Content curation involves discovering, selecting, and sharing valuable content from external sources with your audience. It’s an essential part of a content marketing strategy because it helps you provide a steady flow of relevant, engaging material without having to create everything from scratch. By sharing high-quality curated content alongside your own, you can build authority, foster trust, and keep your audience engaged while saving time and resources.
In this guide, we’ll explore the best practices for curating content effectively, how to choose the right sources, and tips for integrating curated content into your overall marketing strategy.
Why Content Curation is Important
Content curation offers several benefits that make it a valuable component of your marketing strategy:
1. Provides Value to Your Audience
By curating content, you can offer your audience valuable insights, information, and trends from trusted sources in your industry. This helps position your brand as a go-to resource for the latest news and ideas, even when you’re not the original creator of the content. When you consistently share high-quality, relevant content, you build trust with your audience, who will come to rely on you for staying informed.
For example, a digital marketing agency could curate articles on the latest SEO trends, social media updates, or new tools, providing value to followers without having to create original content every time.
2. Saves Time and Resources
Creating high-quality original content takes time, effort, and resources. By curating content from reputable sources, you can maintain a consistent publishing schedule without the need to produce all content in-house. This balance between original and curated content allows you to stay top-of-mind with your audience while managing resources more efficiently.
Curating content also gives your team the time and flexibility to focus on creating high-value original pieces, such as white papers, case studies, or long-form blog posts.
3. Demonstrates Thought Leadership
Curating content from various sources allows you to demonstrate thought leadership by selecting and sharing only the most relevant and high-quality material. By adding commentary or context around the curated content, you show your audience that you are knowledgeable about the industry and capable of identifying important trends or insights. This positions your brand as a trusted authority and helps build credibility within your niche.
For example, by sharing a well-researched report on the future of AI and offering your own insights, you showcase your expertise while adding value to the original content.
4. Enhances Engagement and Reach
When you share curated content from reputable sources, it can increase engagement with your audience and broaden your reach. Curating content from influencers or other industry leaders can encourage them to share your posts, exposing your brand to a larger audience. Additionally, curated content is often more likely to be shared by your followers if it’s valuable and relevant, increasing your visibility across platforms.
For example, an article about a major industry update could get shared by your followers, sparking conversations and engagement on social media.
Step 1: Choose the Right Sources for Content Curation
The quality of your curated content depends on the sources you select. Not all content is created equal, so it’s important to identify trustworthy, reputable sources that consistently publish high-quality material. Here’s how to find the best content sources:
1. Follow Industry Leaders and Influencers
Keep track of industry leaders, influencers, and experts who regularly share valuable insights, news, or research related to your niche. Their content often sets the tone for industry trends and provides thought-provoking perspectives that can add value to your curated content.
For example, if you’re in the digital marketing industry, following key figures like Neil Patel or Rand Fishkin can provide a steady stream of high-quality articles, videos, and podcasts that are worth sharing with your audience.
2. Use Content Discovery Tools
There are various content discovery tools that can help you find and curate the best articles, blog posts, and news from across the web. These tools aggregate content from various sources based on specific keywords or topics, making it easier to identify relevant material to share.
Popular tools include:
- Feedly: Aggregates content from websites, blogs, and publications you follow, making it easy to track updates in one place.
- BuzzSumo: Helps you discover trending content and see which articles are getting the most social media shares.
- Flipboard: Curates content from various online publications based on the topics you choose.
- Pocket: Lets you save and organize content you find valuable, making it easy to revisit later.
By using these tools, you can stay up-to-date with the latest industry developments and quickly find high-quality content to share with your audience.
3. Follow Trusted News Sites and Blogs
Identify and follow trusted news sites, blogs, and publications within your industry. These could include trade publications, industry associations, or niche blogs that provide deep insights into specific areas of interest. Having a list of go-to sources will streamline your content curation process and ensure you’re consistently sharing content that is both relevant and credible.
For example, if you’re in the tech industry, publications like TechCrunch, Wired, or The Verge may be useful sources for curating the latest tech news and innovations.
Step 2: Add Value to Curated Content
When sharing curated content, it’s important to add your own perspective or context to the material. Simply reposting someone else’s work without commentary may not engage your audience or demonstrate your expertise. Here’s how to add value:
1. Provide Commentary or Analysis
When sharing curated content, include your own commentary or analysis that explains why the content is relevant and how it impacts your audience. This can be as simple as a sentence or two highlighting the key takeaways or adding a unique insight.
For example, when sharing an article about changes to Google’s search algorithm, you could include commentary on how these changes might affect SEO strategies for your audience.
2. Summarize Key Points
Busy readers may not have time to read every article or watch every video you curate. By providing a summary of the key points, you help your audience understand the most important takeaways, even if they don’t engage with the full piece.
For instance, when curating a long research report, you could summarize the most impactful statistics or findings and explain why they matter to your audience.
3. Offer Additional Resources
To further enrich the curated content, consider offering additional resources or links that expand on the topic. For example, if you’re curating an article about social media marketing trends, you might include links to your own blog posts or guides that dive deeper into specific strategies mentioned in the article.
This approach keeps your audience engaged with your content and positions your brand as a helpful resource.
Step 3: Create a Content Curation Strategy
Content curation should be a strategic part of your overall content marketing plan. Here are steps to develop a curation strategy that integrates seamlessly with your original content:
1. Maintain a Balance Between Curated and Original Content
While content curation is a time-saving tool, it’s important to strike a balance between curated content and your original content. Original content (such as blog posts, videos, and white papers) is essential for showcasing your unique expertise and thought leadership. Aim for a balance where curated content complements your original material rather than overwhelming it.
For example, you might share curated content a few times a week alongside your own blog posts or articles.
2. Schedule Content Regularly
Consistency is key to effective content curation. Use a content calendar to plan and schedule your curated posts, ensuring you maintain a steady flow of content throughout the week or month. Scheduling tools like Hootsuite or Buffer can help you automate the process, allowing you to focus on finding and sharing valuable content without disrupting your workflow.
For instance, you could schedule curated articles to be shared on social media three times a week, interspersed with your original blog posts and updates.
3. Monitor Engagement and Performance
Track the performance of your curated content to understand what resonates most with your audience. Use social media analytics and website metrics to monitor engagement levels, such as likes, shares, comments, and click-through rates. This data will help you refine your content curation strategy over time, focusing on the types of content that generate the most interest and interaction.
For example, if articles on industry trends perform better than how-to guides, you can adjust your curation focus to deliver more trend-based content.
Conclusion
Content curation is a powerful way to provide value to your audience, save time, and position your brand as an industry thought leader. By selecting high-quality sources, adding your own insights, and maintaining a balance with original content, you can build a content strategy that keeps your audience engaged and informed.
