How to Use 1 Blog Post 8 Ways?

A blog post is just like a Swiss Army knife. It may look ordinary at first glance, but a tug in a few areas and out will pop a wide assortment of content that you had no idea existed. A real time-saving, inspiring social media tool kit of posts, tweets, infographics, and so much more can be tucked into a few paragraphs of a single blog post.

With a little planning in the beginning, a great topic, and some creativity, here are eight things you can get from one blog post (or topic):

1. Tweets

Twitter is a hungry, demanding machine. Feed that machine with tons of tweets from your blog. Most blog posts are full of short statistics, quotes, and one-liners that are perfect for Twitter. A careful read through your blog post will likely pull up at least four or five things that you can share on Twitter. Be sure to include those tweets with a link back to the blog. Another great thing about these types of tweets – they can be scheduled in advance!

Bonus points for creating “tweet this” links to let others share your tweets for you. While we hardcode our tweet this statements, there are services like Click to Tweet that will do the work for you.

2. Facebook Posts

The next easy thing you can pull out of a blog post is several Facebook posts. Do not – I repeat DO NOT – just copy all of those wonderful tweets onto your Facebook page. Instead, take the time to craft some Facebook-perfect posts. Here are a few ideas:

1. Share photos and infographics in the post with short summaries from the blog.
2. If you have referenced a book, article, or other item, share a link to that item and a little more of the “rest of the story.” Turn one or more key ideas of the blog post into a discussion. For example, “Amanda thinks Taylor Swift is better at marketing than the rest of us. Is Taylor really that good?”
3. You could even turn your blog post into a small Facebook contest. “Help Lauren find some inspiration. Our favorite suggestion wins a free coffee mug!

3. Infographics

How-to blog posts make great infographics, and even non-designers can make them. Pull out the main points from your blog post and boil them down into very short statements. Then, use one of the great free to cheap online graphic programs to create your infographic. I love Easel.ly (great for beginners) and Canva.com (great for a little more advanced). This infographic can then be put into your blog post and shared on Pinterest, Facebook, and other social media accounts.

4. Pinterest Pins and Boards

While you can certainly just pin the images from your blog post, why stop there? Use your blog topic to inspire one or more Pinterest boards. Doing a blog post why green is the IT color to wear this season? Set up boards inspired by green clothing, accessories, and shoes, turning these broader categories into smaller, specific boards (think “Green Ties”, “How to Wear Dark Green”, etc.).

Here are at Red Sage, we sometimes do this process in reverse. We have a secret Pinterest board that we use to store blog inspiration. You can do the same by collecting pins while you are looking for inspiration for your own blog post and then publishing that secret board when you’re ready to launch the post.

 

5. Slideshows

This one can be done after the blog post is written, but it is actually easier to plan for it in advance. Before you start writing your post, create an outline with all of the major topics and supporting points. This outline can then be turned into a nice slideshow to share on SlideShare. We love Prezi presentations here at Red Sage. It can be a little daunting at first, but once you get familiar with the tools, the results are well worth it.

6. Videos

You can turn that same slideshow into an animated video using programs like PowToon or you can film a video based on the whole or a part of your blog post. If you can break up your blog post into several strong points, you can film short videos for each point and generate even more things to share on YouTube, Vine, Facebook, and other social media accounts.

 

7. eBooks

While it is a bit of a stretch to do an eBook from a single blog post, it can be done. I actually recommend that you use a series of blog posts to create your eBook. Services like Amazon’s Direct Publishing have made it much easier to become a published author. One our clients, Horizon Point Consulting recently put this tip to the test with her own eBook, Stress Management: How to Deal with Stress in the Long and Short-Term, which is based off a series of stress-related blog posts that she wrote.

8. Webinar

A really great blog topic can be turned into an online or in-person webinar. You’ve already got an outline, the start of the presentation, videos, graphics, and other elements. Now, all you have to do is expand upon the original post and adjust your presentation to include these deeper points. Record the webinar and put it on a site like Udemy.com and you’ll even have an opportunity to make a little income from it.

Get to Repurposing

When you start thinking about other ways you could use your blog topic, you’ll likely discover even more ideas than what I’ve shared. It helps to start out with repurposing in mind before you start your blog, but you can even repurpose old blogs. Think about all of that content just waiting to be shared and re-shared.

Have a great tip from your own blog repurposing experiences or want to show off your skills? Share them in the comments below or send them to me at hthompson@redsageonline.com and I’ll share them on our social media accounts. I love to see good blog repurposing in action!

Professional Blog Repurposing Help

Love the idea, but want advice specific to your blog? Give us a call at 256-560-0098 and let us tell you about our social media services.