Content Curation: The Art of Finding, Filtering, and Presenting Awesome Content

Key Takeaways

• Content curation is the process of finding, filtering, and presenting valuable content to your audience, highlighting your expertise and providing value to your followers.
• Benefits include filling content calendar gaps, providing value, positioning as a thought leader, and building your network.
• To curate content effectively, know your audience, add your own perspective, tag and link to the original source, verify content, and curate posts in advance.

Imagine you’re at a party, surrounded by a sea of interesting people. Everyone’s talking about the latest news, trends, and ideas. But instead of just listening, you’re actively seeking out the most fascinating conversations and sharing them with your friends. That’s essentially what content curation is all about.

What Is Content Curation?

Content curation is the process of finding, filtering, and presenting valuable content to your audience. It’s not just about re-sharing content, but presenting it in a way that highlights your expertise and provides value to your followers.

Benefits of Content Curation

There are numerous benefits to content curation, including:

• Filling gaps in your content calendar: Curated content can help you fill gaps in your content calendar, especially when you’re short on time or resources.
• Providing value to your followers: By sharing high-quality content, you’re providing value to your followers and establishing yourself as a trusted source of information.
• Positioning yourself as a thought leader: Content curation can help you position yourself as a thought leader in your industry. By sharing relevant and insightful content, you’re demonstrating your knowledge and expertise.
• Building your network: Content curation can help you build your network and connect with other influencers in your industry. By sharing their content, you’re showing your support and appreciation.

How to Do Content Curation the Right Way

To do content curation the right way, it’s important to:

1. Know your audience: The most important step is to understand your audience’s interests and needs. What kind of content do they find valuable? What are their pain points? Once you know your audience, you can start finding content that resonates with them.
2. Add your own perspective: Don’t just re-share content without adding your own perspective. Share your thoughts on the content, why you found it interesting, and how it relates to your audience. This will help you stand out from the crowd and establish your own voice.
3. Tag and link to the original source: Always give credit where credit is due. Tag and link to the original source of the content you’re sharing. This will help you avoid plagiarism and build relationships with other content creators.
4. Verify content before sharing it: Before you share any content, make sure it’s accurate and credible. Check the source, read the full article, and fact-check any claims. This will help you avoid spreading misinformation.
5. Curate your posts in advance: Curating content takes time. To avoid scrambling at the last minute, it’s a good idea to curate your posts in advance. This will give you time to find high-quality content, add your own perspective, and schedule your posts.

10 Content Curation Tools and Software

There are a number of tools and software that can help you with content curation, including:

1. Hootsuite: Hootsuite is a social media management tool that allows you to curate content from a variety of sources and schedule it to be shared on your social media accounts.
2. BuzzSumo: BuzzSumo is a content discovery tool that helps you find the most popular content on the web. You can use BuzzSumo to find content that’s relevant to your audience and that’s likely to perform well.
3. Twitter Lists: Twitter Lists allow you to group together users who share similar interests. You can use Twitter Lists to curate content from specific influencers or thought leaders.
4. Pocket: Pocket is a bookmarking service that allows you to save articles, videos, and other content to read later. You can use Pocket to curate content that you find interesting and that you want to share with your audience.
5. Instapaper: Instapaper is a similar service to Pocket that allows you to save articles to read later. Instapaper has a clean and distraction-free interface that makes it easy to read and curate content.
6. Google Alerts: Google Alerts is a free service that sends you email alerts whenever new content is published on the web that matches your search terms. You can use Google Alerts to curate content on specific topics or from specific sources.
7. TalkWalker: TalkWalker is a social listening tool that helps you track and analyze conversations about your brand or industry. You can use TalkWalker to find content that’s relevant to your audience and that’s generating buzz.
8. UpContent: UpContent is a content curation platform that helps you find, curate, and share content with your audience. UpContent has a library of over 1 million articles that you can browse and share.
9. Trendspottr: Trendspottr is a content discovery tool that helps you find emerging trends and topics. You can use Trendspottr to find content that’s ahead of the curve and that’s likely to resonate with your audience.
10. ContentGems: ContentGems is a content curation platform that helps you find and share content from a variety of sources. ContentGems has a team of editors who curate content on a variety of topics.

Conclusion

Content curation is a valuable strategy for all content marketers. More than just re-sharing content, it’s a way to provide value to your followers while highlighting your own expertise in the industry. By following the tips and using the tools outlined in this article, you can curate content that will engage your audience and help you achieve your marketing goals.

Bonus: Remember, content curation is not just about finding and sharing content. It’s about adding your own perspective, providing value to your audience, and building relationships with other content creators. By doing content curation the right way, you can establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry and build a loyal following.

Frequently Asked Questions:

What is the difference between content curation and content aggregation?

Content curation is the process of finding, filtering, and presenting valuable content to your audience. Content aggregation is the process of collecting content from a variety of sources and presenting it in one place. Content curation is more selective and involves adding your own perspective, while content aggregation is more automated and comprehensive.

How can I find content to curate?

There are a number of ways to find content to curate, including using content discovery tools, following influencers in your industry, and reading industry blogs and publications.

How often should I curate content?

The frequency with which you curate content will depend on your audience and your goals. Some content curators post daily, while others post weekly or monthly. It’s important to find a frequency that works for you and your audience.