Content curation is everywhere in the age of social media. Let’s say we come across something we enjoy on a blog, website, or social networking platform. Consider seeing a post on a well-known brand’s social media platform that was originally written by someone else. What do you think happens in that situation? It ultimately comes down to the curation of content.
Discovering pieces of information that might be interesting for your readers is a skill. It may range from a wide variety of sources, be it Twitter or Instagram or Facebook and even blog posts. The art of actively presenting these third party content through your social media platforms is what content curation is all about. But wait, is content curation strategy legal? Of course, it is, as long as you give due credit to the author or creator of the original content.
In this blog, we will dive into the world of a Smart Content Curation Strategy. There are lots of content curation tools that will strengthen your strategy of curating valuable content. We have covered those in this blog as well. Read on to find out more.
Table of Contents
WHAT IS CONTENT CURATION?
The technique of identifying, compiling, and publishing digital media that engulfs a given topic matter is known as Content Curation. Numerous businesses, especially those having strong digital visibility are turning to Content Curation as a marketing strategy. Digital marketing has been a need of the hour.
• Read our blog on “10 Helpful Tips for Digital Marketing in 2021“.
Apart from content marketing, content curation does not entail creating original material. Rather, it involves collecting content from a range of sources and providing it in a consistent manner. A content curator, for example, is not necessarily responsible for building content. But rather, he or she is responsible for locating relevant content related to a given subject. After that, his or her job is to present it to the target audience in a blended style. This is the ultimate Content Curation meaning.
TYPES OF CONTENT CURATION
Now that we have understood content curation meaning, we can move on to the types of content curation. Curated content is developed by someone who has the reputation of being a trustworthy source of information. Take for example news reports, journals, blog posts, industry updates, etc.
With the following Types of Content Curation, you will easily win the game of Smart Content Curation.
LATEST TRENDS, NEWS OR UPDATES
Whenever we hear the word ‘latest trend’ or ‘latest news,’ our curiosity builds up. We become eager to know what’s new. This is human nature. It requires people to get involved, stay on top of everything that is new and move faster into the future. Words like ‘latest’ accelerate that need.
Curate content from industry experts or trendsetters which provide value in the present. Furthermore, it is a matter of sharing with your Social Media Marketing Strategy the latest information on your niche. This is really beneficial for your social media followers.
• Read our blog on “13 Useful Social Media Marketing Tips“.
ACTIONABLE CONTENT
People search for content that they can act upon easily, like guides or instruction manuals. This is because it can help them navigate a hurdle, learn a new ability or find something unknown before. When you curate actionable content, your readers will admire you. You will be able to improve their lives by solving their immediate problems with that information. Finding actionable information is not challenging if you put forward the effort and talent in the Content Curation Procedure.
EXPERT PERSPECTIVES
Opinions put forward by experts in their respective fields are probably the best types of content curation. Once it comes to meaningful learning, nothing can ever beat firsthand experience. Years of work dedicated to a business where the whole lesson learnt comes at the cost of a setback shape expert perspectives.
Many professionals give their thoughts and basic knowledge of the sector, but few openly discuss their missteps and how they survived them. You will gain a loyal customer base from your social network if you find unusual and helpful interviews, blog articles, podcasts, or videos.
CASE STUDIES
While instructing your audience on how to perform anything, it is best to use an example to demonstrate your argument. The only difference between a simple example and a case study is the number of people involved. Case studies work like magic in smart content curation procedures.
With examples, you can show individuals what you are attempting to explain, with an analogy. However, with case studies, you are effectively showing that it actually does work. A case study could be put together, but it would require a lot of time and effort. Instead, you may find curated case study content and share relevant theories with your target audience.
CONTENT CURATION TOOLS
Like SEO Tools there are various content curation tools that helps in providing efficient content to readers. While you are figuring out a content curation procedure, here are some tools that will help you stay on your path. Content Curation Tools are easy solutions that help you find valuable content and share it. Excellent content conservation tools enable you to find content based on their subjects or the impact of content shared.
• Read our blog on “Best SEO Tools to Optimize Content in 2021“.
TWITTER LISTS
We all follow certain people on Twitter for a variety of purposes. Simply scanning through the Twitter feed may reveal something of value to you. Something, that you might choose to communicate with your followers. Twitter Lists, on the other hand, makes this job easier for you. Twitter Lists can assist you in finding shareable information with purpose.
Make a list of members who know quality content that is useful to your audience, and go through it whenever you are browsing for material to curate. You may even make many lists for various categories of information so that you consistently have alternatives.
ELINK.IO
Smart content curation requires gathering content from multiple sources and delivering it in an acceptable and contextual manner. Elink.io is the one-stop solution for all types of content curation procedures.
Elink.IO makes content curation easier by allowing anybody to bookmark links anytime and transform them into attractive, user-generated content. These links can then be turned into a web page and embedded on a website or sent as a newsletter. They have over 30 customizable templates to choose from, all of which can be customized to your desire. Elink.IO is one of the greatest tools for quick and appealing curation of content. It has over 80,000 users around the world.
Pocket is one of the best content curation tools available nowadays. It is a great place to start collecting stuff to save and read later. It archives all of your favorite pictures, articles, and videos in one place for reference. Rather than having a long string of bookmarks or several emails you’ve written yourself with links, use Pocket.
Later, when you are ready to produce some curated articles, you’ll have a ready-to-share library of content that’s available from anywhere. Tags can be used to group articles, and the site’s built-in search tool makes it simple to find them. It also works with over 500 additional apps.
