How to repurpose content across social platforms
· 4 min read
Creating content from scratch for every platform is how small teams burn out fastest. Copying the same post everywhere means it never quite fits anywhere. The middle ground is repurposing: starting from one source piece and changing the format, framing and copy for each platform.
Repurposing is not copying
A copied post looks natural on one platform and out of place on the others. A landscape video shrinks in a vertical feed, a long caption goes unread on a short-video platform, and a caption packed with hashtags looks cluttered elsewhere. Repurposing keeps the core of the content and changes its shell for each platform.
Start with a rich source
The richer the source, the more pieces you can cut from it. Good sources include:
- An explainer video a few minutes long, or a live stream recording
- A blog post or an FAQ page
- A product shoot: photos from several angles and short video clips
- An event or a shoot day: behind-the-scenes footage
Five outputs from one source
- Instagram Reels: the strongest 15 to 30 seconds, with a question or the result in the first second.
- TikTok: the same clip, with more conversational copy and an opening that fits what's trending on the platform.
- YouTube Shorts: a searchable title and a short description.
- Instagram or Facebook carousel: the main ideas from the video, one message per card.
- Pinterest Pin: the most striking frame, a keyword-rich title and a link back to the source.
Mind formats and aspect ratios
Platforms display content of different shapes in different ways. The ratios below are the ones in common use; platforms update their recommendations from time to time, so check the current guidance before a big campaign.
In vertical video, keep the important elements in the middle of the frame. The platform's interface covers the bottom and right edges with the caption, username and buttons. Text placed at the very bottom may not be readable.
Rewrite the copy for each platform
- Instagram: make the first line a hook, because the rest sits behind the "more" button.
- TikTok: short and conversational; the video does the talking.
- YouTube: the title and description are how people find you in search, so use the words they'd search for.
- Facebook: a question that starts a conversation keeps it going in the comments.
- Pinterest: the Pin title and description should be searchable; make it clear where the link goes.
In Fourdeck you can write one shared main text in a post and make platform-specific edits for each target account. The content is managed in one place, but it goes out in each platform's own voice.
What you can publish where in Fourdeck
| Platform | Post types | Platform-specific fields |
|---|---|---|
| Post, Reel, Story, carousel of up to 20 items | People tags placed on the image | |
| Page post, Reel, Story, ten-photo album | A first comment written in advance | |
| TikTok | Video | Cover frame picked from the video |
| YouTube | Shorts | Title, description, category, visibility, custom thumbnail |
| Image, video, five-image carousel Pin | Board and section, title, link to your site |
Media comes from one place too: you can add a design from Canva, files from Google Drive or Dropbox, and free photos from Unsplash straight into the post.
Don't publish everything on the same day
Spread the repurposed pieces over several days. The same video going out at the same hour on every platform feels repetitive to someone who follows you on more than one channel. Spreading the pieces across the week is also the easiest way to get a week of content from a single source.