Content Curation 101: 7 Best Practices, Helpful Tools & Great Examples

In today’s digital world, marketers know that creating quality content is key to informing, engaging and inspiring action, as well as building authority and rapport with their audiences. And oftentimes that means creating original pieces and assets that tap into their audience’s interests, address pain points and answer burning questions.

But let’s face it: marketers are busy—and creating quality, original pieces that get results and position your brand as having the best answer is incredibly time intensive.

However, there is one tactic that can come to the rescue: content curation.

What is content curation?

Simply put, content curation is all about finding, gathering and sharing the best and most relevant content the web has to offer on a specific topic that your audience cares about.

Why content curation?

First off, you’re likely already doing it in some capacity. According to Curata, more than 83% of marketers curate and share content from third party sources with their customers or prospects.

Secondly, content curation can add value, quality and credibility to your content marketing efforts and your brand. Curata also reports that over 50% of marketers say content curation has increased their brand visibility, thought leadership, SEO, web traffic and buyer engagement, and 41% of marketers say the number of quality or sales-ready leads increased, too.

Finally, as previously mentioned, content creation allows you to create quality, compelling content in less time. As TopRank Marketing’s CEO Lee Odden wrote in his book Optimize:

“Pure creation is demanding. Pure automation doesn’t engage. Curating content can provide the best of both.”

Whether you’re thinking about adding content curation to your tactical mix or looking for ideas to boost the quality of your curation efforts, below we offer some best practices, tips, tool suggestions and some examples of how brands are doing it.

Content Curation Best Practices, Tips & Tools

#1 – Identify sources you can go back to over and over again.

Remember that content curation is all about finding and sharing the best of the best content that’s out there, so take time to find and document credible, quality sources that you can consistently pull from. This will not only ensure you’re sharing the best stuff, but it’ll also increase your efficiency.

Wondering where to look? Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Google News, Google Search or Google+
• Social media and social sharing sites (Pinterest can be especially useful!)
• Industry news publications and blogs
• Industry specific newsletters you receive via email
• Niche topic blogs that are relevant to your business and audience
• Press release distribution sites such as PRWeb or PRNewswire
• News aggregators
• Competitors (This will allow you to see how they’re doing content curation.)

As another tip, consider conducting your own poll or survey to collect insights that can be rolled into other pieces of content.

#2 – Be relevant.

Stay focused on just a handful of different topics and themes that are relevant to your audience. This will ensure that your curated content resonates and show that your brand or company has is knowledgeable and dialed in on those subjects.

As for the type of content you should be looking out for, here are some to consider:

• Blogs, news articles, white papers, case studies, press releases or eBooks
• Any content written by influential industry thought leaders
• Statistics, data, surveys, studies, reports or other research
• Links shared on social media
• Videos, infographics or other visual content
• Slideshare presentations

#3 – Give credit where it’s due.

You know that time, resources and a little love went into creating all the pieces you’ve curated. So whether you’re sharing on social media or working the content into a blog post, make sure you’re giving the original writer and/or publication credit for their hard work.

#4 – Commit to consistency.

If you want your content curation efforts to be successful and effective, consistency is key. In addition, this tactic needs to be integrated into your overall content marketing strategy.

The frequency and curated mix that’s right for your brand will depend on your industry, overall marketing strategy and goals, but 2-4 curated social media posts a day and a monthly blog roundup could be a good starting point.

#5 – Give your “people” some special attention.

Your customers, prospects and partners are likely creating some great content. Highlight that content to show them you’re in touch with their business and help you serve up relevant content to your audience.

#6 – Share on multiple channels.

While curated content may not be your work, you should still share and promote it like your own to get more reach, engagement and awareness. Remember that variety is the spice of life. Below are some places to publish and share include:

• Your company blog
• eBooks
• Email newsletters
• Social media channels
• Contributed articles or blogs to industry sites
• Niche microsites or hubs dedicated to a specific topic or news category

#7 – Utilize curation and distribution tools.

There are a number of helpful content curation and distribution tools out there. Use them to streamline your processes so you can consistently share find and share. Below are some free and paid options to consider:

• Feedly (free and paid programs)
• List.ly (free and paid programs)
• Storify (free and paid programs)
• Scoop.It (free and paid programs)
• Buzzsumo (free and paid programs)
• Buffer (free and paid programs)
• Curata (paid)

Examples of Content Curation in Action

News Roundups

LinkedIn Marketing Solutions

Each week, the LinkedIn Marketing Solutions publishes a “Top Trending Content” blog post focused on what’s happening and what’s being talked about in the marketing world.

Below is a shot of one of their latest posts.

BuzzFeed

BuzzFeed is a champion of curated content, utilizing a variety of sources to compile silly, interesting, newsworthy and timely posts each day. While the example below isn’t exactly hard hitting news or focused on helpful tips, it definitely employs a number of content curation best practices such as utilizing social sharing platforms, crediting sources and focusing on a specific topic their readers will enjoy.

Innovatech Labs

Big brands and companies aren’t the only ones who can find interesting and relevant content to curate for their unique audiences. There’s also opportunity for smaller and niche businesses to do it, too.

Innovatech Labs is a materials testing lab that uses several analytical testing techniques, which are useful to many manufacturers who want to ensure product quality and cleanliness. Each month, Innovatech Labs publishes an Analytical Testing News Roundup featuring interesting articles that showcase how those techniques are being used in the real world.

Social Sharing

TopRank Marketing

TopRank Marketing’s social news feeds feature a hearty mix of commentary, photos, links to original content and, of course, curated content links. Here’s a peek at our recent Twitter posts, highlighting great content from some of our favorite sources.

Hubs and Resources

HubSpot

HubSpot’s “The Ultimate List of Marketing Statistics” is a great example of content curation at its finest. This resource features the latest marketing statistics and is organized by tactic. In addition, it’s continually updated as new data is released.

CMO.com by Adobe

CMO.com by Adobe provides a great mix of curated and original content. In fact, their tagline says it all: “Digital marketing insights, expertise and inspiration – for and by marketing leaders.” The big way they’re featuring curated content is through their “Marketing News Feed,” which pulls in posts from authoritative and credible sources such as Social Media Today, MarketingProfs, Marketing Insider Group and even TopRank Marketing Blog.

Do you curate content? How often are you doing it and where do you find inspiration for it? Tell us in the comments section below.

Disclosure: LinkedIn and Innovatech Labs are TopRank Marketing clients.