There are a number of content curation strategies that you can use to provide the best content for your audience. If you are looking to up your curation game, we are going to reveal some insane strategies that will help you get ahead of the competition.
Let’s start with the basics.
Why Do You Need Content Curation Strategies?
Content curation is no doubt a crucial aspect of any content marketing strategy. If you can’t produce original content, you can take advantage of curation tools to ensure your readers have a consistent stream of information to consume.
However, while content curation might seem straightforward, it is more than just looking for good content to publish on your site. You need a roadmap to guide you in the right direction and ensure that at the of the day, you’re doing constructive work.
Why is a roadmap important?
- It helps you set clear goals: The most important thing about a content curation strategy is that it helps you set clear goals. These goals will help you define your marketing priorities and ensure that all your efforts yield tangible results.
- It helps you track progress: A content curation strategy will also help you identify metrics that you can use to measure and track your progress. This way, you know whether what you are doing is working or if you should change tactics.
- It helps you reduce costs: Without a clear content curation strategy, it is easy to spend money on things that won’t help you achieve your overall goal. A good strategy will help you know where to put your money, what to outsource, what you can do yourself, and what you can achieve without spending money.
Top 10 Content Curation Strategies
Now that we have covered the basics, let’s take a look at some of the top content curation strategies that you can use to engage your audience.
- Have clear goals
- Pick a format that works for you
- Know what your audience wants
- Focus on quality
- Curate from reputable sources
- Leverage trending topics
- Credit the source
- Add your own voice
- Be consistent
- Frequently evaluate content performance
Have Clear Goals
Before you start curating content, it is important to have clear goals in mind. What do you want to achieve with your curated content?
Are you looking to increase website traffic? Grow social media followers? Increase brand awareness?
Once you know what you want to achieve, you can tailor your content curation strategy accordingly.
Pick a Format That Works for You
There are a number of ways to curate content. The best format will depend on your business, platform, the tools you are using, and your audience. Some common formats include:
- News aggregation where you use an aggregator such as WP RSS aggregator to automatically fetch relevant content and import feeds into your WordPress website.
- Crowdsourced aggregation where users submit content on a variety of topics.
- Social media curation where you share content on or from social media.
- Blog roundup posts where you compile a list of blog posts on a specific topic.
- Newsletter curation where you include a roundup of articles, videos, and other content in your newsletter.
Once you have picked a format, it is important to stick with it so that your audience knows what to expect from you.
Know What Your Audience Wants
It is important to know what your audience wants so that you know what to focus on. What type of content are they interested in? What topics do they want to learn more about? What type of content does your audience share and comment on the most?
There are several ways you can discover what interests your audience:
- Survey your audience.
- Use social media analytics.
- Review your website traffic data.
- Poll your followers on social media.
- Install Google Analytics on your curation website.
You can then use this information to help you curate content that is relevant and interesting to your audience.
Focus on Quality
When curating content, it is important to focus on quality over quantity. This means that you should only include the best content on your site or social media profiles.
By curating high-quality content, you can improve the overall experience for your audience and help to build your brand’s reputation.
In a nutshell, high-quality content is:
- Relevant to your audience.
- Well-written.
- Accurate.
- Engaging.
- Easy to read and understand.
Curate From Reputable Sources
Using credible sources is very vital to your content curation efforts. Not only will it make you look more professional, but it will also help to ensure that your audience is getting the best information possible.
To find credible sources, you can:
- Look for sources that have been published in reputable publications.
- Check the author’s biography to see if they are a credible source.
- Read the comments to see if other people are questioning the author’s credibility.
- Evaluate sources independently to make sure they are trustworthy.
Leverage Trending Topics
One of the best ways to generate content that is both interesting and relevant to your audience is to tap into trending topics. By doing a little research, you can identify hot topics that are generating a lot of buzz online and then curate content around them.
This approach can help you to capture the attention of your audience and also boost traffic to your website or blog. Additionally, by aligning your content with trending topics, you can help to increase your brand’s visibility online.
There are several tools you can use to find trending topics. Here are some good examples:
- Buzzsumo allows you to see the most popular content across all social media platforms.
- Google Trends lets you track the relative popularity of key search terms over time.
- Twitter’s trending topics list provides a real-time look at what people are talking about online.
Add Your Own Voice
While content curation means you don’t have to be original, that doesn’t mean you can’t add your own voice. In fact, adding your own insights, observations and interpretations can make your curated content even more valuable to your audience.
When you’re curating content, think about the different ways you can add your own voice. You might write a brief introduction or commentary to introduce each piece of content. Or, you could include your own thoughts and reactions in social media posts that link to your curated content.
Whatever approach you take, make sure that your voice is authentic and consistent with your brand. Don’t try to be someone you’re not – just be yourself, and let your personality shine through.
Be Consistent
If you’re going to post a curated article on your blog or social media profile, you should do so consistently. This means that you should publish on a regular basis to keep your audience engaged.
Consistency also means that you should stick to one style. Don’t curate news articles today then switch to products or cat pictures.
Being consistent helps keep your brand identity strong, and it also makes it easier for your audience to understand what you’re all about.
Credit the Source
Crediting the source will show your audience that you are not just duplicating and pasting information from someone else. It will also help them find more quality content.
You can credit the source in a number of ways, such as:
- Including a link to the original source in your post.
- Adding the author’s name and a link to their website or social media profile.
- Mentioning the author on social media.
- Tweeting a quote from the article with a link to the article.
- Including an image credit.
Frequently Evaluate Content Performance
It is important to constantly evaluate the performance of your curated content. This will help you to determine which content is resonating most with your audience and therefore, which content you should continue including in your curation.
There are several ways you can evaluate content performance. The most effective ones include:
- Analyzing the amount of traffic or engagement the content receives.
- Looking at how long people are spending on your website or social media profiles.
- Checking whether people are sharing or commenting on the content.
- Comparing the performance of curated content against the original content.
- Analyzing how people interact with your email newsletters.
If you find that a certain type of content is not performing well, you can consider removing it or making it better.
What Are Some Good Examples of Content Curation Websites?
To implement the best content curation strategies, it might help to check out some websites that are getting it right. They include:
- Flipboard – This app and website allows you to create personalized magazines from content from around the web.
- Storify – This platform lets you create stories using social media posts, articles, and videos.
- Pearltrees – This tool helps you organize and share your favorite content from the web.
- Scoop.it – This website allows you to create custom magazines on a variety of topics.
- Feedly – This RSS reader allows you to collect and organize articles from your favorite websites.
These are just a few examples – there are many other great content curation websites out there. Check them out and see which ones inspire you the most.
Conclusion
Content curation is an essential part of any content marketing strategy. By using these strategies, you can increase traffic and engagement, while also establishing yourself as a thought leader in your field. Remember to be consistent, credit the source, and frequently evaluate the performance of your content.
