That’s why we brought back this post about how to amplify your best content. You need at least a snapshot view of which content is performing well enough to feature in your curation efforts. TIP: Not sure how to locate organic search data in Google Analytics? Do your keyword research In addition to checking the search traffic to your content pieces, do some broader research on the search volume and keyword rankings for the terms most relevant to your content. Not only will this process help you evaluate current topical trends, it can give you an idea of how to prioritize your team’s efforts and position internally curated content for better performance against your competition. In addition, Arnie suggests conducting ideation research, which looks at the most relevant keywords your content is not ranking for to uncover informational gaps that you can fill through curation. Those assets can be combined with other relevant information on the topic to form a new piece that might be more attractive to different audiences. Like repackaging, repurposing involves deconstructing your original assets; but rather than reusing the components in combination with other content pieces, they’re refashioned into a new form of conversation. Maybe it will be repurposed for inclusion in a new CMI post.) Please note: All tools included in our blog posts are suggested by authors or sources, not the CMI editorial team.
Editor’s note: Doing more with less is always an applicable mantra for content marketers. That’s why we brought back this post about how to amplify your best content.
Admit it: When the stress and exhaustion of finding something uniquely delightful for every person on your holiday shopping list have brought you to the brink of madness, you’ve at least considered the idea of regifting.
After all, that expensive orange scarf that sadly clashes with your skin tone, the never-opened kitchen mixer you got for your bridal shower, or that trendy toy your child never got around to playing with are all lovely gifts. And who knows? They even may be meaningful treasures to someone who needs them.
Like the weary holiday shopper, content creators are always pressed for time, eager to please, and challenged to deliver something of value to everyone on the subscriber list. But who’s to say your best content gifts can’t be existing assets resurrected, repurposed, repackaged, and resurfaced?
If you are familiar with content curation, you know it typically involves third-party content – taking great insights you discovered and putting your brand’s spin on them (making sure you credit the original source, of course) to create something new and useful for your audience. But you also can apply a curator’s mindset to your own content assets, which opens exciting opportunities to reuse and amplify your highest-value assets – i.e., the content already driving good results – rather than taking your chances with new, unproven content ideas.
Ready to give this kind of curated regifting a try? Follow these tips.
Step 1: Determine which assets to amplify
Naturally, you can’t repurpose your top-performing assets unless you know what they are. You need at least a snapshot view of which content is performing well enough to feature in your curation efforts. Here are some ways to gather that information.
Inventory your content
Review the content in your archives. Even a simple, high-level inventory – a documented list of the content published, the topics covered and when, the format of each piece, and the platforms where the assets were distributed – can help you track down the materials you have to work with and make it easier to compare their relative performance as a next step.
TIP: For a more detailed view of audits, read Arash Ashli’s post, How to Do a Content Audit in a Few Hours.
Mine your analytics for performance/conversion leaders
Identify which assets in your at-a-glance review have the best potential to further your content marketing goals. Consult your analytics data to add key metrics like page views, social shares, time on site, and conversion rates to include for individual assets in the inventory. This will enable you to conduct an audit to analyze your content’s relative value. You can weed out low-performing and low-converting efforts, as well as content on topics past their expiration date. The remaining content on your list is likely worth considering for your repurposing efforts.
TIP: For most questions about your content’s performance, Google Analytics can provide the answer. Learn how to uncover some of its most useful insights in CMI’s e-book How to Apply Analytics Data to Make Better Content Marketing Decisions.
Check your search traffic
Naturally, you want to resurface content still at the peak of its engagement potential since people tend to share the more recent pieces. However, even older content pieces can have merit, especially if they still drive strong traffic via search, as that indicates there’s still a great need for information on those topics.
TIP: Not sure how to locate organic search data in Google Analytics? Michele Linn outlines the path to this report – and how to act on what you find – in her post 4 Google Analytics Reports Every Content Marketer Should Use.
Step 2: Align top performers with current audience needs and preferences
Your analytics should have revealed viable candidates for successful reuse. But just because those pieces resonated once doesn’t mean they meet the needs of your audience now. Take a few extra steps to confirm their continued relevance and relative value to hit the curation sweet spot between business performance and audience need.
Do your keyword research
In addition to checking the search traffic to your content pieces, do some broader research on the search volume and keyword rankings for the terms most relevant to your content. Not only will this process help you evaluate current topical trends, it can give you an idea of how to prioritize your team’s efforts and position internally curated content for better performance against your competition.
TIP: Not sure how to mine the data you need for keyword decision-making? Let Mike Murray’s 2019 SEO Keywords and Google: What’s in Your Poker Hand? post serve as your primer.
For example, Vertical Measures’ Arnie Kuenn suggests starting with a ranking audit on your highest performing and converting pages to see how they fare on relevant SERPs, and which terms contribute to the best rankings. (Tools like SEMRush, Google Search Console, Moz, and AuthorityLabs can help you with this process.) In addition, Arnie suggests conducting ideation research, which looks at the most relevant keywords your content is not ranking for to uncover informational gaps that you can fill through curation.
TIP: Watch Arnie’s video for details on the ideation research process and how to apply it:
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