For businesses looking to make an impact online, content is one of the most important parts of any digital marketing strategy. With so many brands now operating in the online space, competition is fiercer than ever and original, engaging content is needed to make your brand stand out to engage users.

Content curation explained

Content curation is a broader term that covers finding, organizing, sharing and developing various forms of content, from blogs to videos. For businesses, this is a key part of the digital marketing strategy and is often handled by the social media and content teams, but it can also be closely related to website management and some elements of SEO.

The most important thing to note regarding content creation is that whatever content you share it needs to be of value to your audience and properly attributed to the original creators. Whether that is tagging them on Instagram, backlinking on a blog or newsletter in which you reference them or asking permission to share their image.

Why is content curation worth it?

It saves time, money and resources

Although creating original content is important for SEO and positioning your brand as trusted industry experts, it takes a lot of time and resources and can be very expensive. Fortunately, content creation is there to support your original content, give you something to share on social media, and find new ways to engage your audience.

Commenting on a recent industry news story can be more beneficial to your brand than a 1000-word blog released a week after the story broke. Curated content can fill the gap and allow you to get involved with trends.

If you already have experience in content curation you may be thinking ‘If it is so time and resource-efficient, why am I spending so much time on it?’. Well, content curation only really saves time, money and resources when done correctly. Here are three tips to help you be more efficient with your time:

• Plan topics: Keep in mind your target audience and your businesses’ goals, selling points, products, services and industry.
• Use tech: Tools like Pocket and Feedly make it super easy to keep track of relevant articles to share later. There are also tons of social media tools like Tagify for keeping on top of new trends in relevant subjects.
• Schedule ahead: There are many social media scheduling tools, like HootSuite, that help you plan for the week ahead. Plus, most modern CMS systems, like WordPress have options for scheduling blogs for release in the future.

It adds value for your audience

Careful content curation will mean that you have more interesting and useful content to share with your audience, whether they are followers on social media or subscribers to your newsletter.

By providing content from a range of sources, you are giving your audience multiple content, helping them to fully understand the topics in discussion. This also shows that your brand is not just about making sales and promoting itself, instead it shows you are committed to providing valuable and insightful information and resources.

It creates networking opportunities

When you choose to share someone else’s content you are endorsing their work. This can be flattering for the creator and can be a good way to open doors to new partnerships with relevant businesses, social influencers, consultants, and other industry experts.

Here are some tips for developing your network through content curation:

• Always link to the original creator. A backlink to the original piece of work makes it clear you are not trying to pass off their work as your own and is likely to be appreciated by the original creator as it also benefits their website.
• Always tag them. You need to ensure they are aware of what you have done and, hopefully, encourage them to engage with your social post.
• Collaborate: Think carefully about which brands have a natural alignment and would be useful to collaborate with and then reference their content to start the relationships off well.
• Include your brand voice: Just because you are sharing another brand’s content does not mean you don’t need to do so in your brand’s voice. Try to add value to whatever info you need while presenting your brand as positively as possible.

As you can see, content creation can provide several benefits to your brand. In today’s world original content is seen as so crucial to digital marketing. However, content curation can provide many extra benefits and be done quickly, easily and without much time and resources.

Author Bio:

Zoe Dromgoole is the Marketing Executive at Wood Flooring Ireland and runs social media marketing. Wood Flooring Ireland sells bespoke engineered wood flooring throughout the entire country. Click here to learn more – https://woodflooringireland.ie/engineered-wood-flooring/.