Content curation is the key to building a successful content strategy. And, finding the right content can help you better engage with your audience and showcase your expertise in the area.
Content curation is similar to art curation in the sense that you need to carefully select the pieces that only your buyers will be interested in and then showcase them in the best way possible to land that sale.
In this article, we will explore content curation, discuss its benefits, and then equip you with a complete roadmap to content curation that will elevate your content strategy.
What is Content Curation?
Content curation is accumulating and sharing content that is relevant to your audience. It involves careful handpicking of external content that will best pique the interest of your audience and entice them to engage.
Some examples of well-curated Content include sharing podcasts or articles from industry experts, highlighting client testimonials, or showcasing some of the best product reviews on your website or social media.
Curated content can take many forms. You can use articles, blog posts, podcasts, videos, testimonials, product reviews, case studies, and more.
Content curation can also come from a variety of sources, from YouTube channels to news websites, social media platforms, and more.
What are the benefits of content curation?
While an effective content production strategy will always be king, content curation can be the queen. On its own, it might not hold as much value as dedicated content marketing efforts, but when combined with other strategies, it can help spearhead your content goals.
Curated content has a long list of benefits for your business; let’s highlight a few of them below:
Increase Audience Engagement
Content curation allows you to curate information externally and become a credible resource for your audience. This helps your audience learn more about the field for which you are curating content and indirectly connects more with your website and brand.
It also engages and attracts your audience more, as you will be curating content for the same topic from various resources. They will get to read the best opinions and insights about it in the industry, establishing you as an authentic and solid source of information.
Save Time and Resources
Often, small businesses, brands, and companies don’t have a big budget to constantly create new content. Quality content creation is pricey, and it might not be affordable for everyone at a large volume.
However, content keeps you relevant; if you can’t regularly share content on your social channels, your audience will start to forget you, and engagement will drop. That’s where content curation comes in; it saves time and money, reducing a company’s need to hire more marketers to create content for social media or the company blog.
One other benefit of content curation is that it helps you save time effectively. Instead of creating content from scratch, you can utilize content curation to post regularly on your social media channels. This allows you to remain relevant and engaging online while saving time and resources.
While content curation can be time-consuming, using tools like Bulkly can help speed up the process. With its bulk upload and drip scheduling features, Bulkly allows you to automate your social media posts, ensuring a consistent and engaging presence without the daily hassle.
To further enhance this process, integrate a social media chatbot that can interact with your audience, gather data on their interests, and ask specific questions. Did you know that, according to chatbot statistics, 39% of all chats between businesses and consumers involve a chatbot?
Analyze the data and curate content that resonates more deeply with your followers, ensuring higher engagement and satisfaction.
Showcase your Expertise in the Field
Content curation helps you stay on top of the latest developments and trends in the industry. By curating content and sharing it online, you can showcase your expertise in the field. This helps keep your audience informed and engaged.
Moreover, consistently sharing high-quality, relevant content positions you as a thought leader, building trust and credibility with your audience. This practice enhances your brand image and fosters a community of like-minded individuals who look to you for insights and updates.
Imagine you’re curating content for a contract management software website. Apply a strategic approach to address the specific needs and challenges faced by professionals in the field. A successful content curation strategy might include sharing articles on best practices in the contract lifecycle management process. Highlighting case studies from leading companies that have successfully integrated these systems and offering insights into the latest legal compliance regulations affecting contract management.
Establish Relationships with Expert Content Creators
Everyone wants their content shared, and content creators revel in the joy of their content getting more views. If you are a brand or company working on content curation, sharing the content of other creators will help you form lasting relationships with them.
By consistently featuring and promoting their work, you demonstrate appreciation and recognition of their expertise, which can lead to mutual respect and collaboration. This reciprocal relationship often results in these creators sharing your content, amplifying your reach and exposure.
Furthermore, collaborating with established content creators can enhance the quality and diversity of your curated content, providing your audience with a richer and more comprehensive experience.
Boost Brand Awareness
Content curation significantly boosts brand awareness by consistently delivering valuable and relevant information to your audience. By selectively sharing high-quality content from various sources, your brand becomes a reliable hub of information within your niche.
When people recognize that your brand provides insightful and up-to-date content, they are more likely to follow, share, and engage with your posts, increasing your brand’s visibility and reach.
Your Content Curation Roadmap: A Step-by-Step Guide
Now that we have highlighted the benefits of content curation and how it can elevate your content strategy, let’s look at how to start building a content curation roadmap for your social channels.
Define Your Target Audience and Goals
Successful content curation requires clearly defining your target audience and goals. To properly curate content that meets your needs and engages your audience, you will need to answer a couple of questions about your target market.
Ask yourself questions like, what type of content will your audience like? What social media platforms do they use the most? Which content creators do they follow? And what is your main niche?
Answering these questions will help you curate content that engages your audience. The better you tailor your content to your audience, the more you will be able to establish yourself as a thought leader in your niche.
Choose Your Social Media Platforms
Every social media channel will not benefit your brand in the same way. For some, Instagram may be the best option. Fashion brands, cosmetics, food, and travel will thrive on Instagram.
Tech companies, news outlets, and public figures are best suited to X (Twitter). While LinkedIn will be the best option for B2B companies, recruitment agencies, professionals, and industry thought leaders.
