Wikipedia defines content curation as, “The process of collecting, organizing, and displaying information relevant to a particular topic or area of interest.” At 30dps, we define it as, “A great way to augment your copy creation efforts and to show that you are fully engaged with the other experts in your market!"
If you are new to curation, it can feel a little intimidating. Whose content can I use? How often? What kind of material can be curated? Fear not! Here are some tips that will get you started on the road to content curation success.
- Credit where credit is due — Whose content can you use? Anyone’s! Just be sure to give credit to the original author and link back to their website. The more people who view their material, the happier a content creator will be. (A caveat: If the author somehow indicates that even a small sampling of their material is forbidden, you must respect that.)
- Chime in — The purpose of content curation is not to simply regurgitate information from another source. You select a piece for sharing because it is interesting, informative, unique, possibly even controversial. Then, you add to its value by telling your audience why you think the selection is relevant to them.
- Variety is the spice — ...of life, and content curation. New curators often focus on written content, but ANY content can be curated. Videos, audio recordings, infographics. Again, as long as you are properly crediting the author, it’s all fair game.
- Nibble, don’t gobble — Content curation is meant to use small portions of original pieces to help explain a topic that you are sharing your thoughts on or lend weight to an opinion you are expressing. Rarely, if ever, should you use a piece in its entirety.
- Release, review, refine — Just like you should ALWAYS track the performance of your own content, you should also evaluate the effectiveness of your curated content. A marketing automation tool like HubSpot makes this simple! As you start to understand what kinds of curated content from which sources generate the most interest, you should skew your mix in that direction.
- Curate in moderation — Yes, you can have too much of a good thing. If too much of your content is curated, your audience may have a hard time picking out your corporate “voice” among the chorus. Be sure that you are generating a healthy amount of your own original content.
- Howdy partner — A great place to get curated material is from your company’s partners. Passing along their best information has a number of positive effects, including: earning their appreciation and helping your audience understand the business ecosystem that makes you such an excellent provider of products and services!
There is SO much information and there are SO many great points of view on any topic out there on the internet. You’d be crazy not to take advantage of it to add depth and dimension to your content marketing strategy. Plus, as you start tapping into it, you’ll find that you establish great relationships with the other thought leaders in your space.
Want to talk specifics about your content marketing strategy? We’d love to share our experience and our expertise with you!
