Content is the linchpin of modern marketing, and you need to come up with new content ideas regularly.
It’s even harder when you have to do this regularly. According to various studies, 75% of marketers struggle to find time to create content.
This is where content curation comes in. It’s a clever way to leverage existing content, posts, and other material created by others to provide value to your audience.
Image source: Bit Rebels
This post will cover everything you need to know about content curation and how to leverage it for your business.
Dive in and explore a creative way to build more content while staying creative and fresh.
What is content curation?
Content curation is the process of finding and selecting content that is relevant to your audience and then sharing it in a way that provides value.
However, this doesn’t mean simply sharing any old content you come across. The key to successful content curation is to be strategic about the content you select and share.
It’s also important to be thoughtful about how you share this content. This is where many businesses fail to get the most out of content curation. As you keep reading, you’ll decide to use this useful strategy in your own business with the right content curation tools.
Examples of creative ways to curate content
To get a better picture, let’s look at three clever examples of content curation done right.
1. Book recommendations
Image Source: James Clear
Here’s a simple but effective example of content curation. Author James Clear recommends his favorite and most impactful books to his audience.
This type of content curation is useful because it helps the audience members grow personally – something that Clear’s audience wants to do.
2. Creative decor ideas with Pinterest
Image Source: Rachel Elise Art | Pinterest
You can also curate content using social media platforms like Pinterest. Check out this ‘Board’ for Table Settings created by an artist. It’s a useful and informative source for people to get ideas about table settings for various occasions.
3. Thought leadership content with Scoop.it
Image Source: Scoop.it
Another example is the use of a content curation tool like Scoop.it to establish your business or yourself as a thought leader in an area of knowledge.
By curating the latest news, trends, and your own insights on a web page and distributing it with your network, you can develop into a recognized thought leader. You’ll build a brand for your business or yourself and build an image of authority and trustworthiness.
Why content curation matters
Now that you know what content curation is and you’ve looked at a few examples, you likely realize how important it is to use it as a marketing strategy.
You get several critical benefits that help you grow your business:
- It’s a powerful way to establish your authority and expertise in a niche
- You can create content easily without having to generate it from scratch
- curation can help build relationships with other experts in your field
- When done correctly, it can help you drive traffic back to your website or blog
- Content curation is an excellent way to break down complex topics for your audience
- Engage a community by sharing group news or local events
Now that we know all of this, let’s look at how you can curate content and some of the best tools to use.
How to curate content
It isn’t enough to put blog posts and social media posts together and call it a day. You need to approach content curation as a powerful content marketing strategy that provides value to your audience.
Let’s break down each step you need to take to curate various sources of information to create the best effect.
1. Set a goal for your content curation activities
Before you start curating content, it’s important to set some goals for what you want to achieve.
- Are you looking to establish yourself as an expert in a certain area?
- Do you want to provide valuable information to your audience?
- Are you looking for new ideas to create your own content?
Once you know what you want to get out of curating content, you’ll develop the right format and gather relevant content from around the web.
2. Do research and spot opportunities
It’s also important to do your research on what type of content is out there and what might be missing.
Your research will also clue you in on the topics being talked about the most and any potential gaps in the conversation. Identifying these opportunities ensures that your curations are interesting and help your audience.
There are plenty of tools out there to help you do research. For example, BuzzSumo is one tool that you can use to check what’s trending. Or you can browse forums and social media to see what people are talking about. This information can give you ideas for your own content or help you curate around a particular topic.
3. Generate topic ideas
You should have no trouble generating ideas for topics to curate around if you’ve done your research.
Remember to focus on topics that will be interesting and useful to your audience.
You can generate ideas by looking at what other people in your industry are talking about, what’s trending on social media, or by keeping up with the latest news in your field.
And there are different types of topic ideas that you can focus on. Some topic ideas are evergreen, for example, a list of the best books for starting a new business. And others are trending, like ’15 pop songs for your next Instagram Reel’.
Build a list of topics and a content calendar too. Plan what you’re going to publish and when. This makes it easier to stay on track and produce timely and relevant curations.
4. Be selective with your curations
When curating content, it’s important to be selective and only include the best content. Remember, you aren’t just rehashing easy-to-find material. You need to dig deep while doing your research and go the extra mile to find helpful content.
Doing so ensures that your audience gets value from following you online or staying subscribed to your email list.
5. Use the right format and tools
When you’ve gathered all the best content, it’s time to decide on a format. Using different tools and platforms, you can curate your pick of social media posts, music, images, blog posts, and more.
Your audience’s preferences, your communication platform, and the content itself will determine how you’ll present your curated content.
Here are a few ideas:
- Use Scoop.it to seamlessly collect and distribute blog posts, articles, and other content on a web page
- Leverage free social media platforms like Pinterest, Instagram, and more to present content around a specific topic. You’ll typically use images and videos to build your list of curations.
- Use a social feed plugin to showcase your social media posts right on your website.
- Send newsletters to your community or group, including links to local events, news, and other highlights.
- Create blog posts and ‘link bait’ content, including a statistics post, round-up post, and similar content
There you go, these are different ways you can curate content and distribute them too. Let’s look at what you should do once you’ve developed your curations.
6. Add your own opinion and spin
When curating content, it’s essential to have a unique approach and put your spin on things. This makes your content stand out from the rest and helps you connect with your audience.
Be sure to select the best content to include in your curations. And don’t be afraid to get personal when you build your material. Sharing your personal preferences and why you think your audience should read a specific book or a post are powerful ways to connect with people.
7. Promote your content
Once you’ve finalized your curated content, get the word out!
There are several ways to do this, and the method you choose will depend on your audience and the content itself.
Some tips for promoting your curated content:
- Share it on social media
- Include a link in your email newsletter
- Embed it on your website or blog
- Write a blog post about it
- Cross-promote and link to your curated content on your website, social media, and email newsletters
- Optimize your content for search by using the right keywords and phrases
Making sure that more people see your curated content is important. Encourage your audience to share what you’ve created to drive more traffic to your website and encourage more engagement.
Conclusion
Content curation is one of the most important aspects of content marketing. It allows you to share content from other sources while crediting the original creators. This helps you build relationships with other businesses and site owners and provide valuable content for your readers.
Now that you understand the importance of leveraging content curation check out Scoop.it for the best content curation tool there is.
You can create boards based on specific topics, add blog posts and articles, videos, image content, and more.
You’ll find it easy to share helpful content with your readers. So, get started today and give your content marketing the boost it needs!