Content Curation 101: 7 Best Practices, Helpful Tools & Great Examples. What is content curation? Simply put, content curation is all about finding, gathering and sharing the best and most relevant content the web has to offer on a specific topic that your audience cares about. Why content curation? Remember that content curation is all about finding and sharing the best of the best content that’s out there, so take time to find and document credible, quality sources that you can consistently pull from. You know that time, resources and a little love went into creating all the pieces you’ve curated. The frequency and curated mix that’s right for your brand will depend on your industry, overall marketing strategy and goals, but 2-4 curated social media posts a day and a monthly blog roundup could be a good starting point. Below are some places to publish and share include: Your company blog eBooks Email newsletters Social media channels Contributed articles or blogs to industry sites Niche microsites or hubs dedicated to a specific topic or news category #7 – Utilize curation and distribution tools. Innovatech Labs Big brands and companies aren’t the only ones who can find interesting and relevant content to curate for their unique audiences. Do you curate content?
In today’s digital world, marketers know that creating quality content is key to informing, engaging and inspiring action, as well as building authority and rapport with their audiences. And oftentimes that means creating original pieces and assets that tap into their audience’s interests, address pain points and answer burning questions.
But let’s face it: marketers are busy—and creating quality, original pieces that get results and position your brand as having the best answer is incredibly time intensive.
However, there is one tactic that can come to the rescue: content curation.
What is content curation?
Simply put, content curation is all about finding, gathering and sharing the best and most relevant content the web has to offer on a specific topic that your audience cares about.
Why content curation?
First off, you’re likely already doing it in some capacity. According to Curata, more than 83% of marketers curate and share content from third party sources with their customers or prospects.
Secondly, content curation can add value, quality and credibility to your content marketing efforts and your brand. Curata also reports that over 50% of marketers say content curation has increased their brand visibility, thought leadership, SEO, web traffic and buyer engagement, and 41% of marketers say the number of quality or sales-ready leads increased, too.
Finally, as previously mentioned, content creation allows you to create quality, compelling content in less time. As TopRank Marketing’s CEO Lee Odden wrote in his book Optimize:
“Pure creation is demanding. Pure automation doesn’t engage. Curating content can provide the best of both.”
Whether you’re thinking about adding content curation to your tactical mix or looking for ideas to boost the quality of your curation efforts, below we offer some best practices, tips, tool suggestions and some examples of how brands are doing it.
Content Curation Best Practices, Tips & Tools
#1 – Identify sources you can go back to over and over again.
Remember that content curation is all about finding and sharing the best of the best content that’s out there, so take time to find and document credible, quality sources that you can consistently pull from. This will not only ensure you’re sharing the best stuff, but it’ll also increase your efficiency.
Wondering where to look? Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Google News, Google Search or Google+
- Social media and social sharing sites (Pinterest can be especially useful!)
- Industry news publications and blogs
- Industry specific newsletters you receive via email
- Niche topic blogs that are relevant to your business and audience
- Press release distribution sites such as PRWeb or PRNewswire
- News aggregators
- Competitors (This will allow you to see how they’re doing content curation.)
As another tip, consider conducting your own poll or survey to collect insights that can be rolled into other pieces of content.
#2 – Be relevant.
Stay focused on just a handful of different topics and themes that are relevant to your audience. This will ensure that your curated content resonates and show that your brand or company has is knowledgeable and dialed in on those subjects.
As for the type of…
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