How does content curation help my business? Let us count the ways…
Full disclosure: we are biased when it comes to content curation, but that’s only because we believe it works!
If you haven’t gotten into the content curation game yet, you might be wondering what all the buzz is about. Selecting and sharing content created by others might seem like a daunting task – and what are the benefits? It’s not an easy process, but there are tools out there to help you curate (like Trapit, ahem), and finding the right mix of sharing original content alongside curated content can reap serious benefits. If you’re still not a believer, or aren’t sure exactly what we mean, here are just a few of the ways that content curation can help your business.
1. It can ease stress on your content team, resulting in better original content.
One of the biggest struggles that marketers and businesses face every day is how to create enough content to stand out online. Businesses are expected to be on a handful of social media channels, run a blog, and have knockout content on their websites to boot. Creating enough content to fill all those channels is a serious issue, and probably puts daily stress on your content or marketing team. If that team is less worried about the sheer amount of content they need to create, they can focus on crafting better original content, and use curation of other quality content to fill in any gaps.
2. Finding the right content mix makes you less egocentric, and can help you hit your numbers.
In our Trapit study of U.S. marketers late last year, most said that the companies they represent should be sharing at least 10 pieces of content per day. I don’t know of any business, big or small, that regularly hits that number with original content alone. If you want to keep up with the pace of Twitter and other social media channels, one post a day just isn’t going to cut it. Combine two original posts per day with 8 thoughtfully-curated posts, and you’ll be a Twitter standout. As an added bonus, the mix of both original and curated content makes your brand seem a lot less about “me, me, me,” and more about content that is helpful to your audience.
3. It fosters brand awareness and thought-leadership, which can help you stand out.
How do you get word-of-mouth (or word-of-social, rather) to positively spread about your company? We think that creating a sense of thought-leadership in your industry is a big factor. That means becoming a resource for your audience, instead of focusing only on selling whatever your brand offers. Curate the best content you can find in a thoughtful way, and your audience will see that you care about giving them the kind of information they need and want. They will come back to your brand’s social channels to seek out quality information, not just to decide whether to purchase from you or not. While this may not directly lead to dollar signs, building a solid reputation on social media can go a long way when it comes to general brand-awareness.
4. It keeps your team knowledgeable, which can help your overall marketing efforts.
As a marketer, it can be tough to keep up with the ever-changing best practices, social media tactics, and latest industry trends. For brands who curate content, team knowledge-building is built into the process. If your marketing team is always reading and curating great content about your industry, they will always be in-the-know and ahead of the curve. We sometimes share our favorite curated articles with our own marketing and sales teams to provide valuable industry insight. Taking the time to read high-quality content other than your own is hugely important to staying informed, no matter what industry you are in, and curation can make that an easy part of your day.
5. It can help generate new business over time.
When you start curating content on your brand’s assets, you are getting your name out there on a consistent basis, and at a pace that helps your brand stand out. It’s much more difficult to do that with original content alone. Building brand awareness, creating industry thought-leadership, and posting good content more frequently can all lead to more business, and more revenue for your company. Using curation for revenue-generation is a long term strategy, but I think we can all agree that having a great reputation online, and as a resource for your audience, will help any brand succeed. Curating the most relevant outside content alongside your own can help you reach that goal in many different ways.
– Kelly