Is repurposing old content on social media making you look dumb?

I get it. I understand the need for more content to serve to an ever-growing flow of content consumers. The art of recycling content is important, particularly on sites like Twitter where a piece of content can and should be used multiple times in order to get the message out to everyone. It’s a chronological feed, after all, and posting it once will only get it seen by an extremely small portion of your audience.

Have you noticed that social media posts are becoming more and more repurposed? I have been finding posts from small businesses around the country that are months old and no longer relevant. There’s a limit to how many times we can repost the same content on social media, especially when it’s not newsworthy anymore.

With that said, it’s getting out of hand. When recycling posts on social media , here are some things to keep in mind:

• Is it relevant? Old posts are fine if there’s context that makes it work today. For example, posting an article about Tesla’s early days in trying to launch with dealerships would make sense to post considering their current stance.
• Are you adding value? Adding more context to an old post helps the conversation.
• Do other people have it? If so, is yours better than theirs or do they add something different that your audience might not be interested in hearing about? Sharing a blog post from two years ago with no edits does nothing for me and my followers.
• Is it timeless? Some posts, particularly advice posts that give the reader information they can use today, can be posted up until the point that they’re obsolete. An example of this would be a video that demonstrates how to change the batteries in a key fob. Until they change the way you open the key fob, it still makes sense to post for months, even years after the original.
• Is it nostalgic? There are times when old posts are even better than new ones. A picture of an old Honda ad from the 70s would play well to show how far the company has come over the years.
• Is it relevant to a current event? If you’re trying to make a point about something happening, an older post can be used as evidence.
• Is it topical? In certain cases, old posts are better than new ones with the same topic because they have more social traction on sites like Facebook and Twitter. A good example of this is “25 Things Your Grandma Wants You To Know.” The original article was published in 2013 but had resurfaced due to being shared by major celebrities; some people say that the content has now gone stale since many of these things are no longer applicable today – for instance, having landline phones isn’t seen as unusual anymore – but others argue that there’s still value here.
• Has it been posted very recently? This is one of my biggest pet peeves. If a post comes through today that is just a different wording on something posted yesterday, than it’s not acceptable. The exception: timely events. If you have a big sale or charity event this weekend, then posting a different variation of the same thing over and over again is acceptable and demonstrates focus on the event.
• Is it repurposed? If you’re reusing an old article with a new headline, be sure to change the date on the post and add commentary.If not: Consider creating something else that offers more value or is timely.

As social media becomes increasingly saturated by posts from businesses looking for attention, marketers have begun adapting their approach when engaging with consumers online. Social Media Week cites several examples of how social media platforms are beginning to tailor ad targeting in order to offer what they believe will lead most efficiently towards results such as purchases; Facebook has also started testing out different forms of sponsored content ads which would allow them to charge higher rates for things like branded videos because users now have multiple options for the ads that they see.

The problem with re purposing social media content is twofold: it can be seen as insincere and laziness on behalf of a business, and often encroaches upon what could have been a profit-generating opportunity for another company or individual.

In addition to this, when some individuals are unable to find work in their chosen field because there’s nothing left to do within their industry – such as PR firms who specialize exclusively in crisis management – will turn towards social media marketing which can then lead them into competition against other companies without the same level experience. When you’re competing against an established brand like Dell Computers, however, your post might get lost among all of theirs if you don’t take an action today.

Fortunately for you, we’re experts of all things social and know a few simple tactics to help get your posts noticed on social media.

• Make sure your post has enough quality content – it needs to look good if not better than anyone else’s in order to stand out against them. This includes having clear photos or graphics with text overlaid and making sure there are plenty of white spaces which helps break up information into more digestible chunks as well as make scrolling through easier.
• Join the conversation on social media
• Ask for feedback and engagement
• Include an actionable takeaway at the end of each blog post such as “share this article” or “check out these other helpful articles.”
• Lastly, don’t be afraid to ask followers what they want to read about next time! This will help you avoid publishing old content in the future.

If you’re just starting out, it’s not uncommon to see some inexperience in your posts. That being said, if you don’t want people to think of your brand as “just another startup” then make sure that post content is unique – research trending topics before hitting publish or even asking followers what they would like to read about next time! It’ll help set you apart from the rest so you can enjoy more success with your brand!