Is your content strategy on track to provide value over the holiday season? Or is it more content fear than holiday cheer?
Staying consistent with your content strategy can be tricky over the holiday season. And, it can add an extra layer of pressure when your competition might be ending the year with a big content bang…
But with some clever content repurposing tactics and a few holiday season content-survival tips that I’ve picked up over the years, you can turn that feeling of dread into celebration.
In episode 211 of The Content 10x Podcast, I share my strategy for keeping your content distribution consistent during the holiday season and how to repurpose your existing content into irresistible, value-boosting, holiday content!
Press play to listen to the episode...
Or keep reading to discover the holiday content ideas perfect for repurposing.
Why it’s important to stay consistent – even during the holidays
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: nothing beats the power of consistency for your content strategy.
When you create and distribute content consistency, your audience builds. Jay Baer says it’s the most powerful factor for audience growth, and almost all the creators featured in our It Started with Content case study series credit their success to staying consistent.
But when the holiday season rolls around, you might be ready to take a well-deserved break. So what do you do? Do you compromise how consistently you create and share content? Or do you sacrifice a much-needed vacation?
Now add in to the mix your competition. They may not take a break. They might have a holiday content strategy up their sleeve set to boost engagement and keep them front of mind while everyone else is quiet…
With a little preparation – and some clever content repurposing – you can take that vacation, keep up with your competition, AND consistently post content during the holiday season. That’s good news, right?
Well here’s some better news. The content repurposing tactics I’m about to share help you make even more use out of your existing content and can help you keep up (or even surpass) your competition’s holiday content strategy! A win on multiple levels!
Let’s get into how repurposing can save the day…
Holiday content ideas: repurposing edition
While holiday season does throw a bit of a spanner into the works when it comes to your usual content strategy, this does mean that it opens the doors to being more creative with your content…
Holiday season is prime content repurposing season, so if you’re looking to try something new, now is most definitely the time.
There are two holiday content repurposing ideas that we see a lot at the end of the year. You may not have noticed them before, but read on, and I guarantee you’ll spot them everywhere!
1.Compilation content
Curating content is an excellent repurposing strategy at any time of the year, but there’s something very seasonal about compiling your best content bits into one extremely valuable episode.
Creating compilation content is one of my favorite repurposing tips. Collecting those hand-picked top moments into one juicy piece of content is sure to be a hit with your audience, as it gives them the crème de la crème in one go.
This is the tactic we used in 2020. We created a series of “best of” episodes to wrap up the year. The episodes showcased the very top tips shared on three key subjects: LinkedIn, video repurposing, and general content repurposing. They featured snippets of advice from guests, need-to-know tips from myself, and we even threw in a fun bonus episode all about repurposing like the top TV talk shows.
If you want to hear some examples of how to put together a “best of” podcast episode or blog, check out our four episodes here:
- The Secrets of LinkedIn Success
- The Very Best of Video Repurposing
- The Best Content Repurposing Tips
- How to Repurpose Content Like Top TV Talk Shows
To repurpose your content into highly valuable compilation content, it’s best practice to select a topic or narrow down by time. Here are some ideas to get you going:
- Top guest interview moments
- The unmissable advice from 2021
- The best (fill in the blank) tips
Topics should be easy to choose – these will be the core topics you usually cover in your content and that tie in to your products/services.
This is what’s so great about creating compilation content, you already have all the amazing content at your fingertips, it’s just about repackaging it with a holiday twist.
Bonus tip: repurposing your compilation content
I’ll get on to strategy shortly, but one thing to bear in mind when repurposing your existing content into a compilation is…more repurposing.
If you’ve already repurposed the original content in the past, brilliant. You can reuse that content to promote the episode. Perhaps it just needs a new lease of life, such as fresh text to accompany an eye-catching quote graphic.
But you can also repurpose your new, compilation content into even more content.
So when you’re selecting your best bits for your compilation content, consider how you can repurpose these even further. After all, there’s no such thing as having too much content! Plus, having a bank of content to distribute over the holiday season means you’ll find it far easier to stay consistent.
Now onto holiday season content repurposing idea number two…
2.Giveaways
‘Tis the season for gift-giving! If you’re thinking, “I don’t have anything to give away…” well, if you create content, you do!
People love a freebie and when it comes to giveaways, it’s all about the packaging. If you’ve got something valuable, and you market it as such, your audience will want it – even if it’s just to escape the FOMO!
Here are a few ideas for content that you could repurpose into a giveaway item:
- Useful lead magnets, e.g. checklists, how-to video tutorials, or a collection of white papers
- Exclusive content that’s part of your membership site, course, or private group
- A bundle of all the above!
Again, you don’t need to create content from scratch. This holiday season repurposing tactic is going to help you make the most of what you’ve already got, so it’s going to save you a lot of time compared to creating a giveaway and designing all the promotion to go with it.
Because that’s the other thing to consider, you also have to promote your giveaway.
If you’ve promoted your giveaway content previously, you could repurpose any images, videos, or social media posts you used before into holiday-themed content. If you’re short on promotional content, a great time-saving tip is to create one or two key images for your giveaway campaign, and repeatedly share them as part of a countdown. Just update the accompanying text and post the graphics periodically, until the giveaway is over!
If you want more tips and inspiration for holiday giveaway ideas, check out this post: The Gift of Repurposing: 5 Giveaway Ideas from your Existing Content.
Keeping your content strategy consistent this holiday season
So I’ve covered the repurposed content you can use to stay on track this holiday season, now how do you use these to stay consistent? Here’s what I’ve learned…
Create in advance
The earlier you can create content for the holiday season, the better. This might sound really obvious, but the end of the year often feels like crunch time and can come around really fast. You’ve already got all of that amazing content at your fingertips – don’t sit around and wait for more. Get repurposing now.
Use scheduling tools
Scheduling tools are your best friend during the holiday season. These ensure that your content gets published on time, no matter what you’re doing. You don’t have to keep one eye on your platforms, you can have the peace of mind that your content is taken care of so you can take that well-deserved break.
There are scheduling tools for lots of different content types, including blogs, podcasts, videos, and social media. Some social media platforms have built-in tools which might work best for you, or you can use a 3rd party solution like Buffer, which we use to publish our social media content. But there are more out there like SmarterQueue, MeetEdgar, Hootsuite, AgoraPulse...and so on. I suggest finding one that suits your needs best.
Repurpose more content than you think you’ll need
More is more – especially during the holiday season. So take the opportunity to repurpose your content into as much content as you possibly can. Experiment, think out of the box, and know that every piece you create is ensuring your content will take care of itself while you’re having a rest.
I hope this has given you some inspiration for your holiday content some reassurance that with some forethought and strategic repurposing, staying consistent with your content strategy over the holiday season is possible!
Want more content repurposing ideas, tips, and advice? Treat yourself to an early holiday gift and grab a copy of my book, Content 10x: More Content, Less Time, Maximum Results. It’s not just for the holiday season! It’s packed with everything you need to create a content repurposing strategy that works for you all year round.
Need help with creating, repurposing, and distributing your content? We can help. Our industry-leading content repurposing services help businesses in the tech industry, professional services sectors, and beyond, realize their content goals. Discover how our services could expand your reach, power your content distribution, and more, here.