Convertible Content: One Piece, Many Ways

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Posted on March 18, 2013 by Jayme Thomason - no comments

It is no secret that creating content is a time-consuming venture. It takes time to brainstorm, plan, assign, create, revise, publish and promote content. Much emphasis has been given to re-purposing your content, mostly, from the angle of after the piece has already been published once. However, I think more can be done upfront to start thinking about multi-purpose content (a.k.a. “convertible content”)  at the outset, so, like the incredible convertible dress, you can get more mileage out of your content wardrobe.

Here’s a quick example of  how to take one piece of written content, and turn it into 5 different pieces.

Step 1: Start with a content concept.

Instead of thinking about content in terms of its specific use, i.e., blog post, Facebook post, etc., think of the concept you’re trying to convey first. Then write as much context as you can so the concept is built out enough to “re-fashion” it.

Step 2: Determine the relevance to your audience.

Write down three reasons your audience(s) will care about this piece of content. What’s in it for them? Why are they going to seek out and consume this information? This step in the process will ensure that every piece of convertible content you create is in line with your overall content strategy and messaging.

Step 3: Decide which outlets your content will be published to.

How does your audience prefer to consume content? Which of your content communities will most appreciate the content you are creating? Is the content meant to be short-lived and timely or evergreen? Answer these questions to have a clear publish plan once your content is created.

Step 4: Create

Starting with your content concept document, now fashion the different pieces of content. Write a press release announcement about the concept. Then turn the press release into a blog post. Turn the concept into a statement and question for your Facebook audience, and then compose a tweet. You can even take the concept, script out a video post where you discuss it, talking-head style. Turn it into a top-10 list complete with graphics and make it an infographic…you get the point.

I think more and more content marketers are going to start developing content in this way to allow content to be more fluid across multiple platforms.