What is Content Curation?

Content curation refers to gathering, sorting, and presenting content related to a specific theme. There is so much content circulating the Internet that only a good, experienced content curator can sift through all of this material and deliver the relevant aspects in an organized fashion.

Why is Content Curation Important?

Have you ever walked through a yard sale with a wide variety of items that appear to be in nonsensical places all over someone’s front yard? When kitchenware is mixed in with children’s toys it can be difficult, if not impossible, to figure out where the items are that you need. Good content curation makes browsing through information much like browsing the aisles at the grocery store; everything is grouped together categorically and it is easy to find the information you need. This not only helps your reader to understand your message but it helps you to deliver your information to a broader audience.

What does My Business Need to Know about Content Curation?

When using content curation in a business setting or for marketing purposes it is important to pick only the pieces of information that reflect positively on your business. As with all types of marketing, it is imperative to get your message across in the most clear and concise fashion. Information overload is a very real problem in the marketing world. Oftentimes it is better to say less in an organized fashion than to say more with utter chaos. Remember, content curation is one of your best marketing tools; use it wisely.

Content Curation Tips

Keep in mind that the focus should always be on your audience. As a result, make sure that you are curating with your audience in mind. This will assist you in being picky about the type of content that makes the final cut in the curation process. It is important to never confuse search engines or bots with your audience; they have no opinion on your content and cannot provide the word of mouth advertising that is so crucial.
Why do I Need a Content Curator?

Many people are of the belief that content curation is easy and they should do it themselves. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. There is more content than ever on the Internet. Sorting through this content to find what is best for your business is a job in and of itself. Once the content it acquired it must then be sorted and only the best, most relevant information should remain. While this may sound like an easy task, the truth is that it is quite time consuming and requires a good deal of experience.
In summary, content curation is the art of condensing an overwhelming amount of information to useful pieces that are valuable to your audience. Additionally, it is the role of the curator to ensure the information is formatted and organized in such a way that is it easy for your audience to read and understand. Ultimately, quality content curation can turn a mountain of nonsense into a neatly delivered gift of information.

Here are five curated examples on our favorite subject that we thought would help provide information not only on the topic, but insight into what curation looks like as well.

Content Curation Examples

1. Content Curation Tools a Must-Have for Content Marketers
Find out what industry experts are saying about content marketing tools in this piece.

Original Article on Content Marketing Institute

2. Content Marketing’s Secret Weapon: Content Curation
Want to know more about how you can benefit from curation and what tools to consider? Check out this one!

Original Article on Crowd Content

3. A View into Content Marketing in 2014: Q&A with Michael Brenner
VP of Global Marketing at SAP, Michael Brenner, gives insight into his content marketing tactics.

4. Storytelling with Content Curation
Still don’t see the difference between curation and aggregation? This article dives into how curation is more like storytelling and provides more examples of curated sites.

Original Article by Nancy Pekala

5. How a Software Company Increased their List 130% with Content Curation
This case study provides detail on the steps for launching a content curation campaign and how to get major results.

Get Free Advice on your Current Digital State