How to Use Curated Content the Right Way

How to Use Curated Content the Right Way

Any good content marketing strategy includes the creation of quality original content. However, you don’t need to generate 100% of the content you share with your audience. Content curation, the gathering of information relevant to a particular topic, is a great way to supplement your original work. When you curate appropriate content, you share consistent information with your audience and your niche.

Why Content Curation?

There are several reasons we recommend curation as part of your broader content marketing strategy. First, you may not have the resources to create all the content you would like to share. Content creation is time-consuming and can be expensive. Your audience wants consistent, relevant content. There already exists a lot of great content on a slew of topics. While content creation is a worthwhile investment, curation can be a great complement.

Second, you want to reinforce your messages using those of thought leaders and experts in your niche. You gain credibility if someone else is writing about your point of view. Choose curated content from those respected in your field who have delivered quality content.

You will also show thought leadership when you invest in content curation. While you build a better relationship with your audience you also, more importantly, become their trusted source for curated news. In one study, a primary goal of 85% of marketers who curated content was to establish thought leadership.

Creation vs. Curation

Your content strategy should not be 100% curation. Rather, you will want a balance between curation and creation based on your resources, abilities, and goals.

Often, creating your own content is more valuable. At the same time, it is costly and time-consuming. Larger organizations may require layers of approval before sharing content. In such cases, curated content may be easier to use. Even so, original content is important, even if it’s only one or two blog posts per month. All content marketing strategies should include some percentage of original content. When you share exclusively curated content, your audience may disconnect and look for other sources.

Before You Share

While content curation is a viable strategy, a common pitfall is to share everything without first determining how it might reflect on your brand. Here are a few questions to ask before you share a piece of content.

• Is it well-written content?
• Is the source credible?
• Does it match your view on the topic?
• Is the topic of value to your audience?
• Is the source a competitor in any way?
• Is the source identifiable and attributable?

Best Places to Share

Marketing professionals typically share curated content on email and social media. Email works well because it is a tool used to stay in touch with your audience and build trust. This is especially true in the business-to-business (B2B) world. Many brands create monthly newsletters as effective, economically sound email marketing tools. Original content is also important in email marketing.

Content curation really takes off on social media. Sharing others’ perspectives works well on social channels where things are fast paced and in bite-sized chunks. Starting a conversation is key in social content curation where you can like, favorite, retweet or comment to connect with your audience. You can boost your customers’ posts and pictures, answer questions, and allow their content to drive yours. Avoid posting links with only article titles. Put a little extra thought into your social media content curation strategy and it will work for you.

There is great content out there, many of it consistent, relevant, high-quality and ready for curation. And, when you curate, don’t forget to attribute to the appropriate source. Need help developing your content curation strategy or have other content marketing questions? We are here to help.