10 Ways to Repurpose Static Content and Make it Interactive
One of the greatest challenges digital marketers face on the daily is finding new content to release. Readers today have developed an appetite for fresh content, and it doesn’t look like it’s going down anytime soon.
The problem is that it’s not possible for content creators to come up with new content every day. Even the most creative content creator has off days when try as they might, they can’t come up with anything new. Readers must still be satisfied, though, so a solution has to be found. One solution that proves useful in most cases is repurposing what you already have. You basically breathe new life into it and make it fresh and interactive. The results can be nothing short of a miracle.
Wishpond.com claims that the brain processes visual information tens of thousands of times faster than it processes text. Another website, Brafton.com, says that, according to 95% of marketers, visual information is much more effective at getting conversions than text. One of the hallmarks of visual content is that it is highly interactive as it engages the reader throughout their time with it. That’s why you should strive to make your static content as visual as possible in order to make it more interactive.
There are a ton of benefits associated with repurposing your content. These include better SEO results, a broader reach, more authority for your site, and even higher conversion rates. The benefits cannot be overestimated. In fact, this article isn’t about convincing you to repurpose your static content; it’s to tell you how to do it. Get it right, and you’ll see the benefits streaming in.
What kind of content should you repurpose?
For the best results, you shouldn’t repurpose just any kind of content. Evergreen content should be right there at the top of your list of priorities. This is content that never loses its relevance and is frequently read by your readers for a long time. Some types of evergreen content include the following:
- Lists
- Guides
- Product Reviews
- White Papers
1. Infographics
Readers just love interactive infographics. They can’t get enough of them! In fact, in the 2 year period between 2010 and 2012, search volumes for infographics jumped up by a whopping 800%!
The beauty about infographics is that they can make a difficult topic not only easy to understand but entertaining. That’s why it’s consistently considered one of the top forms of digital content.
2. Videos
Videos are the quintessential form of visual content. A piece of text that would otherwise take 15 minutes to read can easily be converted into a 3-minute video. Additionally, the video is likely to be far more interesting than the text and garner more engagement from your site visitors. Videos are a particularly good option for how-to guides and lists as they present everything in a visual, easy to follow manner.
3. Instructographics
Instructographics are a special form of infographics that are used to give instructions on something. It could be a procedure or advice giving tips on how to succeed at something. Instructographics mainly use the powerful imagery of an infographic to convey a specific message and help readers get the full set of instructions on a particular topic. Like infographics, they make the material easier to understand and far more interesting than it would otherwise be in text form.
4. Use Effective Storytelling
Human beings are naturally attracted to stories. Whatever information or piece of wisdom you want to impart, a story is always an effective way to do it. The best way to convert your content into a story is to combine everything you have at your disposal, including videos, memes, infographics, and even quizzes. There are plenty of platforms out there that can help you tell your story effectively. One of them that you should look into is Storify.
5. SlideShare
SlideShare and other similar platforms have proven to be a boon to the digital content marketing industry. Since they were first used, slides have proven to be a very effective visual form of content. With SlideShare, you can create interactive slides that help you convey whatever information you want. They are an awesome way to make your static content interactive and will increase your engagement due to the popularity of SlideShare format slides.
6. Republishing
Sometimes repurposing can be as simple as republishing. If you look at your analytics, you will easily notice that there is some content on your site that garnered an overwhelming amount of engagement. If these ‘bestsellers’ are evergreen, then nothing is stopping you from rehashing them and using them to get even more engagement. All you need to do is modify them and update any information that needs to be updated. Then you can share them on social media sites. In the same vein, you can get rid of old content that’s not performing well in order to improve your performance on search engines.
7. Quizzes
You can also make use of quizzes to repurpose your content. Many quizzes, including some by the New York Times, have gone viral because of their simple nature. People enjoy taking short, fun quizzes and finding out the results. If you have content touching on top tips, you can turn it into a quiz and get the reader to engage with it in a new way.
8. Expand Infographics with Data Points
Your infographic can be even more interesting if you use each data point to tell its own story. You can then take it and share it on different social media site with pictures. This makes your infographic more detailed and gives you more material to play with.
9. Make your Whitepaper more Interesting by using all the Above
White papers can be an absolute chore to read. The thing, however, is that they usually have a lot of valuable information that you want to get across to readers. You can make your white paper more palatable by converting it into infographics, quizzes, and even interactive e-books. If your white paper has a lot of data, you can turn that into an infographic. Any part with best practices and recommendations can be turned into a quiz which the user answers concerning their current situation. The tips and recommendations can then be given at the end of the quiz based on the user’s answers.
10. Calculators and Configurators
Calculators and configurators are an interesting way of repurposing any data driven formulas you any have lurking in your old content. Rather than have the user read some boring spreadsheet or formula, why not give them a calculator they can play around with to get different results. This option will typically get you much more engagement on your pricing spreadsheets and ROI estimations.
Summing Up
You don’t always need to scratch your head in frustration as you try to come up with new content for your blog. Sometimes the gem you’re looking for is right under your nose. Breathe fresh life into your old content and see the users flocking to you in droves!