Great Social Media Idea: Three R's of Content - Recycle, Repost, Reuse

More and more, I am buying into the concept of cranking out content. (Not just content for content's sake... good content.)  Of course, that has been the industry standard for several years now. But hey, better late than never. That's what this blog is all about, right? Right! Come for the music posts, stay for the bleeding-edge marketing insight! Or something like that.

Here's the thing. I'm pretty much a one man social media operation, and I have a lot of responsibilities outside of social media as well. By necessity I have to prioritize the projects I want to be doing, so pick my spots I must. But this summer I've forced myself to come to grips with the fact that I need to be doing more - blogging, podcasting, videos... whatever form it takes shape in, I know it's up to me to produce - or, at least, manage the production of - more content. In the iconic words of that little company just down the road from me: Just Do It!

Like any dirty Portland hippie, recycling is second nature to me.  (This video explains my dear home tome better than just about anything else in the whole wide world.) So it's no wonder I responded so positively to this blog post from the University of Texas. Turns out Recycle Rex was an underrated visionary in content marketing - Recyle, Repost, Reuse! (Click on that Recycle Rex link if you dare... serious 90's childhood flashback awaits. Almost as serious as watching an alien with no arms singing And Then There Was Me.)

Everything's big in Texas. Especially drums, apparently.

It was a story about a giant drum in the Texas marching band that has become an icon and a tradition, and was posted on Texas' Tumblr blog and promoted on Facebook/Twitter/etc. It got good engagement numbers, though for a huge page like that I suppose the numbers of likes/shares is relative. But what I like the most about it is that it re-purposes content that was (I'm almost 100% sure) already in existence. 

When the prospect of generating more and more content seems way too daunting, it's always a good idea to remember how much content actually already exists. At UP, we have countless stories that are written up in our alumni magazine, in admissions brochures, in fundraising print pieces, etc. Stories about students, faculty members, alumni. Stories stories stories... happily living in places all over campus and just waiting for you to ctrl+c/ctrl+v them into the digital world.

Do you have to keep things fresh and current with new content? Of course! But can you also lean on and re-purpose things that are already in existence and haven't yet reached as wide of an audience? Absolutely! 

So thanks for the recycling lesson, Texas. (I never thought a Portlander would say those words. Amazing.)