Giving and receiving with smart curation

Content Marketing Infographic: Giving and receiving with smart curation

Posted by Kelly Montgomery on Mon, Dec 30, 2013 @ 12:54 PM Tweet

Content marketing curation services, much like the holiday season, are all about a cycle of giving and receiving. On the surface of this idea, content with a business-minded approach makes the consumer audience the dedicated receivers, while the curators divvying out select content are the givers. However, this cycle should also be seen in a different light – let’s not forget how the content arrives to the curators in the first place. With sophisticated curation services as the backbone of a company’s marketing arsenal, the curator truly is the initial receiver. The importance of curation shouldn’t solely be based on finding things to share, but also as fuel for inspiration when brainstorming creative ways to add your company’s voice to its respective industry. In other words, use discovered content of others as inspiration to create your own. I used this strategy to create the collaborative infographic, seen below.

I’ll be the first to admit that I am no content marketing genius, but that doesn’t mean I can’t grow to become an influencer in the content marketing industry. It reminds me of my childhood days when I used to collect magazines to plaster collages on my wall. Sure, I didn’t snap the original photographs published in the featured articles, but I became inspired by them to create my own mashup of favorites to display in a perspective that was uniquely my own. This is content curation in a nutshell. Infographics happen to be a fantastic collaborative method for companies that don’t have the time or resources to conduct surveys, or to mine the field for new factual data that serves as a roadmap of its industry. Not being in position as an established expert shouldn’t stop a company from being creative. Building an infographic is a great place to start. Consider these steps using curation as your guide:

Discover – You are already aware of the universal keywords that make up your industry. With sophisticated curation tools, use keywords to become the receiver of discoverable content.

Explore – Don’t just skim and share content discovered. Read it! It rolls in fresh on a regular basis, so your company should be using this to its advantage. Soak up any new knowledge that comes through the gates of your industry and take notes.

Curate – The idea of curation doesn’t necessarily always mean the content you chose to publish. Of all the content you browsed in the previous step, curate your favorite facts. Take notes of what your company feels are the most important blurbs to distribute to your respective audience.

Create – This is where collaboration comes into play (the collage mashup concept). There really are no limits to how you can present the information collected, but images sure do pop and resonate well in social media outlets. Fun facts are so much more fun when they are displayed in an artsy way. Utilize the creative minds within your company and piece together something unique that catches the eye. Is it shareable? That should be your first question when considering the piece to be finished.

Share – This is curation, part II. Just like the discovered article your company would curate on its website or through social media, share your unique piece and don’t forget to credit the original contributors of the information discovered.

The bottom line is, curation across the board is about connecting and engaging with an audience. It shouldn’t be boring and it shouldn’t feel tedious. With the right tools, curation can and should be inspiring. Companies should be having fun with it and once this positive outlook has established, successful content marketing becomes a piece of cake.

-Geoff

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