Developing a content curation plan as part of your content marketing strategy is great way to deliver quality content to your audience and put your brand in the middle of important industry discussions. It is imperative to share content other than your own on your social networks and even on your website. I love sharing the rule of thirds when it comes to content publication:
- Spend one third of your time posting your own blog posts, articles, videos, infographics, etc.
- Spend one third of your time sharing the content from an external source.
- Spend one third of your time engaging in conversations and asking questions.
The rule of thirds ensures that you’re not just pushing your own content to your audience — and, that when you do share content, it comes from a variety of sources. When it comes to distributing content besides your own, consider using the following tools to discover quality content to share it within your own network.
Curated blog posts are a great form of content that are valuable to readers and easy to create. There are many tools available to aid in finding industry-specific content that you can share with your audience to continually position your brand as an expert (even when it’s not your own content). Additionally, these content pieces can serve as inspiration for future content pieces. Below are some of the easiest ways to curate great content and benefit your website:
Utilize Newsletters & Blogs
Your website or blog should include a way for people to subscribe and have your amazing content delivered to them via email or other channels. Today, many websites offer a monthly newsletter that includes industry related content, and use their blogs to offer readers a subscription to posts through email or RSS Feed. Search Engine Journal is a great example of a brand utilizing curated content in their monthly newsletters.
Subscribe to other newsletters offered by industry websites and to your favorite industry blogs, then share this content on your own social channels. Soon you will notice an increase in newsletters and blog posts on varying days throughout the month – enabling you to be constantly supplied with fresh content. Social Media to the Rescue (Again).
Social media has really become a great place to find some amazing content related to your industry or business. Admit it, when was the last time you made it through your newsfeed without clicking on a link? It’s hard to miss something directly related to you these days, thanks to interactive content and your many friends sharing or liking industry-related articles. But believe it or not, social giants like Facebook and Twitter are not the only social networks that can boast such great curation opportunities.
Storify
Storytelling is an important part of content marketing, and Storify makes telling a story through social media fairly simple. Similar to scoop.it, this tool is often used by many journalists and news organizations, and allows users to easily curate online content focused on a specific event or niche in order to tell a story.
Storify allows you to aggregate text, documents, videos, images and social media posts to convey a storyline of any topic. You can then share your story across all of your social network and distribution channels.
It still amazes me how many marketers overlook Pinterest as a viable content curation source. Sure, it will always be best known as an image-sharing site, but I still believe that it can be so much more. Although some companies use Pinterest to share their own content, they might not be using it to its full potential for content curation.
There are many Pinterest boards pinned with excellent infographics, blog posts and articles specific to almost every industry. As you discover these boards, not only can you re-pin these images to your own boards, but you can also follow the image’s link to reach the originating site, or grab the link and share on your other networks. With so many companies posting their own content on Pinterest, it makes for a topic goldmine when developing new ideas, or creating a curated blog post.
Search Hashtags and Keywords for New Influencers
Twitter is a great place to share your content and engage with followers - But are you really following all the people and brands in your industry? Search through industry related topics or keywords and find fellow industry enthusiasts you might not be following. This is an easy way to gain access to content you may have been missing out on.
To help find the best content out there, start by tracking your targeted keywords, hashtags and brand names. This allows you to always have a stream of content for the plucking. Try using a third-party application like Hootsuite or Tweetdeck and set up saved searches for hashtags and keywords for an easy way to monitor industry blog posts, videos, infographics and more. This makes it even easier to spot awesome content, share it with your audience and put your brand in the discussion. List.ly
List-centric content is often popular on social networks, so using List.ly to create lists — about anything — is a no-brainer. Consider making a list of hashtags, videos, infographics, and top influencers specific to any industry. Users can then vote items up or down or add their own suggestions to your list.
These types of lists are easily shared through social networks and even embed lists to a website or blog post. List.ly has grown quite a bit in the last few years and is great for content curation, but as a bonus, it also adds a community aspect to the aggregation process.
Track Google News and Set-Up Alerts
Use Google Alerts to set up for top industry keywords; I think this is the easiest way to have content delivered right to your inbox. Google Alerts will notify you via email when new blog posts, news articles, videos, and other content is released. By setting up alerts for industry keywords, you’ll get a lot of new links every day and ideas for future curated posts.
Additionally, you can utilize Google News to aggregate industry-specific content. You can do so by setting up a saved keyword search in Google News, which allows you to easily find local and national news coverage on specific topics. Google Alerts and Google News are excellent ways to ensure you’re keeping up to date on the latest industry information available.
Curata
Curata makes gathering relevant, high-quality content a more efficient process. Not only does the tool allow you to find, organize and share content very easily, it learns your content preferences so the most relevant content (to you, personally) is presented first.
Additionally, by using bookmarks, it’s easy to add content found on the Web to your Curata account, so it can then be worked into your publishing plan. With dedicated support for users, even those who are just getting started with content curation can utilize Curata.
By using the tools listed above, you can better find and curate excellent content related to your industry. Providing the greatest value to your audience doesn’t mean cramming your own content down their throat. Join important industry discussions and topics, share different content and build a trusting relationship with fellow readers.
Brad Kuenn is a Content Writer, Editor and Strategist living in Nashville, Tennessee, and he provides research, content topics, writing, editing, and content development expertise to clients. He has a passion for writing as well as art, which shines through in his work. His creativity and attention to detail makes him a valuable asset for a wide range of clients. During his time off he enjoys spending time with his wife, family, and his two dogs Brutus and Kane.
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