Curious about content curation but not sure where to start? Check out our guide to creating meaningful, organised collections of content for your blog or website
What is content curation?
It’s one of those terms you’ve probably heard floating around the web, especially if you work in content marketing. But what is content curation? In the simplest terms, content curation brings order to the Internet. Content curators discover, collect and share existing content from across the Internet, whether it’s to use just for themselves or share with others.
So, why use content curation?
The Internet is flooded with content. Almost any Google search will turn up hundreds, thousands, sometimes millions of results – an overwhelming amount for anyone! We’ve reached saturation point. And the more content that’s uploaded, the more difficult it becomes for humans to find the useful, relevant information they need.
Content curation is the answer. Platforms like Wakelet can help you navigate the crowded Internet highways and bring order to search results in a way that algorithms just can’t.
The most effective examples of content curation use other’s content to create a one-stop shop – a must-visit resource for anyone interested in a topic, theme or event.
When you take the time to curate content – track it down, arrange it into collections on Wakelet, and add your own notes and images to tell a story – people will appreciate it. And whether you’re curating for yourself or for a business, the extra effort you’ve put in will make all the difference.
Think of it like a mix tape – carefully choosing the very best content, content that means something to you and that you hope will say something meaningful.
Content curation and SEO
If you’re using content curation as part of your business’ marketing plan, it’s SEO value will be important. Highlighting the work of others, whether it’s articles, videos, images or social media posts, will help you kick-start the kind of reciprocal relationships that can (if you’re lucky) lead to inbound links. And the more high-quality links that your curation earns, the more valuable it’ll appear to search algorithms and the better your SEO ranking will be.
Adding your own notes to your curated collection can also give your SEO a boost. This not only add a little personality to your collection, but is also an easy – and natural – way to add keywords.
When to use content curation?
A content curation platform like Wakelet has an almost unimaginable range of uses. Here are a just a few to consider:
Weekly curated blog posts
Whether you’re covering business news or action films, curating a weekly blog post of the best articles, tweets, videos and images on that topic will have fans flocking to your site. Update the content every week and add your own spin to your collection – on Wakelet you can add your own cover and background images, notes and PDF documents – and you’ll soon have a loyal following. Check out one of our favourite Wakelet collections for inspiration here
Weekly editorial newsletter
Imagine getting an email every week that contains everything you love. The most engaging articles, must-watch videos, sing-a-long tracks, breath-taking images – the kind of content that it would take you hours, maybe even days to track down. Sending an email newsletter of relevant, meaningful content to people that share your passion or love your company is a great way to deliver a little something extra. Find out how this user creates newsletters on Wakelet here
Share on social
You don’t need to have your own blog or website to be a content curator. Platforms like Wakelet are free-to-use and make it simple to curate content. And you’ve probably been doing it for years on your own Twitter, Facebook and Instagram pages without even realising it! Whenever you choose to share or RT an article, image, song or video you like on your feed, you’re curating content. Once you’ve created your first collection on Wakelet, you can share it on your social channels with just one click!
Content curation vs. content creation
If you’re hoping to integrate content curation into your content marketing strategy, you’ll get the best results if you combine it with content creation. Try not to rely on one or the other if you can. Use both to show the world that you’re a subject matter expert. You can make sure that your content curations blend seamlessly with your own content by using Wakelet’s embed feature and adding you own notes and captions.
Ready to try content curation yourself? Head over to www.wakelet.com to get started!
