10 Tips For Effectively Curating Content [and Creating Curiosity]

The curators of galleries or museums choose the paintings, sculptures, and art pieces to be displayed together. The best curators understand the venue's mission, and they pick the artists they wish to showcase.

Curating can be very beneficial to content marketers as well.

Content curation in the marketing world allows you to present your audience with a continuous stream of fresh, relevant content without overwhelming them with a lot to sift through. Social media content curation is a great strategy to show off your company's personality and build relationships.

Successful content curators increase traffic and engagement by creating curiosity across multiple channels. Recommended Read: How to Plan & Write Awesome Content

In this article, we'll cover:

What is content curation?

Benefits of content curation for content marketers

How to get started with content curation

Tools for curating content

How to curate content without paying for tools

Types of content to curate

10 Tips for effective content curation

Social marketing strategy

What is content curation?

Content curation, which should not be confused with content creation, comes down to filtering and selecting the content that best suits your audience's interests and interests without reinventing the wheel.

This allows you to curate content from the best resources in the industry without having to spend hours creating your own content from scratch.

Think of it like a playlist - when you create a playlist on Spotify, you're curating songs you enjoy.

The same goes for content curation.

As a business, you don't have to be the only source of information for your audience. Instead, you can provide extra value to your audience by sharing content from other interesting and valuable sources.

Benefits of content curation for content marketers

Incorporating curated content into your content marketing strategy has many benefits.

It helps you become the go-to resource in your industry

By curating and sharing high-quality created content, you can position yourself as an authority figure and exhibit your industry expertise. This can help you attract new readers, followers, and even customers! It's perfectly fine to share the best stuff of other thought leaders; just be sure to add your own perspective, commentary, or analysis.

It allows you to build and leverage relationships with other industry leaders

Curating and sharing high-quality content from other industry experts means you can develop relationships with them. This can be beneficial when it comes time to collaborate or partner on projects in the future.

When you curate original content from other businesses or thought leaders in your industry, you can start building relationships with them. As you share their content, be sure to tag them or mention them in your social media post. This will help increase your visibility to their audience and might even get you featured on their site!

It saves you time

Creating original content can be time-consuming. With social curation, you're able to save yourself a ton of time while still providing your audience with the information they crave.

It helps you better understand your audience

By analyzing which pieces of content are being shared and engaged with the most, you're able to better understand the needs and wants of your audience. This information can be beneficial when creating your own original content down the road.

It creates curiosity

When done correctly, content curation can create a sense of curiosity in your audience. This can prompt them to visit your social accounts or blog more often to see what new and exciting content you'll share next! Most people have a natural curiosity that drives them to want to know more about things that interest them. Marketers know this and by using a catchy or sensationalized title, they can entice more people to click on the link and read the article.

It increases brand awareness

By sharing content on a regular basis, you're able to build brand awareness and reach a wider audience.

They [brands] use curated content to bring context to their site and ensure they can be a fresh and relevant resource by not only providing their own content, but also cutting through the noise in their space for their visitors. Scott Rogerson - CEO UpContent

Content curation is a great addition to your content marketing arsenal, and it will help you grow as a marketer and become more productive with content marketing strategy! Recommended Read: The Best Unlimited Artificial Intelligence Design And Writing Tool for Content Marketers in 2022

How to get started with content curation

Here are some tips for each of the three key parts of a daily content curation workflow:

Let's get started with the basics.

Step 1. Get set up with a content curation tool.

Remember I said you don't need to reinvent the wheel? Well, some extremely clever individuals out there have taken the hard work out of content curation and are building amazing, industry-leading curation tools that allow you to build an amazing content curation workflow in a snap.

Upcontent is my favorite tool for filtering content, selecting the best trending content, organizing it all in one place, and sharing it with your social media accounts. It even has an automation platform that makes it even easier to share and discover content.

Step 2. Filter content sources.

Now that your content curation tool is set up, it's time to refine your content curation strategy and start filtering your content sources. This is where you decide which blogs, websites, social media accounts, etc. you want to pull content from.

The key here is to find content that is relevant, interesting, and not all too similar to what you're creating yourself.

When choosing sources, consider the following:

• The quality of the original content

• How often the content is updated

• The relevancy of the content to your audience

• The overall tone and voice of the content

Once you've selected a few, it's time to start filtering the content.

When you come across an article, blog post, or social media update that you think would benefit your audience or target customer, simply add it to your content curation tool.

