Today we operate in interesting times when almost all forms of media and communication are digital. From finding resources and information via search engines to establishing meaningful connections through social media, much of what we do is executed online.

In the commercial context, both small businesses and large brands stand to gain from integrated content strategies as part of their core digital marketing and advertising programs. There’s no question that soft-selling, value-packed content marketing is one of the most effective ways to advertise. For some successful companies, it’s the only thing they do to grow their business.

The challenge for most companies is consistently creating content that resonates with their target audience. Coming up with compelling ideas, conceptualizing the medium, articulating the delivery, and developing the actual content is often a resource-intensive effort. However, sometimes there’s great media and content right under our fingertips. In other words, sometimes the best content we can create has already had a head start in its development.

For the organizations that have been in business for several years, putting forth some degree of proactive marketing and advertising effort, there’s often times a lot of media and content on hand that can prove to be both valuable and repurposable for fresh content marketing strategies (even if it’s not digital). From video footage used for TV commercials, tangible brochureware used for tradeshows, and audio recordings that may inspire a podcast series, there are numerous ways in which tangible media can be converted into optimized digital assets.

I use the term “optimized” in sense that almost any form of digital content can be addressed for greater search potential or SEO-value. It’s the core guiding principle of the company I work for: helping businesses and brands take a search-first approach to their marketing and advertising efforts, both online and off. So without further ado, below I underscore three ways in which companies can make use of the media they have on hand to actualize meaningful online content strategies that help expand their reach and grow their business.

Convert Resourceful Visual Content Into YouTube Videos

Many businesses have invested in some sort of video production, whether for the use of television commercials, recruiting, product and service overviews, etc. In the case of video content that offers some degree of value, engagement, or both (even if it’s just 20 seconds of a longer video file), this type of media can be repurposed for something new and digital (i.e. an engaging YouTube video.)

This concept, as well as the rest of ideas presented in this post, require a strong creative muscle, as the possibilities may be limitless depending on what you’re working with. As such, there may be many different purposes and outcomes for the project at hand. To provide context and shed light on some of the possibilities this concept, here are few examples:

• Convert TV commercial footage into a digital video that can be edited to promote specific products or services of the company. YouTube videos can be optimized for keywords, enabling them to rank in Google search. So if the video can focus on a primary product or service category that has merit for SEO, there may massive potential for online advertising.
• Case studies, reviews, and customer testimonials can provide meaningful web-based video content. These types of videos can be embedded on related pages of the business’s website (i.e. a testimonial for a specific service the company offers or a customer review of a particular product). When converting this type of video content to YouTube, it can also have SEO potential, as many users are often searching for “(product/service) reviews” and related keywords on Google.  
• Dated promotional footage or recruiting videos may have served their purpose ten or twenty years ago, but may be humorous to watch today. Not that your audience shouldn’t take your business seriously, but there’s no question that memes and funny videos are “in.” A humorous twist on outdated video content may be an effective way to build brand awareness, or display how far the company has come since the old days.

The application of this concept in digitizing old video footage to YouTube videos and other web-based applications will depend on the type of content you have on hand, and what new forms it can take. Again, exercising your creativity will be paramount in bringing it life in meaningful ways.

For example, this very low budget YouTube video was created from just photos. It probably took a few hours to create and it’s obvious that publisher has put forth some basic SEO techniques by including specific keywords in the YouTube title as well as the video content itself.

In turn, this content in the organic search results for related keywords used in the YouTube video. Despite the actual video being relatively poor in quality, it still serves its purpose by increases the brand’s visibility and ability to earn new customers. And because of the social signals and links stemming from this content, such efforts are also helping increase the trust, authority, and credibility of this junk car company’s website.

Businesses that need help converting old video content to digital can often utilize professional media conversion services offered by specialized companies. We recommend seeking out local providers over big online brands to aid in this effort. A good example is Current Pixel, a small specialized video transfer and film editing company based in Atlanta who helps both businesses and individual consumers with their projects. They specialize in transferring VHS to DVD service, among many other video and film conversion solutions.

Turn Tangible, Text-based Content Into Optimized PDFs

Similar to the previous concept but often less intensive is turning tangible documents, like promotional content or educational pieces, and converting them to digital. There can be substantial advertising and marketing potential in this effort, as digital content like PDFs can have significant SEO value.

For example, Huntsman Corporation has created an in-depth PDF titled “A guide to thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU)”. In turn, this PDF guide ranks just below the Huntsman website for a highly-competitive keyword “thermoplastic polyurethane manufacturing.”

This is just one of countless examples of how tangible, text-based content can be scanned and converted into an effective digital medium. And when properly optimized for specific keywords, this type of content help generate meaningful traffic, increase new customer leads, and help grow the business.

Translate Popular Articles & Blog Content into Videos

One of the most profoundly effective content strategies a brand can take is creating multiple versions of its content. This is common for niche brands that have deep advertising budgets. For instance, a power company that has a dedicated business model in renewable energy credits might create articles, videos, and infographics all centered around its “renewable energy credits.”

But for businesses and brands that don’t have a lot of money and resources to invest in such comprehensive content strategies, prioritization is key. If Google Analytics data is accessible, take a look at some articles or blog post generating the most meaningful traffic (as well as some of the keywords associated with those posts) and explore ways to expand upon these topics through other mediums, namely video content.

Take for instance this Amazon affiliate-fueled review site that produces content on specific plant-based protein powders. For the product review posts that have generated the greatest buzz and search engine rankings, they have created highly-optimized YouTube video reviews to supplement the site’s traffic generating efforts. In the example above, they are featuring the site’s Vega Clean protein review.

In turn, these videos are getting a decent amount a views right out of the gate. But what’s more is these videos serve as rankable assets in themselves, similar to the cash for junk cars video in the first concept presented in this post. Additionally, a relevant video embedded in this blog post will only increase the page’s level of engagement. Improvements in user metrics like average time on site, pages visited, etc. are ranking factors that further help support this site’s SEO efforts.

The key takeaway is that there’s limitless potential to create impactful content. And in some cases, purposeful topics and great strategies can actualized more efficiently by converting existing media and ideas into optimizable digital assets.

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