Have you been wondering how to pick up speed for your brand, while still providing important content for your followers? Content drought hits even the savviest content marketers, who go to great lengths to generate content that will keep their social media following engaged and sharing. Maybe you’ve even resorted to tapping the “retweet” button to fill in those content gaps.
While re-sharing makes for a quick content fix, it’s not very effective at drumming up the engagement you’d like. Curated content, however, adds considerable value to your content schedule—while underscoring your impressive industry know-how.
Curated Content: The Basics
Curated content largely is what it sounds like. It’s other creator-generated content, yes. But unlike bland re-sharing, curated content is carefully handpicked—and usually provides your own take or spin as an introduction. It’s not just content for content’s sake; it’s something you think will offer value to your following.
A good way to picture curated content comes from art: an art curator’s job is to select artwork for a gallery or art show that patrons will find worthwhile. Your job as a content curator aligns with that same basic role. You’re picking valuable content within your field to share with your particular audience. And the possibilities for curated content are immense—think subject matter expert (SME) opinions, a newsworthy trend, a recent, eye-opening video interview, or even something as simple as a blog or tip list.
That’s really the beauty of curated content: its versatility. But for it to truly gain traction, you can’t just rely on a well-timed retweet. For it to really pull weight, you have to provide some input or insight as well. That’s what makes it curated content, rather than recasted content.
Why Curated Content Matters
With it largely being someone else’s work, you might wonder: why does curated content matter to me and my brand? Well, first off, it positions you as an industry thought leader. Think about it—sprinkling in curated content every now and again does double duty. It highlights impactful things in your industry, and associates your brand with being acutely aware of what’s going on industry-wide, maybe even as a trendsetter yourself.
Another benefit? It works in your content calendar’s favor. If your posting schedule is tied to multiple days per week, curated content lends itself to filling in those gaps with relative ease—and cost effectively.
Plus, curated content not only helps put your brand on the map and avoid content drought, it also gives your followers a reason to continue following and broadens your potential network. This kind of content opens up more views to your audience and encourages user interest. It’s something your followers may well thank you for in likes, re-shares, and discussion. Finally, showing off others’ content can help fill out your network. But remember not to harp on return favors. Much like it is in person, a well-laid online network happens over time, as relationships naturally develop.
How to Curate Content
If curated content has piqued your interest, your next question might be how you go about doing it. For starters, curated content is only as effective as your audience analysis.
First, you have to know who you’re actually presenting the content to. That involves understanding what your audience wants, what grabs their attention, and what they’re yearning to know more about. Check which curated content posts excel in engagement, and which don’t do so well. This will help pinpoint what content to showcase in the future.
Next, as you develop curated content, remember to provide your own spin. This can be a small snippet, sentence, or phrase introducing the content. It doesn’t have to be an artfully written novella. If that tidbit of content imparts exclusive wisdom, that’s even more ideal.
As a rule, you’ll want to link to and tag the original content maker. Much like grade school, plagiarism on the internet is a no-no. Be sure to actually read, watch, or assess the content you’re about to curate as well. A little bit of research can be the difference between sharing something sharp or senseless.
Where Uptick Can Help Out
Finally, you don’t have to be on your phone or laptop non-stop in order to curate high-quality content that grows traffic. There are plenty of platforms out there that can schedule content in advance.
However, if none of that really rings or resonates, that’s not a problem. Uptick Marketing has you covered with our content marketing team. We can help you get to know your audience, craft and curate ROI-bound social media content, build your brand network, and more. To see your traffic shoot up, connect with us at Uptick. We’ll be happy to talk curated content, along with all things social.
