What is curated content?

You’re actually looking at a “Content Curation” example right now: Our entire Content Strategy Resources section is a collection of useful content, showcased for our readers to view, use, and implement as needed. We’ve curated the content of others, and we’re sharing it far and wide: On our website, in our emails, and on our social channels.

Think of curated content in terms of an art show: The curator’s job is to select the best pieces to show, and arrange them in the proper setting or site. They map out everything in advance, and they only show the best pieces, or the pieces that are the most relevant to the theme. Kevan Lee from Buffer describes content curation on his blog, “Museums curate works of art. We digital marketers curate blog posts.”

Blogs are not the only asset that can be curated. Articles, white papers, case studies, and resource pages can be curated for a target audience.

If you’re a marketer, what does curated content mean to you?

According to a Forbes article in 2014, only 26% of marketers are investing in content distribution. As the market becomes more and more flooded with content, marketing teams are going to need to step up the pace on content curation.

Content Curation vs. Content Distribution: What the What?

Content curation occurs when a brand finds and distributes relevant information within a given industry. Others are sharing your content because it’s awesome. Your brand can distribute it on social channels, but it’s up to others to decide if it’s worth curating. Hop on over to Curata for a more in-depth analysis.

How can a marketer step up the pace on content curation? Three Steps.

1 Social – Step it up

While this may seem obvious, the importance lies in the details. Stepping up the pace means going social more often. Step out of the megaphone mentality, and start sharing industry knowledge that is important to your followers, even if your brand didn’t create it (gasp!).

Share more often, as much as 4-5 times a day. If the quality of the information is good, followers won’t “unfollow” or “unlike” your brand, they’ll do the opposite. They’ll start to see the brand as an authority. They’ll be more likely to share, and become a curator of your content.

Share at various times – on and off hours. If you only post and share during traditional business hours, your social media channels are silent when people are interested in learning. They’re working during business hours (hopefully), and they’re researching during the off hours, if they have a problem to solve. Will your social media channel bring them the answer? Only if you’re posting, regularly! WINNING!

2 Content Creation – Step it up

Again, it seems obvious, but it’s not. Content cannot be shared until it’s created. In the sea of information, it’s easy for your 2-3 blog post per week to get lost in the shuffle. Will creating 5-10 blog posts per week help? Possibly. As long as things like keywords, audience targeting, and duplicate content are considered, then yes, more content will result in additional eyeballs on the content.

3 Content Organization

Think of it as a roadmap for readers. If your team is creating content according to a list of keywords, what is the relevant buyer path of these keywords? Does your audience search for certain keywords at the beginning of the cycle, and then move onto a secondary list as they gather information? All buyers move through a cycle, and your content should guide them through the cycle once they find you. Make it easy for your audience to find and share your content.

Ready to dive even deeper into the Content Curation pond?

Julia McCoy has created your 2015 Curated Content Guide on Search Engine Land…curate and rock on!