By: Maddie Hengst
To create or curate? That is the question. While we all know the importance of creating compelling original content for our websites and social channels, we often overlook the power of collecting and sharing thoughtful content from third-party sources. This practice is called content curation, and it can mean the difference between an average presence and an exceptionally engaging online profile.
If you’re still on the fence, here are three reasons you should consider giving content curation a try:
Credit: Google Creative Commons
1. Build Relationships
Curating content from other sources opens pathways for communication between your brand and journalists, potential clients, influencers and more. Sharing curated content with your audience–be it industry news, blog posts, or even a simple Instagram photo– strengthens your relationship with the material’s source by helping them grow their following. In turn, the original source is more likely to share your content to their base, effectively growing both of your followings. Simply put, think of a content source like a friend, and think about how you maintain friendships:
If your best friend Kate asks you to help her move, you’ll probably say yes because she helped you write an important email or treated you to coffee last week. Now imagine if Robert, who you haven’t spoken to in months, asks the same thing. You would say no, and you would probably like Robert less for even asking. Public Relations experts understand that the same is true for journalists, clients and influencers, so make sure your brand ambassadors are also your friends. You should help them out as much, if not more, than you want them to help you. An easy way to do just that is to share their content on your channels, effectively introducing them to your audience and solidifying that friendship.
Credit: Google Creative Commons
2. Diversify Your Feed
Content curation doesn’t just help you make friends, it is a valuable tool for your online consumer marketing strategy in its own right. While the ultimate goal of any owned media is to drive sales of your product or service, that does not mean every post should be an explicit sales pitch. In fact, that would get pretty redundant after a while. Content curation helps spice up your feed and break up any repetitive information. By sharing curated content, you are not only cultivating stronger relationships with your brand ambassadors, but also diversifying your online presence with information the consumer wants. When content curation is done well, a customer visiting your website or social media profile should be treated to a comprehensive catalogue of your brand lifestyle, thus incentivizing them to check back in again and maybe even give your page a follow. Whole Foods, for example, is one brand that does this extremely well. Of their last six Instagram photos, only one was created, the other five had been sourced from various health food bloggers and Instagram influencers.
Credit: Google Creative Commons
3. It’s Easy
Content curation is easy. A quick google search yields a plethora of insightful content at our fingertips. Save yourself time and energy by skipping the labor-intensive task of content creation. Instead, take the opportunity to strengthen your relationships and spice up your feed by showcasing an influencer, client, or journalist’s work. It takes less than 30 minutes to find multiple pieces of content that are relevant and ready-to-go.
Now, before you start wildly sharing any and all content, understand that good content curation is all about strategy and balance. Even more so, it’s about sharing the right content. This content could be industry trends from reputable publications, relevant blog posts from thought leaders, and client owned content, just to name a few. As a general rule, keep your audience in mind by sharing content that provides information that they are actively searching for.
A few more important tips and tricks:
- Always always always credit your source, possibly giving them a boost by including links to their social channels
- Draw from a consistent set of sources
- Establish one (or a few related) themes to guide your content curation efforts
- Think strategically by creating a calendar to schedule both curated and created content at opportune moments
Now that you know why you should curate, you’re ready to start reaping the benefits of sourcing and sharing relevant content with your audiences. Happy curating!