Consistency is key when it comes to managing your social media presence. If you neglect to post regularly, your audience may lose interest in you and your brand. We understand that brainstorming content ideas can be time-consuming, especially if you’re already busy.
But fret not! There’s a proven method that delivers results without demanding all your time and energy: content curation.
Did you know that 60% of marketers make it a priority to create one piece of content every single day?
And get this: a whopping 85% of B2B marketers believe that carefully chosen content plays a crucial role in how well their content marketing performs.
Discover how content curation can elevate your social media game. In this comprehensive guide, we delve into its definition, significance, best practices, and a step-by-step approach.
What Does Curated Content Mean?
Curating content is all about carefully selecting and sharing external information on your platforms. The goal is to provide your audience with content that’s relevant to them, which can boost your brand’s credibility and establish your company as an industry expert. While it might sound simple, there’s actually a lot more to it than meets the eye.
How much content should you curate?
When it comes to curating information, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. It all boils down to understanding your audience and aiming for top-notch quality rather than overwhelming quantity. If we break it down, curated content ideally shouldn’t surpass the 20-30% mark of your overall social media presence.
But why this specific range, you ask?
Well, it all comes down to the concept of “content repurposing.” You see, it’s about striking a balance between sharing curated pieces alongside your original content.
However, relying solely on curated content can undermine the trust your audience has in your brand. It’s all about finding that sweet spot between originality and curated material.
How Content Curation Is Beneficial In Social Media
Content curation on social media can lead to increased conversion and engagement rates. This happens because you’re not starting from scratch but instead, sourcing top-notch external information.
To begin curating content for social media, start by exploring relevant, popular hashtags. This is a great way to find quality material as trending topics naturally attract industry experts, who are keen to jump in and share their insights.
As for the perks, social media demands a constant flow of content to maintain engagement rates, yet producing high-quality content daily isn’t always feasible. Hence, efficient content curation keeps the conversation going and keeps your brand in the spotlight.
What Is the Difference Between Created and Curated Content?
Let’s start by comparing these two types of information to see what makes them different.
Creating original material can be challenging, and finding content worthy of sharing can also be tough. However, you can make your work easier while keeping your content quality high by using tools for researching content (we’ll talk more about these tools in the next sections).
You might have noticed that curated content requires some fact-checking. But here’s a simple guideline: high-quality papers and reports typically provide all the necessary links and citations, making them quick reads.
If the content you’ve come across lacks links, think twice before sharing it, as it might contain outdated or incorrect information.
7 Reasons Why You Should Be Using Curated Content
As per HubSpot, companies spend about 46% of their marketing budget on creating content. Many businesses are now favoring longer video content. In a recent study on different content marketing strategies, almost 45% of customers prefer reliable information when assessing a brand’s credibility. 57% feel that brands need to do more in this area.
Chances are, you come across similar statistics frequently. They’re accurate, but not every company has a sizable in-house team dedicated to generating content that meets all the criteria.
What if you run a small business or operate as a solo entrepreneur? What if you lack the resources, both in terms of finances and time, to invest in video content production, editing eBooks, and producing podcasts?
Creating original, new, and useful content each week can be tough, especially if you have a full-time job. It can also be costly – you’ll have to invest in equipment and professional editing software, and maybe even hire a presentation coach.
But with content curation, you can sidestep all of that. Sharing content from others comes with many advantages.
When you link to experts in your industry, it shows that you respect their knowledge, pay attention to their opinions, and welcome friendly competition. It also shows that you value your audience and aim to provide them with current information and insights.
How To Curate Content Without Drawing Attention Away From Your Brand
Here’s an easy way to curate content in five simple steps:
- Find good articles on social media and blogs.
- Pick the ones that fit your topic.
- Share them on your page.
- Add your thoughts.
- Include a link to the original so your followers can read more.
Re-sharing someone else’s words may seem a bit tricky, especially when you’re new to building your social media presence. To keep your audience engaged while sharing useful info, stick to these simple guidelines.
