September 23, 2024
Feeling the constant pressure to churn out new content for every social media platform? You're not alone. The content treadmill is real, exhausting, and, frankly, unsustainable.
But what if the key to a vibrant, engaging social presence wasn’t always creating more, but making better use of what you already have?
That’s where content recycling comes in. It’s a smart, strategic way to save time, maximise your existing assets, and keep your messaging consistent across channels.
Even if you’re already doing this, in this article, we’ll share five effective ways to get even more value from your hard work.
People don’t consume content the same way, or even at the same time.
Over the past few years, organic reach has steadily declined. For instance, studies from 2024, show that Instagram’s average reach rate is 4.00%, while Facebook’s is just 2.60%.
Recycling helps you show up where your audience is without needing to create entirely new content every time.
But this is only powerful when done intentionally. That means identifying content worth resharing, adapting it properly for each format, and distributing it consistently.
Evergreen content refers to posts that remain relevant regardless of when they're published and are just perfect to be refreshed and redistributed with minimal effort.
Think tutorials, how-to guides, and industry insights. For example, a guide titled “How to Set Up Meta Business Account” will remain relevant far longer than “Marketing Trends for Q2 2025.”
Start by identifying those evergreen gems! Review your content library and highlight pieces that stand the test of time.
Got a high-performing post from last year that’s still relevant? Great, give it a light refresh.
Streamlining content distribution is a key part of an effective recycling strategy. To get the most out of your efforts, you need to strategically define when, where, and how you’ll recycle your posts.
This is where social media management tools become invaluable. Platforms like MeetEdgar have built their entire approach around the concept of content recycling, automatically redistributing your evergreen content at optimal intervals.
Instead of your content dying after its initial post, these tools create content libraries that continuously cycle through your content. You can organise your evergreen content by theme or format and set a reshare schedule that spaces posts out over weeks/months.
Your written articles are a goldmine for content. Pull snippets from your blog to create a series of social posts. Here are some formats:
Extract key tips or takeaways and you’ll generate a variety of content that appeals to different segments of your audience, all from one blog post.
You can also embed it in the blog itself, post it on LinkedIn, or include it in a newsletter. The possibilities are endless.
A great tweet can become an Instagram quote. A LinkedIn post can spark a Facebook conversation. A YouTube video can be clipped and shared as a Story.
Instead of creating new content for every platform, start by checking if something can be reshared elsewhere. You might need to resize or reformat it to match each social platform’s size preferences and tailor the caption to fit the audience’s tone.
You’re not repeating yourself, you’re reinforcing your message.
Client love never goes out of style. Rotate reviews, messages, and shoutouts from past clients or customers regularly.
Have some user-generated content (UGC)? Even better. Reshare it or create your own short-form variations. It’s a powerful way to build trust and credibility.
Your audience is always growing, and so is the social media landscape. There are 5.31 billion social media users around the world according to DataReportal, which is 64.7% of the total global population.
But even with that massive reach, algorithms rarely show your content to everyone the first time. In fact, most posts reach only a small fraction of your followers. That’s why reposting is essential.
If it worked once, there’s a good chance it’ll work again (plus, reach new eyes).
Recycling doesn’t have to look the same every time. Sometimes, a light refresh is all you need.
Small tweaks can stretch one idea into multiple posts:
With just a few quick edits, you can turn one solid piece into several “new” posts, without starting from scratch.
You don’t need to constantly be in creation mode to grow your audience or maintain visibility.
Each version of your content should feel native to the platform it lives on. Adapt your visuals, format, and tone to match audience expectations, whether it’s a fast-paced reel or a thoughtful LinkedIn post.
And yes, sometimes all it takes is a new caption, crop, or layout to breathe fresh life into an old idea.
So go ahead, look through your archives. What’s worth sharing again? And this time, don’t just post it once. Repurpose it, schedule it, and let your content do the heavy lifting.