I like to think of my content curation tool as my own personal library of content, that I can reference at any time. By filtering the content sources and curating the best content, you can save yourself a ton of time while still providing your audience with high-quality, relevant content.

Step 3. Share the relevant content

Now that you've filtered the content and added it to your content curation tool, it's time to start sharing it with your audience!

The great thing about most content curation tools is that they have built-in social media integration, so you can share your content to multiple channels with just a few clicks and without having to leave the tool.

When sharing your content, make sure to add your own personal touch by writing a short introduction or adding your own commentary. This will help you better connect with your audience and ensure that they know that the content comes from a trusted source.

By following these three steps, you'll be well on your way to becoming a content curation pro! Just remember to keep things consistent, relevant, and interesting, and you'll be sure to engage and grow your audience in no time. Recommended Read: Finally, 7 Easy To Follow B2B Copywriting Strategies To Use Today

Alternative tools for curating content

MissingLettr

MissingLettr's curate feature is the solution for you to automate your social media and drive massive traffic to your website without doing any of the hard work.

Missinglettr doesn't just suggest articles or blog posts. Instead, you'll find everything from videos to animation to popular GIFs to mix up different elements and create social media content at a whole new level. It's like having a marketing team in your pocket! 30 days access to the Pro plan and Curate add-on for just $5 (a saving of $103). New customers only

MissingLettr makes it easy to create 12 months of social media content in just 10 minutes!

How to curate content without paying for tools

There are many ways to curate great content without paying for any tools. The most popular methods include using Google Alerts, Twitter lists, and RSS Feeds.

Google Alerts

Google Alerts is a free service offered by Google that allows you to receive email alerts whenever new content goes live on the web that contains your specified keyword or phrase.

To set up a Google Alert, go to google.com/alerts and enter your keyword or phrase into the search bar. Then, select how often you would like to receive alerts, what kind of results you want to see, and where you would like the results delivered.

You can also specify how many results you would like to receive per day and the language and region you would like to focus on.

Twitter Lists

Twitter lists are another great way to curate content on social media for free. For example, Twitter lists allow you to create a curated feed of tweets from specific users or hashtags.

To create a Twitter list, go to your profile page and click on the Lists tab. You can create a new list or add tweets to an existing list. You can also subscribe to other users' lists if you find one that is particularly relevant or interesting to you.

RSS Feeds

Another great option for collecting content without paying for any tools is RSS Feeds (Really Simple Syndication). This web feed format allows users to subscribe to content from websites and blogs.

Most websites and blogs offer an RSS feed that you can subscribe to receive each new blog post as soon as it is published. To find the RSS Feed for a website or blog, look for the RSS icon (it looks like a square with curved corners) or look for the word "RSS" in the website's footer.

Once you've found the RSS Feed, you can subscribe to it using a free RSS Reader or browser extension.

Types of content to curate

Now that you know the benefits of content curation, it's time to start curating! But what types of content should you be on the lookout for?

Here are some great ideas to create a healthy mix of curated content:

• Top news from your industry blogs

• Top stories from thought leaders in your niche

• Educational resources

• How-to guides and tutorials

• Listicles

• User-generated content

• Expert opinions and interviews

• Company updates

• Case studies and success stories

• Behind-the-scenes content

• Product reviews and comparisons

• Stats and data-driven content

• Infographics

• Inspirational quotes and stories

As you can see, there is a wide range of content that you can curate to appeal to your specific audience. The important thing is to keep things relevant to your audience, and mix things up and keep your followers engaged.

How often should you curate content?

This is a great question with no definitive answer. The frequency of your content curation will ultimately depend on a few factors. The size of your audience, the types of content you're curating, and your overall goals.

Start small and gradually increase the frequency as you get more comfortable with the process if you're just getting started with content curation. A good place to start is by adding a few pieces of curated content into your content calendar each week. You can experiment with different frequencies until you find what works best for you on each of the social sites and what works best for your audience. Recommended Read: Build and Expand Interesting Content with an AI Writer

10 Tips for effective content curation

Now that you know all about content curation and the benefits that come with it, here are a few tips to help you get started:

1. Keep it personal

When sharing curated content, it's important to add your own personal touch. Whether it's a short introduction or commentary, this will help you better connect with your audience and ensure that they know the content is coming from a trusted source.

Content creators use artificial intelligence to rewrite or expand ideas to create great content. It makes filling those content gaps in your social feed is as easy as pie.

2. Be selective

When it comes to curating content, quality is key. It's important to be selective with the content you share and only choose pieces that are high-quality, relevant, and interesting.

