New Ideas for Old Content

//New Ideas for Old Content

New Ideas for Old Content

Being given the task of re-purposing content can seem daunting. How do you take a perfectly good idea and change it while maintaining its effectiveness? Content re-purposing reminds me of a research project; taking someone else’s perfectly good findings and rewording or elaborating on them so that it’s original. Re-purposing content is similar in that you can take a concept, whether it was yours or someone else’s, and re-work it until it’s a fresh and original idea. So where do you begin?

Review What Exists

Much like a research project, the first step to re-purposing content is to gather information on what already exists.  See what content has already been produced, either by you and your company, or by another company in a similar industry. Many times, seeing what someone else has created sparks a completely different and original idea in your mind. Other times, you may look at it and think “I couldn’t have said it better myself,” so if you are stuck in a creative rut, keep reading.

Change Perspective

If you can’t immediately come up with a new idea, look at what exists and change your perspective. Maybe the research you find does not directly relate to the topic you are researching, but if you think about the topic more broadly, or narrowly, it becomes relevant. In the same way, if the existing content doesn’t appeal to the industry or audience you are looking to appeal to, take the time to consider what changes need to be made in order for it to appeal to that audience. You may be surprised how quickly you create a completely new idea.

Change the Format

As a student, sometimes when I’m doing research the best information I find comes from info-graphics or charts. Unfortunately, I can’t just copy and paste the image into the middle of my paper, but that doesn’t mean the information is useless, all I have to do is put the image into words. Believe it or not, you can do the same thing with blog, marketing or social media content. Take a video and deliver the same message with a photo, make your Instagram post appeal to your Facebook audience…the possibilities are endless.

Elaborate

As a student, there are many times I look at research and hit the “couldn’t have said it better myself” wall, so I maintain my academic integrity by putting the words in between quotation marks, sight the source and add my own thoughts. Re-purposing content can be that simple too. Sharing industry research or blog archives can be as simple as crediting the source and elaborating with your own ideas.

August 30th, 2018|Blog|Comments Off on New Ideas for Old Content

New Ideas for Old Content

Being given the task of re-purposing content can seem daunting. How do you take a perfectly good idea and change it while maintaining its effectiveness? Content re-purposing reminds me of a research project; taking someone else’s perfectly good findings and rewording or elaborating on them so that it’s original. Re-purposing content is similar in that you can take a concept, whether it was yours or someone else’s, and re-work it until it’s a fresh and original idea. So where do you begin?

Review What Exists

Much like a research project, the first step to re-purposing content is to gather information on what already exists.  See what content has already been produced, either by you and your company, or by another company in a similar industry. Many times, seeing what someone else has created sparks a completely different and original idea in your mind. Other times, you may look at it and think “I couldn’t have said it better myself,” so if you are stuck in a creative rut, keep reading.

Change Perspective

If you can’t immediately come up with a new idea, look at what exists and change your perspective. Maybe the research you find does not directly relate to the topic you are researching, but if you think about the topic more broadly, or narrowly, it becomes relevant. In the same way, if the existing content doesn’t appeal to the industry or audience you are looking to appeal to, take the time to consider what changes need to be made in order for it to appeal to that audience. You may be surprised how quickly you create a completely new idea.

Change the Format

As a student, sometimes when I’m doing research the best information I find comes from info-graphics or charts. Unfortunately, I can’t just copy and paste the image into the middle of my paper, but that doesn’t mean the information is useless, all I have to do is put the image into words. Believe it or not, you can do the same thing with blog, marketing or social media content. Take a video and deliver the same message with a photo, make your Instagram post appeal to your Facebook audience…the possibilities are endless.

Elaborate

As a student, there are many times I look at research and hit the “couldn’t have said it better myself” wall, so I maintain my academic integrity by putting the words in between quotation marks, sight the source and add my own thoughts. Re-purposing content can be that simple too. Sharing industry research or blog archives can be as simple as crediting the source and elaborating with your own ideas.

August 30th, 2018|Blog|Comments Off on New Ideas for Old Content

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