Did you know that curator is a word that was traditionally used in art museums? It describes a person responsible for choosing collections on display.
We, content marketers, found the term fascinating and adopted it into our field to name the process of accumulating content relevant to a particular niche. In this article we go over what content curation is, and its top 5 benefits.
What Is Content Curation?
To present as a proper definition, content curation is the process of discovering and securing valuable content from in and around the web and sharing it.
This derails, in some way, our conventional content marketing as curating content does not involve creating your own content. It is more of an exploration of the world wide web for quality content suitable to the target audience.
How To Curate Content?
Content curation is not just an act, it is an art. It makes your audience feel valued as you are saving them valuable time by filtering highly defined content.
Unearth Content
The first step is to discover the right content pertinent to your niche among the abundance of information.
Strain the Excess
The next most crucial step is to choose what content is worthy of your audience’s time, and if it adds value to their life. This is where your skills as a content curator should come into analysis on which content is constructive.
Revamp It
With your content collection at hand, now you have to groom it well enough to make it presentable. It must be perceived easily and grip your users to the end.
Target Your Traffic
Marketers are well-versed in audience segmentation and delivering to a specific set of audiences. Curating content also moves in an identical path. The curator must always keep their target traffic’s intentions, interests, and needs in the back of their mind while strategizing and filtering.
Dish Out Content
Sharing your curated content must occur across several platforms. For example, you can share the same piece of writing on a social media website, on your blog, on your official website, or through an email newsletter and videos. These platforms vary depending on where your set of target audiences frequent.
Worth It
Time is more valuable than money. It can never be retrieved when lost. Even if your audience spends mere minutes on your blog, it should be worth their time. Your content’s success lies in adding value to the lives of your readers.
Authentic
Be true to yourself as a content curator. While scaping bits and pieces from others, and putting together a piece of your own, make sure you are creating a gist that is your original work. There is no point in producing the exact same content that already exists. Presenting content in your unique voice can help you break ground with your audience.
It’s the Little Things That Matter
Put yourself in your audience’s shoes and think. When they are searching for information in a hurry, the best thing you can offer along with quality data is easy-to-digest content. Keep your format simple and neat with not too many distractions. Images that you add should aid your audience in understanding the niche better and not just in making the page look nicer.
Why Should You Curate Content?
The world wide web is a vast ocean where swimming blindly may not get you to shore. With the overload of information, you can filter and revamp existing content to shape it into being apt for your target audience.
There are almost 600 million active blogs on the internet. According to Statista, in the U.S. alone 17% of youngsters publish original blogs online. It is near impossible to keep up with all this surplus information. This is where content curators come to the rescue. Their roles in blogging, branding, and in business have become increasingly crucial to deliver precise information.
5 Benefits of Content Curation
1. Spare Time
Your content should make your audience spare their time when searching for a topic. They should be delivered the right content without the fluff.
Creating content that is right on point, and without distractions can help your audience avoid frustration and spending too much time hunting down information.
2. Become the Expert
If you are going persistently forward with strong and steady content, you should become the first person your audience thinks of for your topic.
Creating a positive impact with your content will transform you into a trustworthy expert. This can increase the traffic of your site, which can bring various benefits it.
3. Build Alliances
Each time you seek influence from an authoritative voice on the internet, you actually help them get more audience members. But, in turn, what do you get? Curating content from an expert can also make you known to them, and put you on their radar.
You can acknowledge them by tagging them in posts or sending them a direct message with a link to your blog. If they find your content enticing, you might end up in long-term relationships with top influencers.
4. Be Dependable
Create a community with your content. This community should be interactive and spike interest in your blogs and its goal. Make sure your content is trustworthy and present facts as it is.
Every long-lasting relationship is built on trust. Lure your audience not just with your expertise, but also with genuine information. Bluffing or faking promises will not get you anywhere where in the longer run.
5. Keep in Touch
Keeping in touch with your audience is highly crucial. Keep them posted if you have published any new content regarding their field of interest. Maintain a social network between the brand and users. This promotes the brand, as well as you as a writer.
Frequently Asked Questions:
What are some examples of curated content?
Curated content includes everything from information, pictures, videos, statistics, facts, quotes, links, and even social media posts.
What is curated content on social media?
Curated content on social media shows all the content from other brands that you can share on your account. Curating content on social media includes sharing another expert’s social media post, sharing your blog link on our account, or creating a network of advice from influencers.
Does curated content have its place?
Of course, curated content has its place. But taking advantage of curated content is downright wrong. You must only use it to build your blog and not simply reproduce it. With the abundance of all the right content out there, choose wisely and filter the best content to bring you forward.
In a Nutshell
Think of a traditional museum curator. Your job as a content curator is no different. Instead of randomly exhibiting their works, they have different categories under the roof heading, and each room presents a specified subject. Your curated content should also do the same.
Curation can never replace original content, but the power of curated content is no less. Always keep one rule in mind, no matter what content you curate, always leave your personal magic touch.
Suggested Reads:
