How do you turn one idea into content for every platform?

Why repurpose

Coming up with a new idea for every post is hard work. Repurposing gets full value from each idea, and since people rarely see every post you make, someone who missed the video may catch the photo post or the email. Lesson 7 says to reshape ideas rather than paste the same post everywhere. This lesson is the step-by-step method.

Step 1: Pick an idea worth stretching

Not every idea deserves five versions. Good candidates usually:

• Answer a question customers ask often (lesson 11 shows how to collect these).
• Show a process or a before and after.
• Hold up over time, so the pieces can run across a week or two.

A quick test: could you talk about it for two minutes without running out of things to say?

Step 2: Make the fullest version first

Make the most complete version first, because cutting down is easier than building up. This might be:

• A 60 to 90 second video walking through the process.
• A short article or blog post on your website answering the question in detail.
• A set of 8 to 10 photos taken during one job.

While you make it, capture extras: a few photos while filming, the exact customer question that inspired it, a strong quote from the person speaking.

Step 3: Cut it into pieces, one job per piece

Now list the pieces you can pull from it. Give each piece one job (lesson 1) and one home.

Google Business Profile supports posts such as updates, offers and events, which can appear on your profile in Search and Maps [1]. Short-form video platforms favor vertical video; YouTube, for example, treats square or vertical videos of up to three minutes, uploaded since October 15, 2024, as Shorts [2].

Step 4: Rewrite the opening for each piece

The biggest difference between pasting and repurposing is the opening. Each platform is scrolled differently, so each piece needs its own first line or first second. A video opens with action. A text post opens with a clear statement. An email opens with a subject line that says what is inside. Lesson 3 covers hooks; write a fresh one for every piece.

Also check the details: crop images to the shape each platform uses, rewrite hashtags or remove them where they do not fit, and adjust the call to action to what makes sense in that place.

Step 5: Spread the pieces out

Do not publish all five pieces on the same day. Put them on your content calendar (lesson 6) across a week or two. This gives each piece room and keeps your feed varied. If one piece clearly does better than the others, note what was different about it. Lesson 9 covers reading those results.

Common mistakes

Pasting the same post everywhere. Same text, same crop, same hashtags on every platform reads as automated.

Repurposing a weak idea. Five versions of something nobody cares about is five posts nobody reads.

Forgetting the opening. A clip cut from the middle of a longer video often starts mid-sentence. Re-cut it so the first second makes sense on its own.

Publishing everything at once. It crowds your feed.

Worked example

A pet groomer gets the same question several times a week: "How often should I bring my dog in?" She records a 75-second video at her table explaining that it depends on the coat type, showing three dogs with different coats. While filming, her assistant takes photos of each dog.

From that one session she makes:

1. Monday: a 25-second vertical clip showing the three coats side by side, with on-screen text "How often does your dog need a groom? It depends on the coat."
2. Wednesday: a four-photo carousel, one coat type per image with a short label.
3. Thursday: a Facebook text post. It makes the remark first and ends with the question: "We set a different grooming schedule for short, double and curly coats, and the full video on our page shows why. What type of coat does your dog have?"
4. Friday: a Google Business Profile update with one photo and a button linking to booking.
5. End of month: the tip becomes the lead section of her email, with a link to the full video.

One filming session gives her a week of content.

Checklist

• The idea answers a real customer question or shows something worth seeing.
• I made the fullest version first.
• Each piece has one job and one home.
• Each piece has its own opening line or first second.
• Images are cropped and text is rewritten for each platform.
• Pieces are spread across the calendar, not posted all at once.

Try it

Take your best post from the last three months. Using the table in Step 3, list four other pieces you could make from it, write a new opening for each, and put them on next week's calendar.

Tips

• Take photos while you film, so you have both from one session.
• Keep a folder for each idea with the full version and every piece cut from it.
• Write the new opening for each piece before you edit anything else.
• Revisit strong ideas months later; a new season can make them timely again.

Sources

1. "Create & manage posts on your Business Profile," Google Business Profile Help, https://support.google.com/business/answer/7342169
2. "Understand three-minute YouTube Shorts," YouTube Help, https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/15424877