Why We Should Reuse Content That Works
A lot of our work at Ceisler Media & Issue Advocacy is about solving problems for our clients. We find effective ways to tell their stories, amplify their messages and get the results they want.
That means we also do a lot of problem-solving for ourselves. Every challenge requires us to figure out not just what messages to send out into the world, but how. We think through how to pitch a story with the perfect angle to the right reporter, navigate political constraints, refine the approach, and sometimes invent something new along the way.
And sometimes, once you’ve found the right solution, you can solve a few of your own problems at once.
Repurposing Content
Some of the material developed for clients can be used again with minimal tweaks and some creative thinking. When you have quality content that you’ve already put time into, don’t forget to consider other audiences and possibilities for it.
Recently, Senior Account Executive Corinne Ahrens and I booked a representative of the Greater Philadelphia YMCA on a live appearance on 6ABC’s Action News Morning show. The feature was aimed at reminding parents about the benefits of sending kids to summer camp, such as fostering confidence and getting them much-needed time away from screens.
Securing the live appearance was just the start. Using this interview and the talking points we’d prepped for that appearance, we developed a press release to pitch to news outlets in the counties outside of Philadelphia where the Greater Philadelphia YMCA operates summer camp programs. It offered a way to get other press hits out of one conversation we had with the client. This led to an article in a Berks County hyperlocal publication and potentially others that are still pending. It’s also a way to keep the client front of mind with some of those outlets, in case they’re looking for feature stories once the summer months hit.
This is just one example. You can turn an op-ed into a LinkedIn post –— especially if the op-ed never got picked up by a news organization. A story pitch that only got a little traction could be fashioned into a blog or social media content that helps generate search and AI traffic. Written remarks or talking points for a client can be repurposed into a letter to the editor.
This isn’t lazy, and it doesn’t mean you’re cheating. You’re repackaging your clients’ consistent messaging for different audiences, which is at the heart of what we do as communications professionals. Doing so saves us, and our clients, valuable time we can use to move on to the next challenge.
