Should We Stop Repurposing Content (and Start Repurposing Ideas)?

At the beginning of 2023, it seemed that the maxim “repurpose your content” reached a fever pitch. More agencies are offering repurpose services, and we see lots more people posting the same content across multiple platforms.

More people (myself included) are keeping video on for their podcast to create clips from podcasts.

With AI tools, that became easy. Feed one format into an AI and it spits out a different format.

But we also saw something else happen: engagement observably tanked across more social networks. LinkedIn’s algorithm changed, X is…whatever it is now, and Meta is putting its efforts into Threads.

I don’t know for sure that the two things are related…but it does have me thinking: is wholesale repurposing content the right play?

When it’s summer, you wear a T-shirt and shorts. But when it gets cold you don’t “repurpose” that outfit by taping more cloth to it. You wear your winter jacket and heavy pants.

The idea of wearing clothes for the weather is there, but you get clothes that are made for the weather you’re experiencing.

When you want to get a good cardio workout in, you run on a treadmill. But when it’s time to build muscle, you don’t lift the treadmill. You find some weights.

The idea of working out different parts of your body is there, but you find equipment that’s made for specific workouts.

What if we’re trying to force our content into a medium that doesn’t work for the sake of repurposing?

I wrote over on Podcast Workflows that creating short-form videos from interviews didn’t work for me. I suspect that’s the case for a lot of people. That format just isn’t built for short-form video.

But the ideas — those can work anywhere.

So if you talk about how to grow your email list in a podcast interview — perhaps just sharing that clip is ineffective.

But creating a new video with that same idea, one where you directly address the audience might work better.

This is extra work (probably), but the payoff could be worth it.

I think in a year where we’ve seen a massive shift in how social networks surface content, in a year where more people started just wholesale reused content made for one medium on another, it’s time for a change.

I think in 2024, we should focus on repurposing ideas — but create content using those ideas for the platforms we’re posting on.

After all — giving a video to an AI and telling it to turn it into text is kind of like taping sleeves to a t-shirt.

It might keep you warm, but it’s not going to effectively keep you warm.

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