For some marketing teams, it’s easy to get caught in a hamster wheel of content production. We’re constantly searching for ideas for the next blog, white paper, newsletter, video or webinar. To add to the frenzy, marketers spend time researching the best ways to optimize content, mastering the latest trends and technologies, and identifying the newest outlets that are attracting their target markets. But what about all the old content that already exists? If you’re not actively taking advantage of your existing library of content, you’re missing out on an extensive and vital resource.

How to Give Old Content a Facelift

1. Conduct a review and analysis of old content. The first step is to conduct an audit of your existing content. An easy place to start is with your website. Website analytics and software collect and analyze data about how your target market interacts with your website. Google Analytics or other tools attached to distribution channels such as Facebook or LinkedIn are useful as well. They help you see which topics were the most popular, which click paths users took after reading and which content generated the most leads. Use this data to understand user engagement, customer satisfaction and common challenges.
2. Edit and renew old content. For many thought leaders, some of their most popular content was written many years ago. This is often because as more people view and share your content, it has a compounding effect that results in improved SEO and increased visibility from links from other websites and channels. Identify evergreen content on your website and regularly edit, renew or perfect that content to ensure it is always relevant. While you’re at it, be sure all links function properly and remove or correct any dead ends.
3. Remove outdated content. If there is content in your library that wasn’t successful, doesn’t represent your current thought leadership or value proposition, or is simply out of date, it is best to remove it. Content needs to be relevant. If you cannot find ways to revitalize it, don’t be afraid to get rid of it to ensure users get value from your content.
4. Redistribute your best content. Distribution is essential to a successful content strategy. When new content is published, it is important to share it across multiple channels to reach multiple audiences. This includes social media, email, newsletters or external publications. There is nothing wrong with sharing compelling and engaging content more than once. Doing so reaches new viewers and gives your team a break from continually creating new content. Use this opportunity to test different headlines or calls to action.
5. Repurpose content for different channels. Repurposing is another essential marketing practice. It helps with efficiency, saves financial resources and expands your reach. Repurposed content is different than distribution of the same content across multiple channels. Instead, it involves restructuring content into entirely new mediums. We’ve developed guides on how to best reuse and recycle content. Try turning textual content into videos or infographics or combining short content into longer mediums such as white papers. Another idea is to break apart longer content into multiple blog posts.
6. Redirect when necessary. When it comes to pages that have high SEO or are linked to by other companies and websites, creating a path for the reader is pivotal to lead generation. While editing and renewing outdated content is one option, a second one is to redirect the page to another, more relevant piece of content. If you have a popular blog from 2011 that covers social media strategies, the content may not be as useful to a reader in 2020. If so, simply redirect the page to a more up-to-date guide so you don’t lose the compounded views and SEO, but can provide the most relevant content to your readers and potential leads.

Ongoing Content Revitalization

Companies spend a lot of time developing and communicating their thought leadership content and other value propositions. Simply letting it sit and gather dust quickly becomes a lost opportunity. It’s easy for old content to accumulate on your website. Take the time to review and revitalize it. Doing so will go a long way to improve your users’ experiences, optimize SEO, generate leads and put your company in the best possible light. Not only is it worth the investment to better engage your target audiences, a strategic approach to content supports your company’s future growth.