- Do some thorough research and pick reliable content sources (stay away from direct competitors). Make your own list of experts and companies good at making social media content and blogging, and refer to it when you need fresh content.
- Add carefully chosen articles, papers, research, podcasts, or interviews from different sources. This will help vary your content strategy and prevent putting too much focus on a single competitor.
- Steer clear of repetitive posts. Instead, craft lists, compilations, and detailed narratives from current content, transforming them into valuable assets.
- Incorporate small portions of carefully chosen material to reinforce your unique brand voice. Utilize quotes from experts, statistics, key points, or even Twitter discussions to strengthen your argument.
- Strategize the content you choose in advance. This helps you address any gaps in your plan and distribute selected items more evenly across your social media or blog.
- Talk about initiatives and programs you endorse. Assist your partners in gaining visibility by showcasing their content on your platforms.
- Put a personal touch on the things you gather. Make sure the content you collect mirrors your unique style and brand vibe. Share your thoughts in the comments to keep that personal connection.
- Mention the author, show your thanks for their effort, and encourage them to include links to your materials too. This act of appreciation can lead to more backlinks down the line, as the original authors might see value in your posts too.
10 Curated Content Examples
Twitter is a great tool for understanding how carefully selected content operates and what you should share with your audience. You can see what top figures in your field are sharing with their followers and how their audience reacts.
Here are some suggestions you can use on your website, blog, or any other platform you prefer.
#1. Surprise your audience
Share fascinating information, surprising numbers, or strong ideas with your audience to grab their attention and make them pause while scrolling. You don’t need to be overly formal. Actually, a brief but memorable remark would work better in this situation.
Make sure to add a link to the original source and express your gratitude for their effort. In this situation, using shortened URLs makes it simple to include multiple sources in one tweet.
#2. Inspire your subscribers
Discovering interesting content and sharing it isn’t enough. Don’t just say, “here’s the link.” You need to urge your audience to click on that link and genuinely engage with the content you’ve chosen.
Pictures can be very helpful. You can even include custom graphics to enhance the information you’re sharing, making it more on-brand without overshadowing the main focus.
#3. Give your followers some food for thought
Utilize chosen content to share your opinions on new trends or worldwide events, initiating conversations with your audience. Ensure that you convey your company’s genuine beliefs instead of just following the latest trends – 56% of consumers think many businesses exploit societal issues to appeal to conscious customers and boost sales.
If you wish to comment on any trending topics, verify your sources to make sure you’re not spreading false information or presenting a one-sided perspective. Sharing someone else’s content, even on behalf of your brand, could damage your reputation.
#4. Make it personal
When putting together content, make sure to clarify why you decided to share this particular item and how it could help your audience. To have a more connected chat with your followers, mention your past or upcoming writings.
Even if the curated content isn’t directly tied to your business, you can link it to your own blog posts or email newsletters. This will also guide new subscribers to discover your social media profiles and other business-related resources.
#5. Tie curated content to your own product
Explore content curation to showcase how your clients can get the most out of what you offer. Reading about others’ experiences with your product or service will help potential buyers make well-informed decisions.
This type of content also acts as social proof by illustrating how other experts or influential figures successfully engage with you or your company to reach their goals.
#6. Collaborate
You can share content from the brands or influencers you’re partnering with. This boosts your reputation, showing your audience that your company is impactful and trustworthy.
It’s a great way to showcase others’ content without overshadowing your own. Team-ups enhance your brand image and bring in new customers.
#7. Share customer success stories
Crafting engaging content can also feature content created by your users. This user-generated content (UGC) can showcase your products or services, spotlighting your company in a positive light. Sharing stories of satisfied customers can motivate others, boosting their loyalty and drawing them into your brand.
When presenting a more extended piece, accompany it with a short summary. Describe what it entails and explain why your audience should take the time to read it.
#8. Share content from like-minded creators
Utilize content curation to show that your brand backs creativity and is eager to form new partnerships and connections with creators who align with its values. This personalized content can also help your audience discover emerging talents and names in the industry.
