Sustainability has been a hot topic for many years, and if we look beyond the more corporate themes of ESG and the like, I prefer to think of sustainability in its purest form:
What is the most efficient way to sustain [a thing] so as to have the least impact on that which sustains it?
Becoming truly sustainable requires us to be more efficient and effective, where we are consciously taking actions that give us success now without impeding the possibility of success in the future.
If we look at business content through the sustainability lens, there are a number of interesting overlaps. Instead of constantly producing more and more and more content, we need to be on the lookout for opportunities to do more with less.
In this context, ‘sustainable content’ would be content that is:
Efficient to produce – requiring less time and effort.
Effective – is purposeful and serves to inspire, educate, or engage.
Lasting – reaches a reader on a meaningful level now, and into the future.
Upcycling what you already have
What many established businesses don’t realise is they already have a treasure trove of this content at their disposal.
Likely produced over years of thought leadership or marketing campaigns, scores of content pieces can be re-purposed and re-used by upcycling them with clever editing and slight changes in nuance. This can be a highly efficient, effective, and sustainable way to continue forging an online presence and maintaining connections with customers.
Big brands often miss the nostalgic value of this, with once-popular taglines and commercials constantly shelved for modern styles, when reigniting the old could trigger an affection for the brand long lost as the sea of competition grew over the years. (If you’ve never kicked back and watched an hour of 80s commercials on YouTube, I highly recommend it!)
This is not to say old content can just be pumped out without a second thought, or fed into ChatGPT to be rewritten in new – and likely more dull – wording. Today’s readers are more discerning with their time, so especially older and more content-heavy pieces would need the fat trimmed and the engagement level boosted for this strategy to work.
A place for the old and the new
While there will always be a case to develop new content to promote new people, products and ideas, don’t overlook the possibility of reigniting your existing treasure trove to see what it could do for your business.
The opportunities are really endless – from re-shaping a single article, to turning an article series into an eBook, or generating an array of thought-provoking social media posts.
If you don’t have a treasure trove of existing content, consider working with a copywriter (like me, *shameless plug*) who understands how to produce sustainable content. Through it, we can share the unique and timely insights of your subject matter experts, while building a collection of content that keeps giving well into the future.
For more content ideas, or to find out how I can assist with your next content project, please get in touch.