10 Ways to Repurpose Bylined Articles

Public relations pros have long used contributed articles to increase awareness and build a following and authority for corporate executives. The most effective articles are those that involve independent research and statistics, and that provide readers with the kind of in-depth information they won’t get from other sources.

In other words, the best contributed articles are a lot of work. So why put all of that work in for a single article, submit it, and stop there?

Think instead about using contributed bylined articles—and the information gathered to write them—as part of an overall content campaign. Repurpose your bylined articles to support your inbound marketing with these 10 ideas.

Follow our proven method for using bylined articles for inbound marketing. Download these two assets to get you started—How to Get Your CEO Published: The Ultimate Guide to Getting Maximum Marketing Mileage from Contributed Articles and Best Practices Case Study: Contributing Bylined Articles.

1. Blog post(s) 

There really isn’t much difference between a bylined article for an industry publication and a blog post, other than possibly shifting the focus to reach a slightly different target market or buyer persona. Rewrite your bylined article and publish it to your business blog, either as a single post, or potentially as a series of posts that go more in-depth into the topic or data.

And, as we have said multiple times (including in this blog post), in order to use your bylined articles and blog to drive inbound lead generation, you need to include a link from the blog post to a related offer that will kick off a lead nurturing workflow.

2. Social media updates

While blog posts crafted by repurposing a bylined article may be longer and more in-depth than the original, social media updates that are pulled from the material will be just the opposite.

Examine your article for statistics and phrases that tell a story in just a few words (or 140 characters). Use these in your social media marketing to link back to the related blog posts or directly to a download such as a whitepaper or case study that relate to the original article and information.

3. Infographics

As with the social media updates, bits of statistical data, or a series of “how-to” steps lend themselves toward the visual representation of infographics, which are popular on social media and in other content uses.

Sometimes, the infographic itself will be the content a media outlet chooses to publish, such the infographics JONES partner West has successfully placed in USA Today.

4. Videos

The same information you gather for a bylined article can be used to create a video. Video contentis the fastest growing content segment online, with 59 percent of executives saying they would rather watch video than read text.

Consider using your contributed article as the basis for a Q&A video with the executive whose byline appeared on the article, and then sharing the video on social media and in your blog.

5. Slideshow or presentation

Another option for presenting the content of your bylined article in a visual manner is to create a slideshow or presentation with the same graphics you used in infographics. It could be hosted online on SlideShare or on your website, and also be used by company executives or sales representatives in presentations for industry events or with prospective customers.

6. Whitepaper

Whitepapers and other reports are standard content for B2B marketers and are an obvious complement to your bylined articles. In some case, it may be the major report that comes first, with the bylined article to follow, as shown in our JONES Success Sample from healthcare consultant Primaris.

7. Email newsletter

Segments of your bylined article could also be shared in email newsletters, linking back to more complete information in blog posts or to related downloadable offers.

8. Webpage copy

In a recent DemandGen survey, 87 percent of B2B buyers and company executives said they want predictive content that addresses industry trends and the future. If your bylined article was written in this vein, you may be able to repurpose it for content on web pages that focus on new developments in your industry.

9. Podcast

While podcasts are not as popular with audiences as videos, they still provide another avenue for using the same information and effort again, in a new format. Downloadable audio can be accessed by your target market for listening at a time when reading or watching a video isn’t convenient, such as during the commute.

10. Worksheets or templates

If the information presented in your bylined article pertains to ways of solving specific problems the audience faces, you may be able to relay your article into a worksheet, template or calculator, which helps fill middle-of-the-funnel content needs.

For example, a bylined article about research into the ideal frequency, length, and formatting of B2B marketing blog posts could be the basis for creation of a blog calendar template that includes recommendations for each of those characteristics.

While repurposing of information can be done after the completion of a bylined article, the best approach is actually to plan out all aspects of a related campaign from the beginning. That is why JONES believes in tackling PR and content marketing as a single strategy. Learn more about our approach to inbound marketing campaign planning and how to use bylined articles as part of those campaigns in the JONES Bylined Articles Solution.