social media and in a blog post. But if you want your audiences on different platforms to do different things, you need to repurpose the content to fit. Say I want our social media followers to engage with us personally, and I want our Youtube subscribers to click through to our website. I will re-purpose the content I make for video to be more engaging on social media. 
Always be mindful about how you’re repurposing and reusing. Doing one when you should be doing the other wastes your time, and more importantly, your audience’s time! It looks lazy, and laziness does not typically contribute to building authority, elevating your brand, or getting new clients. 
Your action step for today is to look at a piece of content you’ve created and decide whether you should re-use it, or repurpose it! Feel free to find us on Twitter and let us know what you’re working on, or learn how we re-used this script! 

You've probably heard that repurposing content is how you get the most mileage out of everything you create. In fact, we’ve probably said that a couple of times. But do you know the main difference between reusing and repurposing? Is there a chance you're doing it wrong?

Reusing Vs. Repurposing

But all too often, Re-USING is mistaken for Repurposing - and that isn’t the same thing at all. Reusing content is taking something you have created for one context and using it in another context without making any real changes. Repurposing is taking content you have created, and turning it into something new. 

If you record a video for your YouTube Channel you might RE-USE it by uploading it to your Facebook group, including it in the member's area of your course for a bonus, or linking to it in emails to leads that you’re nurturing. 

You might RE-PURPOSE the video by pulling the key bullet points out and using them in a blog post, or taking the main idea of the video and writing a twitter thread about them. 

Re-using changes the context, and re-purposing changes the content. Both are good! But choosing when to do which is important, because the experience of your audience has to come first. 

Here are some questions you should ask yourself when you’re looking at a piece of content and deciding how to re-use or repurpose it.

What impact does the platform it was made for have? Here’s what that means. Let’s say you’ve created a YouTube video. The expectation for that content is that it’s easily shared, easy to click links to learn more and SEE - with their eyes - what you’re discussing. If you’re going to RE-USE it, it needs to be in a place where they can still see, share, and click, like Facebook. If you’re going to repurpose the video, you need to rework it for platforms where your audience might only be reading or listening, like social media or podcasts. 

How much does the content need to be altered? There’s a big difference between a blog post and an Instagram story - but the same idea, facts, research, and even phrasing can be used in both. If content needs a lot of altering to work on a different platform - you’re looking at repurposing, not re-using. 

What do I want people to do because of this content? Every piece of content needs to have a clear purpose - and that purpose will often be tied to the platform you’re creating it for. If you want your audience to do the same thing on different platforms, you can often re-use! An example might be an infographic that demonstrates a strategy. That infographic can be re-used in a video, on social media and in a blog post. But if you want your audiences on different platforms to do different things, you need to repurpose the content to fit. Say I want our social media followers to engage with us personally, and I want our Youtube subscribers to click through to our website. I will re-purpose the content I make for video to be more engaging on social media. 

Always be mindful about how you’re repurposing and reusing. Doing one when you should be doing the other wastes your time, and more importantly, your audience’s time! It looks lazy, and laziness does not typically contribute to building authority, elevating your brand, or getting new clients. 

Your action step for today is to look at a piece of content you’ve created and decide whether you should re-use it, or repurpose it! Feel free to find us on Twitter and let us know what you’re working on, or learn how we re-used this script!