Content curation is an important aspect of any content marketing program. One of its main benefits is that the burden of continually creating content is alleviated by sharing content you find online with your audiences.

In this final post about last month’s Growth Powered by Risdall seminar on content marketing, I, Dave Dougherty, Risdall’s Digital Marketing Specialist, will explore the advantages of content curation within a content program and how most people don’t have an excuse for why they haven’t started curating content on a daily basis. It’s much easier to do than you might initially think.

Make the Content You Consume Work for Your Content Marketing

The problem with curating content is that many of us don’t take the extra step after reading a newsletter, blog, or social post to share and comment on what we just consumed.

Most business professionals, each day, are reading blogs, newsletters, books, listening to podcasts, or watching videos on topics that relate to their business or their career. What happens immediately after consuming a piece of content? You’ll exit the browser, return to your email, or leave your desk.

By signing up for and consuming newsletters, blogs, etc., you’ve already done the hardest part of content curation! All you have to do to start taking advantage of the content you’ve curated is share the piece with your social networks and comment on it. When you do so, not only are you engaging with your community, but you’re also demonstrating your knowledge of industry trends and issues.

Content Marketing Sources are All Around You – If You Know Where to Look

Sources for content curation fall into two types: internal and external. External sources for content curation include many of the things we do each day. Things like podcasts, social media posts, news organizations, blogs, magazines, books and industry associations.

A couple of the external sources that many people overlook include your current and prospective customers.

What questions are they asking over and over again that you could potentially answer in a blog, social media post or video? Another example would be any of your competitors. What are they doing that’s working for them? If you’re targeting similar audiences, then trying some of the same tactics could yield good results.

One of the easiest ways to find content ideas is to talk to your coworkers. You can ask them what they are working on, or what the common problems and questions they run into are. Other places to look are the contact form from your company’s website, or the questions, concerns or issues that are coming through your customer service department.

Easy fodder for social media channels can be showing off your company culture, photos from company events or charity events that your organization is taking part in. Even unique office decorations are good social media photo opportunities, because it shows something other than the very calculated professional demeanor.

Other ways to find content to curate is to monitor the web for keywords specific to topics you’re interested in. Use RSS feeds and email newsletters to sign up for information from reputable sources. Find out what the trending topics on social media are and whether or not they are related to your organization’s products or services.

Watch the video above, or download the transcript of my Content Marketing-Content Curation presentation, for more great insights into curating content.

Contact Risdall if you’re interested in how we can leverage our experience for your content marketing and other digital marketing initiatives.

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Featured Image Citation: Flickr Creative Commons – Dennis Santana “Rosette Nebula”