There never seems to be enough time in the day. Between video calls, shooting out emails and squeezing in a bite to eat, day-end rolls around all too quickly — and then there are usually a few hours of post “office hours” work to do. One way to optimize the time you spend working towards your business and marketing goals is getting as much mileage from a single piece of content as possible. When you put the hours into creating an in-depth piece of long-form content, like a whitepaper or byline article, why not make the most of it?

Here are 6 ways to extend content’s utility: 

Get it Publish by a Third Party

Before posting the piece to your website, see if a publication will take it as a contributed byline. This will extend its audience reach and boost your reputation as a thought leader through third party validation.

Blog About it Once it’s Live

Once the content is live on a publication’s website pull out 1-2 key points to post as a blog on your company website. Include a hyperlink to the published article and indicate to readers that is where they can learn more. Remember, you promised the publication a unique piece of content, so don’t ruffle feathers by reposting the full thing to your blog. 

For example, here is a very brief “blog” post featuring the first few sentences of an article I wrote for Technical.ly Baltimore, which links back to the publication. 

Put it on Social (Numerous Times)

The beauty of well-written, long-form content is it likely contains numerous key points, stats and facts. Create a ‘series’ of social media posts featuring the same style of graphic with a new fact each week until you run out. This could take the form of popular social media trends such as Did You Know, Tech Tuesday, Wisdom Wednesday, Thursday Thoughts or Fact Friday. One piece of content might stretch out to be 6-8 individual social media posts, maybe more! 

Turn it into a Video

You already put pen to paper, now talk about it on camera for 3-5 minutes. The beauty of modern content standards is that informal ‘chat style’ videos are commonplace. All you need is your phone or laptop camera. These videos are highly popular, especially since the onset of COVID-19, and are well received by social platforms’ algorithms. 

For example, leading up to RSA this past year, my team wrote a blog with tips for conference attendees, and then filmed a five part video series featuring the same information. 

Send it out in a Newsletter

Extend the reach of the article further by sharing it within your monthly newsletter or as a special ‘one-off’ announcement. Whether you choose to include it along with other company news or  information, or make it the star of the email, sending it out to a network that is already familiar with your company will demonstrate that you are active and driving industry conversations.

Bonus! Transform it into an E-Book

Have your team turn the original article into an e-book. E-books are a great way to transform plain text into visual content. You can put the finished product behind an email signup form to grow your marketing list. 

My team at LaunchTech is composed of communications professionals who excel at amplifying content and messaging to target audiences. Get in touch to learn more about our services!