Repurpose Your Panel Discussion Content

Just because your panel discussion is over doesn’t mean you can’t continue the conversation! Events and media consultant Julius Solaris reminded me how important it is to repurpose your panel discussion content.

Solaris says, “By strategically repurposing your content, you can maximize its potential and extend its reach, making your [panel] investment pay for you.”

He uses a simple step-by-step framework with his clients to achieve this and I adapted and added to it for panels. (You can see his original work here).

Step 1: Record the Panel Discussion

Create a clean audio and/or video recording of the panel discussion. Audio is super important, so if you can plug into the A/V soundboard, that’s perfect. If using a house sound system, place your audio recorder by one of the speakers. Or just hit the record button on your computer for virtual panels!

Don’t forget to take pictures of the entire panel all in one shot, the panel moderator, each panelist speaking, panelists conversing with each other, audience members listening with rapt attention, and panelists chatting with the audience members after the panel is over.

Step 2: Create a “Clean” File

Clean up your original video or audio file by removing housekeeping notes, gaps, filler words, and any other extraneous stuff. Create “chapters” for each segment of the panel. If Q&As cannot be heard, redub the audio and/or write the question onscreen, depending on your file format. This will become your source file for all your repurposed content!

Step 3: Transcribe Your Panel Discussion

Convert your clean video or audio file into text. Make sure your transcription notes when different people are speaking. Solaris emphasizes that “this allows you to have a comprehensive record of your content, making it easier to repurpose.”

Step 4: Identify Panel Discussion Highlights

Identify key messages and highlights from the transcript. Some might jump out at you, or you can ask the panel moderator and panelists about their key points. Look at what the audience was commenting about during the panel on social media or in the chat box. Solaris suggests you ask ChatGPT to find the highlights! (Love that idea – and it works fairly well!)

Step 5: Create Short Content

Create a short video or audio (30 seconds max!) for each highlight. Keep the word count at 150 words max per highlight and create a thumbnail that reinforces the point. Post on social networks such as Facebook Reels, YouTube Shorts, LinkedIn, TikTok, Instagram Reels, or your podcast.

Step 6: Create Long Content

Solaris recommends you write a long-form content blog post of 3,000 words or more with an index for easy navigation. You can also run this as an article in the organization’s newsletter.

Streamline the clean audio and/or video file with chapter editing at each segment of the panel discussion or when topics shift. Use lower-third text boxes to introduce panelists or reinforce the question being asked by the moderator or the audience.

If the panel discussion had a slide presentation embedded into it (typically during the panelist’s initial remarks), ask the panelists for the slide presentation and permission to embed the content into the video (Don’t forget to make sure they hold the copyright and/or permission to use the graphics and content – you may be able to use some of these slides to inspire your thumbnails in Step 5).

If you only have an audio file, create a video file using slides with pictures of the panelists, the topics, and the questions to re-create the panel in a visual way.

Now that you have fully produced audio and/or video, you can make it available on demand as a podcast or YouTube, put it behind the organization’s firewall, or charge a fee to access this AWESOME information.

Step 7: Create A Highlight Reel

Now that you have a full production audio/visual file, create a 5-minute “highlight reel” to post on YouTube and other social media channels.

A big shout out to Julius Solaris for inspiring me to think about how to repurpose the content from a panel discussion!

Related Articles

How to Structure a Panel Discussion

10 Actions Moderators Can Do After the Panel Discussion

Consider Sending a Thank you Letter After the Panel Discussion

For more information about how to moderate a lively & informative leadership panel discussion, check out our free 7-part video series on how to moderate a panel and other resources to help you organize, moderate, or be a panel member.