Chances are you have heard the phrase “content is king.” It makes perfect sense: people want information before making decisions or forming opinions. So, where does this content originate? What happens if you’re not a writer or particularly good at marketing? What happens when your audience tunes you out?
Larger companies may have the resources to invest in an in-house content creator(s). Smaller businesses typically don’t have the resources to bring on an extra person. Regardless of whether you have the staffing to create your own branded content, a content bottleneck prevents content from getting to clients as fast as you’d like. The top five content bottlenecks we typically hear are, I don’t know how, a lack of time, an inability to produce enough, an inability to produce the right kind of content, or a lack of budget.
What Is Content Curation
First off, content curation is not plagiarism or content theft. Content curation is gathering information on a topic of interest with a plan to add value by organizing the collection.
The concept of content curation has been around for a few years and allows readers to see the content presented differently, presenting the topic in a new light. Or in other words, content curation is about using the ideas of others to say what might resonate with your audiences.
Potential customers want to feel that you can provide them with valuable content, regardless of the source.
Striking a Balance
Striking the right balance of content can be tricky. For example, if you focus too heavily on self-promotion, folks may not think they are getting a straight story out of you.
“Face it,” Heidi Cohen said recently in her blog, “Consumers just aren’t that into promotion unless they’re seeking a deal before buying. They can smell an ad a mile away. They’re blind and deaf to most ads regardless of where they appear.”
If you share irrelevant information, people will push you into the background noise they encounter daily. Either way, your message – and ultimately your business success – is lost.
Clients expect the best content wherever it is sourced from. Google does an outstanding job of helping them. However, this puts an added burden on you, the content creator, to develop the best content and putting content curation skills to the test. Ultimately this takes a strategy, and if you plan carefully, you can save time and money in a few simple steps.
Plan to Reach Clients
Think about becoming more client-focused. Think about these:
- Where do your clients find your content?
- What makes your business unique?
- How does it differ from other businesses?
- Do you run special promotions?
- Are you connected with any community organizations?
- Do you sponsor a school or a local youth sports team?
- Do you have any branded content?
If you sponsor a school sporting team, you have a considerable client base of children, teachers, and parents. Therefore, your products would have to be a good fit and child-friendly. This way, you can fill in the gaps in your campaign with curated content to reach your broad client base.
Adjust Your Plan According to Feedback
Once you start to get feedback, you will be able to adjust your campaign accordingly. This should not be difficult, and if you are having trouble making the adjustments contact Cube Creative Design, and we will do it for you or at least point you in the right direction.
Office Team Meetings and Brainstorming
If you have a diverse group of people working in your office or on your team, you only need about five to six different views to get started on curation content. You are not the only expert in your office, so allow the staff to share their ideas and get the content flowing. While you are talking and brainstorming, have someone document the opinions, bullet points are enough, and you can pull it all together later. This way, your clients can access multiple views and perspectives when you share the ideas on your website or social media account. The content you share will be sifted through; only the best content should go on the website. Keep it clear and focused.
Provide Value Through Content Curation
When you share the curated content, add your insights. Just a short sentence or two adds tons of value. Before you share content creation with others, ask yourself the following:
- Who should share this?
- How would it help them?
- Is this unique information?
Knowing Your Audience in Content Curation
You will know your client base and audience well by now, so targeting them with information is appropriate and valuable.
Your job as a content curator is to choose the best information for your followers/clients. Know what your audience is looking for and be selective.
Follow this by watching the engagement received on your curated posts. You will soon see the type of content that resonates with the group, and then you can build on it.
A Step-by-Step Guide to Content Curation
So how do you put content curation into practice? Here is a step-by-step guide to make your content reign supreme.
Get a Plan
First, think of where you serve content to your clients. Is it on your website (such as in a blog) or your social media accounts? If you haven’t established a schedule of when to publish new content, get that settled first. Here is a good guide from Entrepreneur to get you started.
Get your Branded Content in Order
Content curation works best when mixed with your company’s messages. Get those in order first, or at least get them in your workflow to be ready when you need them. What are some examples of original, branded content? Does your business run specials or promotions? What sets your business apart from the competition? Does your company have a special connection to community organizations, such as schools or non-profits? Start gathering the text and photos for these types of content.
Fill in Gaps with Curated Content
Think about your client. What kind of information would be helpful and valuable for them? Is there a new development in your industry that has been featured in a news report? Was there a story about a person who was burned by a similar service? Share these links directly on your social media accounts with tie-ins to why they are relevant to your business.
For instance, if I run a carpet cleaning business and there is a news report about Groupon deals making carpets smell bad, I may want to share that report and describe why my carpet cleaning service uses a technique that prevents water from souring.
Measure and Adjust as Needed
A marketing campaign without feedback is like talking to the wall. If you’re succeeding at content campaigns, you should be able to see a noticeable difference in your sales leads and conversions. If not, re-evaluate your messages and adjust as needed.
Conclusion
Your clients and followers will want to know what you think about the resource you share, so your take is essential. It also needs to be innovative and constantly changing to keep them engaged. If you have any doubts about implementing content curation in your marketing campaigns, contact us at Cube Creative Design!