Don't be afraid to curate only the best content from your competitors. This can actually be beneficial as it shows that you're keeping up with the latest industry trends.

Do share the same content as your competitors, but don't share it at the same time.

3. Create value

Always make sure to add value when content repurposing. This can be in the form of commentary, analysis, or even additional resources. You're more likely to keep your readers engaged and coming back for more by adding value!

Created in Canva

4. Find the right balance of original and curated content

When curating content, be sure to find the right balance of original and curated content. Unfortunately, too much of either can be detrimental to your success. A good rule of thumb is to aim for a 70/30 split, keeping 70% of your content original and 30% curated.

5. Offset promotional content

If you're using content curation to promote your products or services, it's important to offset this promotional content with other types of content. Otherwise, you run the risk of turning your audience off.

An excellent way to offset promotional content is to use the 80/20 rule. For every piece of promotional content you share, you should also share four pieces of non-promotional content. This will help to keep your audience engaged and ensure that they don't feel bombarded with advertising.

6. Manage your time

Content curation doesn't have to be a time-consuming process. Luckily, plenty of tools and resources are available to help you save time and effort.

One of the best ways to be a successful content curator is to use a content aggregator, which allows you to pull interesting articles from multiple sources into one central location. Another great way to save time is to use social media scheduling tools. These tools allow you to schedule your content in advance, so you don't have to worry about doing it manually. This can free up a lot of time in your social media strategy.

7. Be social

To be successful with content curation, you need to be social. This means sharing your curated content on social media and other online platforms. It's also essential to interact with other users and build relationships with influencers in your industry.

8. Experiment and have fun!

Content curation is all about experimentation.

9. Give proper credit

"There's a big difference between curating others' content in an ethical and value-added way and simply cribbing their hard work and claiming ownership of it." - Content Marketing Institute

This is a great example of giving credit and linking back to the original source of the article or post you're sharing. Not only is this good practice, but it also helps to build relationships with the original creator.

Curated content from Content Marketing Institute

10. Keep track of your progress

As with any business strategy, it's crucial to keep track of your progress to understand how your content marketing efforts are paying off. Of course, being organized helps to ensure you don't post duplicate content, which is a bad idea.

By following these tips, you'll be well on your way to becoming a content curation pro!

Just remember, when you share content, keep things consistent, relevant, and interesting, and you'll be sure to engage and grow your audience in no time.

Are curated articles bad for SEO?

It depends on how you use them. While curating relevant, quality content is an effective way to provide extra value to your readers and build relationships with other creators, if it's not done properly, it can negatively affect the SEO performance of your website. How? Well, when you curate content from other websites and simply copy it to your own blog, search engines can interpret that as duplicate content, which can lead to lower rankings. Search engine algorithms are designed to detect and penalize duplicated content.

Also, if your curated articles are not properly optimized for keywords or linked with other quality sources and don’t contain fresh insights or data related to their topics, search engines won't recognize them as high-quality pieces of information. That could also result in a decrease in rankings.

So if you want to make sure your SEO isn't affected by the curated content you post on your blog, ensure all relevant articles come from reliable sources, are properly linked back to the original source. Curation should be a supplement to creating your own original content; make sure that you are creating enough original material for search engine crawlers to index in order to maintain good SEO rankings.

Ultimately, by keeping track of your progress, staying organized, and sharing consistent and interesting curated content, you should be able to reach a balance between curation and original creation that contributes positively to your SEO efforts.

Curated content is just one piece of your social marketing strategy

Sure, you can boost your social media marketing efforts with the curation process, but how else can your content curation efforts improve your social strategy?

By sharing high-quality, trustworthy, and helpful content, you can build trust with your audience members. In turn, this can lead to improved relationships, more customers, and better business opportunities.

Furthermore, content curation can help you become a thought leader in your industry. You can position yourself as an expert in your field by sharing the latest news, insights, and perspectives on current trends - on social media, on your blog, or via email newsletters.

And finally, content curation can drive traffic back to your website or blog. By including links to your own content in your curated posts, you can encourage your audience members to visit your site and learn more about what you have to offer.

So, as you can see, content curation is just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to your social media marketing. But it's an important piece that can help you achieve your overall marketing goals.

If you're looking to grow as a content marketer and improve your content marketing strategy, content curation is a great way to get started! For more tips on content curation, content curation strategy, social media content creation, and writing with artificial intelligence - join us on Facebook!