What is Content Curation & How Can it Benefit You?
Knowledge is power. And what is one thing that most consumers want besides money? Power.
Over 73% of US consumers research items online before making a purchase. (http://www.godigitalmarketing.com/shopper-research-state-consumer-buying-habits-national-blog/). Many start the self-education cycle before even knowing they are going to make a purchase.
For this very reason, it is imperative for brands to provide a constant source of informational, educational and enlightening content for their audience. Why? If consumers are searching for information online, you are not going to be considered unless they find you through their self-education cycle. Your best bet is to consistently put out fresh information on a variety of relevant topics, increasing your chances of being found and relaying the information your audience is interested in.
For example, Whole Foods has a breakout content marketing presence that leaves other brands shrouded in their dust. They know their audience and they know what type of information they want. They put out tons of content (1-2 blog posts per day) that talks about food, nutrition, food sourcing, cooking, recipes and more. They engage the audience they have, and will be readily found by those seeking this type of information. And guess what? Educating with useful content builds goodwill and loyalty. If people come to you for information, they will buy from you. They will trust you. Whole Food knows this and uses it to their advantage.
To reach, or even approach, content a strategy like Whole Foods is almost out of reach given the amount of time, money and other resources that need to be put toward it. That’s where content curation comes in.
Content curation can be defined as the act of taking what someone else has written and using its premise for your content. It is not plagiarizing, it is not simply sharing someone else’s content. To be curation, you need to add a twist (new perspective or angle) of your own to the content, or add your own insight to the article, blog or idea you are sharing.
For content marketing to make a useful impact on your organic reach, your content needs to be of high quality, it must talk about topics that are relevant to your industry and brand, and it must be on topics that people will search for online. And of course, the more content you put out, the more helpful it is: Hubspot found that “companies that blog 15 or more times per month get 5 times more traffic” (Youtility, p87). The more content you put out, the more chances your site has of showing up in search engine results; not to mention the deeper people will be able to get on your site as they self-educate.
15 blogs per month sounds pretty unattainable for most. And for most, it is. Heck, even 8 per month is a stretch. That’s why content curation exists. People all over the country are talking about the topics you want to talk about. Sometimes they say it better than you can. Why not use that to your advantage? Writing a completely original piece is not always necessary. Borrow from others, give them the credit, and expand on their ideas to offer additional value to your customers.
If you have to write everything yourself, there would certainly be no time for other high-value, quick return initiatives. Free up some of your limited time and increase your ROI while you’re at it!
Get a jump start by using UpContent - it’s designed to help you find the right content at the right time to get your customers engaged and to spark conversation!
Need some help getting started with curation or have any questions? Let us know!