The ’90s was a great decade for movies, particularly comedies. After all, it was the decade that gave us “Wayne’s World,” “Groundhog Day,” “The Big Lebowski,” and a host of others too numerous to mention. One of them jumped back into my head when preparing to write this blog, so I figured I would tell you about it just so I can purge the memory and get down to business.
This article is all about how not to get busted reusing copy. Let’s face it; not all articles are one-shot wonders. There are some pieces of custom writing that can be used as a secret weapon and pulled out again and again with real success. You might not ever even need to change a word.
Reusing Copy in Social Media
There are plenty of ways to maximize the mileage you get out of your copy, not the least of which being to simply repost it at strategic times or as a means of split testing. If you look at some of your favorite Twitter accounts, you will likely find the same tweets repeated over and over again. Many Facebook pages do the same thing. The issue isn’t that they want to flood their feeds with the same content over and over again – it’s that so few people see what’s posted at any given time, they have to repost to extend their reach.
No one these days looks at this and thinks it’s weird or overkill or anything negative. Once they see a piece of content, most people’s brains do one of two things: They react to it or shut down the signal out of disinterest. The latter is going to happen far more often, so bear that in mind when it comes to ratios of reposted content to fresh, but don’t think people will find it irritating. Trust me; they really don’t care.
I mentioned split testing a moment ago – you will find that with social media, you’re going to have to repost your content at different times of the day and week to get a feel for when you’re getting the most meaningful engagement. Since we’re talking about copy here, I will recommend that anything you use for split testing purposes has a clear call to action and even a little variation in the wording. It may not be direct reuse, but once you find a winning combination of visuals and message, you have something you can repeatedly reuse without spending more time and effort on the actual writing.
Reusing Web Copy
Various themes have perpetual appeal when presented to the right audience. We call this evergreen content, and it’s a little different than reusable content. The point of evergreen content is that it’s always there waiting to be consumed. Reusable content comes and goes, but when you discover the right rhythm to employ in relaunching articles and blogs, you will find that it can be a very lucrative game to play.
Let’s use weight loss as the example here. Certain weight loss articles will fare better at different times of year than others. For example, most people in America and in parts of Western Europe will be more receptive to diet and exercise articles right after the holidays and into the month of February. Many people have been on a month-long binge of every forbidden food there is and are realizing that they now need to pay the piper.
That same article isn’t going to get much play in the midst of holiday regalia, but there are weight loss subjects that do work during those times. Articles that promise that you can indulge a little if you do it a certain way or steer clear of certain foods if you’ll be eating others can be a big draw. See the difference? Give them permission to eat in December, then let them know it’s time to back off in January while their New Year’s Resolutions are still fresh in their minds. These concepts don’t often change too drastically over time, so the copy really doesn’t need to either.
You can take it even further. April is the time when most people start worrying about how they’re going to look in summer clothes. That’s when you pull out last year’s article on getting ready for the beach and offering advice on losing weight and toning up. As long as there have been no major breakthroughs in the past 12 months debunking your claims or methods, people will most definitely click on it again. Afraid they’ll recognize it and ignore it? Just change the visuals and keep the copy. It’s an effective trick.
What Not to Reuse
Not all copy is going to provide perennial benefits. It’s important to recognize the kinds of things that should be treated as a one-shot deal and be allowed to evolve without constantly looking back. Here are a few examples:
News and Current Events – These things have a short shelf life and should be treated as they do. The good news here is that it is impossible to run out of new material.
Technology – Also a short shelf life due to the rapid advancements that take place in everything from smartphones to toasters. Treat tech like current events and consider these articles “one and done.”
Entertainment and Pop Culture – While some stories have a way of sticking around for years, you might get more mileage out of referencing specific events and details than you will trying to resuscitate a specific article once it’s had its run.
Memes and Curated Content – Don’t think you’ll earn points for nostalgia here. Remember what I said about people just turning off your message inside their heads when they see the same thing too often? Unless your article is 20 years old and you run a blog on retro content (which actually sounds like a fun idea), steer clear of stuff that’s made the rounds ad nauseum.
Sports – This ties in to entertainment and pop culture. Unless it’s a retrospective on the ’69 Mets, let the story have its run then move on. Again, you’re never going to run out of fresh content.
Exceptions to the Rules
Even with the “short shelf life” topics, there is sometimes room to reuse. News outlets will always get some mileage out of reports from 9/11, for example, and there are instances in sports and pop culture where a significant historical event warrants a nod. In those instances, you should use your best judgment based on what you know about your audience and reuse content that has worked for you in the past.