Ok – I’ll come clean.  I LOVE thrift store shopping.  I relish the thrill of the find.  And the pleasure I get when a colleague says – “Joan, I love that jacket….”.   Conjuring up a smile and saying ‘thank you’…. while thinking ‘if you only knew… paid just $3.99.

It also makes me feel good to be a responsible environmental citizen; ‘recycling’ nice stuff that might otherwise have ended up in a landfill.

My fascination in thrift store shopping has taught me a lesson or two about making marketing dollars stretch further. First, don’t wear it once and throw it away.  Second, good fashion (or content) doesn’t quickly go out of style.

Great content should never be used just once – or twice, or three times, for that matter.  I know. I created a B2B global brand that captured 90 percent market share in the U.S. and 30 percent market share in Europe largely through the art of creating and repurposing great content.

Here’s just one example.

Aside from a new regulation from time to time or a new product launch, there wasn’t a lot happening in the asset management back office that is newsworthy.  As vice president of marketing communications for a global asset management technology company I had to be creative.

To fill the news void we would leverage creative tactics like surveys designed for public relations purposes and press releases that included predictions based on those survey results at the beginning of each new year to grab reporter’s attention. 

We published the findings, issued a press release and pitched the story to the media.  Reporters loved the survey results — as they were based on real-life market data. In fact, one quarter of all press coverage we earned each year resulted from this survey predictions press release alsoon

But, the value of the public relations research project didn’t end there. The data and predictions were used as the basis of key messaging during media interviews throughout the year. 

The survey results were also repurposed into blog posts and used as content for social media campaigns.  Perhaps most importantly, they were used as the basis of content for webinars to drive leads into the sales funnel. 

Thrifty me – turning one survey into a year-long campaign, leads for the sales team – and revenue.  

If you’ve investing in great content – don’t use it once and throw it away.  Repurpose it.

A simple lesson from me.  The thrift store shopper.  

Let me help you create and repurpose some great content.