What’s curation? I re-used something I said that was published previously—another form of content curation. As I’ve done already in this article, you simply include quotes that add perspective to your story. You can create lists in a variety of forms such as a blog post, web page, ebook, infographic, or email. You might get the content you need by sending emails, making calls, or simply finding what you need in blogs and on social media. You can apply this strategy to create roundups, lists, collections, research findings and more. Presenting a Post Presenting a post you like on your blog can be the most—or least—interesting approach to content curation. Interview the original author and add quotes. I’ve used the microsite strategy to create the Content Marketing Roadmap, a page on my site that curates many of my best posts, infographics, webinars, and tools on the topic of content marketing strategy. Put Some Thought Into Your Curated Content Curated content need not be dull, but it often is when marketers desperate for content mindlessly republish the works of others.
“Content curation not only alleviates the pressure of having to
devote valuable time to creating original content, but it also adds
credibility and third party validations to your efforts.”– Jason Miller, LinkedIn, “The Power of Content
Curation” by ScoopIt
How many times have you seen a blog post or book chapter begin
with a quote from a subject matter expert?1 It’s called
content curation.
What’s curation? It’s finding available content and
presenting it in a meaningful way, usually around a theme.
Museums curate art and artifacts. Radio stations curate music and
news. Content marketers curate content created by other people and
publishers: stuff people said, wrote, designed or recorded. It’s
become a staple for marketers because it can help:
- Improve your work.
- Increase publishing velocity and volume.
- Establish and build credibility.
- Generates links.
- Build relationships.
“I’ve seen curation also become an amazingly powerful form of
networking1. Sharing content is reciprocal so when other
authorities reciprocate, you get more links, authority, traffic and
some of the other crown jewels in the search world.”
How about that? I re-used something I said that was published
previously—another form of content curation.
You Can Curate Content in Many Ways
Given all the benefits of content curation, it’s good to know
there a variety of ways to do it. Therein lies the not-so-good
news: A ton of content curation is a complete bore. It’s used
bubble gum. It’s the result of a blog owner or social media
contributor playing the “Get Out of Create New Content Free”
card.
I’ll concede the “you should read this” update has its times and
place. A tweet is a good example. Said tweeter (presumably) read
said content creator’s creation and deemed it share-worthy. Said
tweeter could editorialize for a word or two by adding something
like “Great post,” but there’s no real value-add. Nor is there any
harm done.
As I was researching quotables for this post (a step in the
curation process), I came across this:
“Content curation is very different from content marketing.
Content curation doesn’t include creating new content.”
That’s bull. In my opinion, content curation has to
include creating new content, or it’s noise.6 (highlight
to tweet) Your curated content is only interesting if it has a
point of view—your point of view.
What Kind of Curator Do You Want to Be?
The key to content curation is context. Giving it context makes
it new and potentially interesting. It makes me give a hoot. It
gives curation—and the curator—a reason for being.
No one’s stopping you from being the lazy kind of curator who
continually repeats the refrain, “Look what I found.” In fact,
oodles of companies have created “collect and curate” tools that
encourage this uninspired publishing tactic.
I’d like to be the guy that urges you to reject the approach and
curate with that special something only you have: your
voice.
14 Ways to Curate Like a Champion
The way to curate like a champion is to champion an idea in the
process. Here are a variety of ways to do it:
Quote People in Your Posts
This is my favorite technique of the bunch. As I’ve done
already…
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