You’ve invested time and budget to make your content. It’s released, it’s hit the mark and the project milestone is achieved. Now what? All the assets that came together to make your video or podcasts can be repurposed into new relevant and engaging content. While each project is different, here are a few ideas that have worked for our clients.
While your existing content was focused on a core message or theme, a full-service production company that is involved from start to finish will also have a lot of content that hasn’t been used...yet. This doesn’t mean the content can’t or shouldn’t be used–there are multiple reasons why there is valuable raw content still waiting to be used. For example, for a 3-5 minute video or podcast that is based on authentic interviews with everyday people (who aren’t media trained), we will record on average 30-45 minutes with them. We get all sorts of additional details that aren’t included due to time constraints of the final video or podcast product, such as anecdotes or personal experiences.
A great first step is to identify some of your latest goals and start the conversation with your full-service production company (if you’re looking for a video partner, we have this guide to help). With our clients, we align their marketing & communications goals with not only their existing asset bank but also their audience segments and needs. For example, if you previously launched a new product or service that specific existing content is likely to be focused on features and/or brand awareness, while there may be an opportunity to create content around its real tangible benefits with case-study or testimonial focused content. Or it might be a great time to target your audience with branding content to build loyalty & show off more of what you do.
Once you’ve started the conversation, be clear about how far the existing content can go and if there are any gaps. If there are, don’t worry –there are many different stylistic, scripting, and editing approaches such as bespoke graphics or iconography that can be the secret ingredient to bringing it all together. And you may find additional filming or recording for even just one extra day is worth the investment in growing your content bank.
While this is a very simple and cost-effective idea –it is one of the most overlooked options. However, when done with a clear purpose, it can get you in front of new audiences or engage your already loyal advocates. The key to this is making sure your content can be easily shared (check out our social media specs cheat-sheet) and that it motivates people to find out more about what you do.
Short social pieces should be easily & quickly understood, but also create an appetite to find out more –tell them or show them enough to spark interest. Then back up that short social media bite to more content that quenches their thirst to find out more. This can be achieved by sharing related video content, a new blog post, or a dedicated new page on your site.
Creating short socials content can also be an effective way to engage with current issues, newsworthy topics, and seasonal activities. By releasing this type of content, it demonstrates you are part of the same community as your audience and helps people engage with your brand values -not just your goods or services. By showing, not just telling, your audience that your brand cares about the same issues and values, it increases both purchase intent and advocacy. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of consumers around the world will buy based on a brand’s beliefs, with 43% of consumers likely to express purchase intent after seeing a values-led communication. And this values-led communication was found to be 32% more effective than product-led communications in the same study of 8,000 consumers. So while this has some powerful outcomes, it’s important to do your market research to ensure value-led content is in-line with your audience, brand, and overall strategy. And a great way to start that market research can be with case studies or testimonials to find out what your audiences like about your brand, what you can do better, and what your audience really values or problems they want to be solved. Check out our video strategy fundamentals for a refresher on the decision cycle and its impact on audiences taking action.
Authenticity is the key to making any case study or testimonial content work. So while the temptation might be to have tightly controlled scripts and actors, the best content comes from genuine, real-world experiences. With that in mind, there are ways to repurpose your existing content into case studies and testimonials.
Even if you’ve done testimonials before, consider the possibility of a series where you combine this historical content with new, current updates of these same situations or people. Going back to past case studies or testimonials to follow where they are now and how your brand continues to be a part of their life is a powerful way to demonstrate that your brand is valued and can stand the test of time. Having a series based on similar situations but different people shows that your brand is trustworthy, delivers on its promises, and is more than just a “one-trick pony”.
Or if you don’t have that historical advantage of previous testimonial-focused content, you can re-purpose general footage or interviews by getting new voice recordings/interviews over existing general footage, or let text-on-screen tell the story with a smaller amount of additional interviews or footage added in. This gives you the flexibility to still tell lots of original and unique stories without having to invest in new footage to cover every detail.
Sometimes the best way to tell people about something, is to let them experience it for themselves. This means repurposing content with a real focus on slow visuals and sound can help people feel like they are in the moment.
Think about the ideal situations you want to create when people use or interact with your brand. Now think about what they hear and see. By focusing on those two powerful senses, you can create captivating content that is all about the finer details. And you may have existing content that has all details you can focus on and magnify with quality audio sound design. The biggest challenge will be how your footage was filmed, as “slo-mo” (which is typically 50 or 60 frames per second) is the best for allowing creative flexibility. The great thing about quality audio sound design is it can be added in later (this is where a full-service production agency is invaluable in making these pieces come together perfectly).
While this might sound like an approach for making slow, emotive content –the same principles can be applied to make a high-energy video that has a lot of fast cuts (i.e. lots of changing footage) led by your audio or music choice. By focusing on the rhythm of the sound design, you can create punchy content that gets lots of attention. This is usually most effective to showcase a product’s features or uses, as it relies on quick-moving visuals that the audience can easily understand.