FEEDLY
Feedly should be at the top of your content curation tools list if you’re looking to enhance your game. Feedly has a powerful automated tool named Leo. It is a content aggregator powered by artificial intelligence. First, you can upload a handful of your favorite sources to Feedly. You can simply collect and explore these articles in one location from your laptop and smartphone.
This tool is most useful for categorizing the stuff you’re looking for. Leo is used by Feedly to detect the stuff you value the most and to cut out the material you dislike.
UPCONTENT
UpContent explores the internet in real-time to locate the most relevant material for your core demographic. The information that its gathers can then be filtered depending on variables such as significance and visibility.
UpContent also allows users to make remarks on content before sharing it, making it a viable option for collaborative curation of content. Machine learning technologies support content suggestions in UpContent. There are also business processes for approving articles to ensure they adhered to brand criteria. UpContent also supports web hosting services, social networking scheduling, and email marketing system.
Flipboard is a smartphone and web programmer which lets you make mini magazines out of your favorite news headlines, blog entries, and web pages. Once you have finished producing these journals, you can make them available to the readers so that people may follow your material and share it on social media.
And do you want to know something else that is amazing? You can also link directly within your own blog posts and articles in your publication. This will allow viewers to discover further about your company.
Everything you have to do to get started with Flipboard is acquiring the app and setting up an account. You may also browse other users’ publications and share their articles in your “mini-publication” or journal with a single click.
BENEFITS OF A SMART CONTENT CURATION STRATEGY
While curating content is somewhat simple, adopting a Smart Content Curation Strategy isn’t that easy. Following a proper procedure while curating content is a must. It is a wonderful start to your content marketing and social media marketing strategies.
Here are some of the advantages of having a smart process to curate content in 2021:
- You will always have something exciting and valuable to post on social media at all times.
- You will be able to convey time-sensitive information to the target audience.
- Smart content curation will help you establish yourself as an expert in your niche and the go-to person for business knowledge.
- Curating content will help form strong ties with influencers and other businesses in your industry.
- Helps in building traffic organically for the website and blogs.
- Generates brand awareness and credibility. Go through our blog on “6 Best Ways to Build a Brand” for more useful information.
- Content curation helps the build social media presence
Regardless of whether your goal is to establish a community or publish blog posts quickly, curate content that you believe in. Strengthen your self-image or promote your brand, curation of content is the answer to all your problems. Write blog posts quickly and feature other writers on your website. You can even commercialize your skills in curating excellent content. Curation of content can be a very effective addition to your content marketing plan.
HOW TO BUILD A SUCCESSFUL CONTENT CURATION STRATEGY?
The role of a content curator is to pick only the finest items to promote among your audience. This job is similar to that of a museum curator, who chooses the most important items and masterpieces to showcase.
The content curation procedure is pretty straightforward. In reality, every retweet on Twitter or share on Facebook can be taken as an example of curated content. These are very basic forms of curating content. However, if you want to take full advantage of curated content, you will need to ramp it up a level. In the paragraphs below, you will find a complete guide to Content Curation Strategy. This will make your life easier.
IDENTIFY YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE
Be aware of your target market. The first approach in creating a successful Content Marketing Strategy is to do an extensive market analysis. Build a buyer persona keeping in mind the intricate details like age, gender, geographic location, etc. This is the very first element in curating effective material. You must know who you’re addressing in order to deliver relevant content.
ADD YOUR PERSONAL OPINION ON THE CURATED CONTENT
People are interested in your opinion, thus they follow you. Simply retweeting a post on Twitter does not have much effect. Don’t reshare a Facebook post without leaving an opinion – that is how it will be more useful to your followers. They’re curious about your thoughts on the resource you provided. This individualised context cultivates a bond between curator and reader that mere link collectors do not.
USE TOOLS TO CURATE VALUABLE CONTENT
While curating content is not an easy task, it is manageable with the help of certain valuable tools. Some of the best tools to find and curate relevant content are listed below.
- Scoop.it
- Feedly
- Curata
- PublishThis
- Newsletters
- SocialPilot
- Sniply
- UpContent
GIVE DUE CREDIT TO THE AUTHOR OR CREATOR
This is a thumb rule of curating content – the original source should always be linked and tagged. Keep in mind that curation of content is all about distribution. This is not a case of theft. Copying content and passing it off as your own is not the same as curating it. It isn’t plagiarized. Neither of those things should be done. Otherwise, it is unethical and unlawful.
Anytime you share other people’s content, remember to provide a link to the original publisher and their social media handles. Ask permission before resharing their content, if possible.
FACT CHECK BEFORE RESHARING CURATED CONTENT
Not everything we see online should be believed as the ultimate truth. No matter how reliable the source is, or how reputable an organisation is, always perform a fact check. Make sure you grasp the information before sharing it with your audience. Check to see if it’s true, otherwise, you might fall into controversial situations. Also, be sure the account you’re curating the content from is from a reputable source.
WRAPPING UP
Just like any other piece of content you create, curated content must be evaluated. This allows you to see how it’s doing. Simply said, you must keep an eye on how well your community responds to the content you share and adjust your efforts as necessary.
Curating content gives variation to your content mix while also meeting the content appetite of your target audience. With everything we’ve discussed in this blog, you’ll be able to gather and publish great content that your audience will appreciate. Last but not least, make certain that your content curation efforts are well-organised and useful.