If you’ve got a big following on social media, encourage your followers to share their work and get showcased on your channels. In this way, you won’t have to sift through your own content—it’s a win-win situation.
#9. Share expert advice
At times, you might not feel fully ready to offer expert advice to your followers. However, that doesn’t mean you should stick to generic content. Share useful articles crafted by experienced professionals, doctors, and practitioners to boost confidence in your brand.
This is a smart way to show your expertise without stepping on anyone else’s toes. Customized content like this is particularly crucial for skincare, supplement, and cosmetics brands that typically can’t discuss things from a scientific viewpoint.
#10. Be Playful
Pause the seriousness for a bit and share fun info linked to your brand. For instance, a fruity snack company humorously notes that one of Harry Styles’ songs is inspired by grape juice.
Amusingly handpicked content brings a breath of fresh air to your posts, boosting your brand’s relatability, genuineness, and friendliness. Essentially, it’s the secret sauce to staying authentic.
How To Curate Content Using Social Listening and Content Research Tools
Creating content doesn’t happen in isolation; first, analyze your competitors to find out what’s currently popular and identify the channels your target audience prefers. Content curation involves a similar investigation, although it’s not as in-depth. The positive news is that you can streamline your content discovery process effortlessly and concentrate on the most interesting part – selecting valuable pieces and incorporating them into your content plan.
Here’s how to get it done:
- Set up Google Alerts to keep tabs on key terms, brand names, industry news, competitors, and more.
- Utilize social listening tools like Mention, Awario, or Brand24 to get alerts whenever someone shares new content that you’d like to link to.
- Keep an eye on Twitter trends to grasp what’s on people’s minds and figure out the type of content you should share to meet your audience’s needs.
- Check out Google Trends to see what searches are currently popular locally and globally.
Why Should You Use Content Curation?
Time and Cost Saving
As per a survey by Content Marketing Institute, 49% of business-to-business (B2B) marketers feel that content creation hampers their content marketing endeavors.
Creating new pieces involves various steps, including research, writing, posting, and engagement. 55% of marketers with their own content development team incur significant expenses.
However, sharing articles and media is swift and uncomplicated. Moreover, you can maintain the pace of content creation required while staying visible to your audience without much cost. You can also leverage curated content for newsletters and emails.
Networking
Partnership marketing has proven to be beneficial for many businesses in recent years. It not only helps expand a company’s reach but also increases revenue without taking on extra risk. In 2024, more organizations will tap into leveraging others’ content, whether through commission-based channels or B2B partnerships.
Content curation is a great way to incorporate outbound links that can enhance your search engine optimization (SEO).
It presents an opportunity to catch the attention of brands you’re looking to connect with, especially if you attribute one of their posts that you’ve recently shared. While you shouldn’t expect a reciprocal link, this can initiate a conversation that may lead to a valuable relationship.
Authority Building
The focus of marketing has shifted towards meeting the needs of the audience, moving away from solely promoting brand identity and product quality. Many brands now aim to become thought leaders or reliable sources of information within their niche. This shift is crucial as it also boosts SEO rankings significantly, often leading to a first-page placement on search engines.
Sharing industry insights through curated content helps demonstrate your business’s credibility as a trusted source of valuable information. It signals to your audience that you understand their concerns and interests, enhancing your reputation within your industry. This role is particularly important now, given the competitive nature of the content market.
Now that you understand the benefits of content curation for your brand, here are some tips to help you effectively and efficiently implement it.
Final Thoughts
The main idea of this article is to show that making great content in large amounts doesn’t have to be difficult or hard. If you’d rather not spend a lot of time looking for information, think about using GREAT Guest Posts to save time.
Here’s how it goes: You get in touch with us, and we look into keywords and topics related to your industry. After that, we link you up with a skilled blog writer who will create and organize the whole piece for you. We offer unlimited revisions and a 100% satisfaction guarantee to make sure you always get top-notch content for your blog.
Author: Jugnu Nagar
SEO Specialist
