Ten must-know tips for great content curation

Content curation is the blogger’s process of gleaning information from other sources and putting it together in an original article relevant to a particular topic. This way they can be known for the newest, freshest content on the web, and grow their own brand.

Growing your brand using content curation

All blogs are there to share information. And bloggers need to find the newest and freshest information to share, or their online presence will wither and die. People want to read the latest news on their desired topic, and will often go back to a blog or tweet that is fresh and original for more.

To do this they often use curation strategies to ensure their content is eye-catching, original and will grow their brand. And with a good brand, curators can often catch the eye of big businesses and end up with paid projects. Curation can lead to much more as well. A growth in followers can lead to other valuable relationships which can lead on to job offers, freelance work and even your own business.

Add value to the original content

A lot of people post their content every day, in a number of different formats. And while some just rehash or repost what others have written, others are posting new and unique content. These are the ones people rely on for sharing things they want to read, and, ideally, this is how we want our content to be seen. And being important in other people’s lives can result in lots of new opportunities. So how can we make sure our curation tactics are going to bring real results? Using these tips we can make sure our efforts get results.

Find new content from unknown sources

To be effective in content curation you need to find new and fresh content that readers have not seen before. And write it in a way that highlights the content and adds value to the subject. You need to be” the” place people go to in order to find the best content, to build your brand and grow your followers. You are the content trend-setter.

One way you can find that “unseen” content is to use RSS feeds. Other blogs, twitter and other social media outlets have already used the content, and it is no longer new. With RSS you can get the unique content you need. RSS feeds alert you to the articles as they go live, so you get the first “heads-up” on what is happening. Sometimes you can share it even before the business can market their content.

Using companies like Moz or HubSpot means you can find the best content before others, and curate it in your own style. And remember, just sharing their content is not going to grow your brand. Your “share” has to be original and written in a way to attract your followers.

Finding the right RSS option is a must. Google used to be a great source, but since it shut down, you can try Digg Reader for its user-friendly feeds. Another excellent source is Feedly. It has a built-in share count and offers tips on which content could be useful based on its own click-rate.

Be picky about the content you curate

Be selective about what you “share”. Take the time to really read what you find, and understand it. That way you will be able to curate it better. Only the best content should be shared. If you just share every feed from your favorite source, you will soon lose those hard-won followers.

Find other relevant sources outside your niche

It can often help to get good fresh content from places where only 10 to 20 percent of the content is relevant to your followers. Dig deep to find the content that is new and unseen by people in your crowd. Some examples of those sources are:

Hacker News — mostly targeted at start-up founders, employees, and engineers, and surfaces relevant content or SEO-driven news from time to time
Product Hunt — great place to find new and interesting tools, some of which may apply to your industry
Reddit/r/dataisbeautiful or /r/internetisbeautiful — good threads to find content inspiration

And every niche has its own “thought leaders”, the people who come up with the freshest content. And although these can be good, you will only normally get good content you can use around 5 per cent of the time.

The first impression can make or break a blog

The first sentence in any tweet or blog will make or break your post. So make sure it is attractive and eye-catching, and makes your followers want to read on. If the first sentence is not compelling enough, your readers will breeze right past without a second glance. And try not to auto-share or schedule the postings. While it is important that you get it out there first, and every second counts, scheduling it will mean it is not your own original style, and will turn your readers off.

Make the blog your own with curation

By tweaking the headline of an article you want to share, you can make it more interesting and give it more value. Great curation improves the content by showing it in a different light or adding new twists, making it exciting and more shareable.

The title should attract the audience

Twisting or rehashing the words in the title can make all the difference. The title – % Things You Need To Know About… – gives the reader a sense of urgency. They want to know what this is, because the title suggests they “need” to know. People will think, “Do I already know this?” and, “I should check this out.”

If your title is better than the original, you will get more visibility, and so will the original creator. Which I am sure they would appreciate.

Improve the design of the content

The best way to improve the content you are curating is to improve the design. Some of the ways you can improve the design are:

Optimize the photos for the relevant media. Photoshop or PicResize work well for this
Use full-width photos on blog posts. Full-width photos look better on a blog than social media
Pull images together to make one image. This can create a full-width image for the blog if your best photos are too small to resize.

Make a lasting impression on the originator

One of the things you want to do with your content curation is to impress the original creator. As well as being likely to share your version of their post, they may well follow you. And that can only improve your following in the long term.

Tips on making that impression include:

Tag their handle. Always notify them of your curation of their content.
Send them a note of thanks, but only if you already know them. Showing them your curated content has generated traffic will help them too.
Be ethical. Never share anything that specifically states it is not to be shared. Not everyone allows sharing.
Ask permission before using someone else’s content. Photos, especially, require you to ask permission, unless it states that republishing is allowed.

And you should always follow these few rules:

Link the content to the original source.
Don’t steal traffic, push traffic. Post an excerpt with a link – don’t publish the original content in its entirety.
Before you begin curating content, make sure to use this checklist for ethical content curation.

You can have an impact on your audience

Content curation gives you the opportunity to have an impact on people’s lives, and have your voice be heard. Experiment with your curation to find your own style. And always watch the reactions of people and be ready to empathise. And most of all enjoy what you do.

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