Module 4 - Repurposing channel content for cross-platform

What does repurposing content for cross-platform actually mean?

Repurposing means taking one piece of content, altering it slightly, and posting it elsewhere, which makes the most of the work already put into filming and editing it rather than posting it once and leaving it there.

One way to think about repurposing is circular: a TV ad could be made into a YouTube ad, and a YouTube ad could equally be made into a TV ad. Another way is more linear: a website video could become a YouTube ad, that YouTube ad could then be posted to Facebook as a generic video, and eventually parts of it could be used in a TV ad. Either way, it's about getting the most out of content that's already been filmed and edited.

What length limits do you need to know for each platform?

Every platform has its own length limits and its own sensible advised length, and knowing both matters when deciding how to edit a video down for each one.

On Facebook the technical limit is four hours, but posting anything that long would likely bore people if it isn't very engaging, so five minutes is the advised maximum. LinkedIn's advised length is ten minutes, Twitter allows up to two minutes and twenty seconds, though again people tend to switch off before that if it isn't kept tight. TikTok allows up to 60 seconds, but 7 to 15 seconds is suggested as the most engaging length. YouTube doesn't really have a limit, but keeping things under 20 minutes is sensible. Instagram is a bit different again, with three video types: a Reel, up to 30 seconds, a normal feed video, up to a minute, and an IGTV video, up to 60 minutes.

Can a video be turned into something other than video?

Yes, a video can be repurposed into an audio-only podcast, an infographic, or a blog post, and the same process works in reverse too.

A video can be uploaded as audio only to somewhere like Spotify or Apple Music as a podcast. If a video goes over certain points or statistics, those can be turned into an infographic. A video can also become a blog post. At s.media, a blog titled "five ways to improve your YouTube channel experience" was turned into a video using three of its points, an example of blog to video. It works the other way too: a video with certain points in it can be turned into a blog, which brings its own SEO and reach benefits.

What did a real client case study for repurposing look like?

For one client, footage from an existing TV campaign was combined with other footage the client already had and some stock footage, edited together with proper hooks and calls to action, and placed as YouTube ads, which got really good results.

The client had a TV campaign already and also wanted to run YouTube ads. Rather than starting from nothing, existing TV campaign footage was combined with other footage the client had lying around, plus some stock footage, and edited into a video that took hooks and calls to action properly into account before being placed on YouTube.