Facebook is perfect for small businesses, local brands, non-profits, and e-commerce stores as it connects more granularly.
Pinterest is the go-to place for craft businesses, home decor stores, wedding planners, and even professional bakers.
Choosing the right platform to curate and share is critical to a successful content strategy, and it can drive
organic growth and engagement. However, it is always a good idea to keep in mind to use strategies that are always based on consent-based marketing.
Discover High-Quality Content
Identifying the right resources for your content curation is just as important as curating the content. Only
share content from high-quality, credible resources.
Some of the best resources for this are renowned publications, industry experts, blogs, social media influencers, news websites, and popular podcasters.
However, the correct source entirely depends on your niche and industry. For example, if you are a B2B website, an Instagram influencer most likely won’t be a good resource for you, but they will be an excellent resource for a fashion brand.
Another idea is to curate user-generated content such as peer-to-peer videos, reviews, and success stories. Incorporating social proof, like client testimonial examples, can help build trust with your audience.
UGC is also highly effective in driving sales, so you can repurpose your organic content and use UGC in advertising.
Develop a Content Calendar and Posting Schedule
Curating content will allow you to have heaps of content to post, but managing it may seem daunting. That’s where content calendars and scheduling come in.
Schedule content to save time, pre-plan your content strategy, and stay ahead of the game.
However, maintaining a consistent posting schedule is one of the biggest challenges in content curation. Bulkly can automate your content distribution, allowing you to schedule posts in advance and ensuring your social media channels remain active even during busy periods.
With scheduling, you will never have to worry about forgetting to post an important update. Having a content calendar will allow you to plan beforehand and save you the trouble of posting content regularly and coming up with ideas daily.
Curate a Variety of Content Formats
The more variety in your curated content, the more you will be able to capture the attention of your audience and customer base. Using different types of content and channels will help you share your message in a variety of ways and connect with a broader audience.
Some of the main content distribution channels include:
- Social media posts are one of the best ways to bond with your audience quickly through two-way communication.
- Blog posts can help educate your readers and establish thought leadership in your industry and niche.
- Email newsletters can help you engage with your target audience through updates, offers, product insights, and more.
No matter which content distribution channel you choose, implementing visual content such as images, infographics, and videos can help increase engagement.
Add Value to Your Curated Content
Providing context, commentary, and your unique perspective is essential when curating content. Simply sharing a link or reposting an article isn’t enough to engage your audience and distinguish your brand.
When you add your insights, you help your audience understand why the content is relevant and important. For instance, summarizing the key points, explaining how they relate to your industry, or offering your opinion can turn a simple share into a meaningful post.
Moreover, curated video content can further diversify your offerings and engage your audience compellingly. Videos communicate complex ideas, showcase products, and provide insights from industry leaders. Embedding videos improves accessibility and ensures viewers enjoy the content without leaving your page.
This added value demonstrates your expertise and encourages deeper engagement from your audience, as they see the curated content as part of a broader conversation you’re facilitating.
Always credit sources and respect copyright when curating content. Acknowledging the original creators of the content you share is crucial for maintaining ethical standards and building trust with your audience.
Choose the right content tools
Finding the right tool for social media content curation will help you speed up the process, discover quality resources at a scale, and consistently engage your audience.
You can use UGC platforms to curate user-generated content. Instagram, Facebook, and Yelp are some of the most popular UGC platforms. However, the best one for your business will depend on where your audience is and the content types you’re looking to curate.
For example, a restaurant business can use Yelp for text-based recommendations and Instagram to source user-generated photos of different dishes.
For more robust content curation and scheduling, consider using Bulkly. It is a powerful social media automation platform designed to save time by allowing you to bulk upload content, recycle posts, and automate updates using RSS feeds.
It enables you to create groups of updates, assign hashtags, and even shuffle the order of your posts to keep your social media presence dynamic. It’s a great choice if you’re looking to save time while maintaining a dynamic social media presence.
Measure Your Curation Success
Content curation doesn’t end when you hit the share button; there is much monitoring that follows. To fully realize the success of your curation efforts, you need to analyze data and track social media metrics.
Monitor critical metrics associated with your content, such as engagement rates, website traffic, views, clicks, and lead generation, to determine what works and can be improved. Use this data to optimize your content strategy for the future.
Additionally, track which types of content resonate most with your audience—whether it’s articles, videos, infographics, or social media posts. This insight allows you to tailor your content curation to better meet your audience’s preferences and needs.
It’s also important to pay attention to qualitative feedback. Comments, shares, and direct messages can provide valuable insights into your audience’s thoughts and feelings about your curated content. Respond to your audience’s comments and questions to show that you value their input.
Final Thoughts on Social Media Content Curation
Content curation is more than just selecting content and resharing it. It requires careful planning and evaluation to find the perfect content that fits your niche, establishes authority, and engages your audience. By thoughtfully curating and adding your unique insights, you can position your brand as a trusted source of valuable information.
Implementing content curation as part of your overall content marketing strategy can save you time, money, and resources while enhancing your online presence.
When combined with a strong content creation strategy, content curation can significantly boost engagement, drive traffic, and foster a loyal community around your brand. Embrace the power of content curation to elevate your marketing efforts and utilize tools like Bulkly to achieve new heights of success for your brand.
