Content Curation: 5 Killer Reasons It’s Your New BFF
“Find good stuff and share it” is the way content curation works. Whether you as a curator are on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Pinterest, people want to see the best articles chosen for them. Very few people have hundreds of hours to scour the web looking for the gold nuggets. But why is content curation your BFF, you may wonder?
Fewer Brain Explosions!
Your brain can pay attention to maybe four things at once. A friend of mine recently said that if you’re driving you can pay attention to what’s in front of you, in back of you, and to either side. If one more item is added, say texting, then it’s overload. Information overload works the same way. Content curation helps your audience because you filter the good stuff for them, and then hand it to them on a pretty plate. Here’s how to handle information overload (TIP: Skip to the list!).
Builds Trust
People will come to rely on your content, so ensure that you stay on target and be true to what you’ll share. So if your social media profile says you are a restaurant, people would probably expect to see fabulous images of food. Probably. And maybe content from parallel industries as well, such as pubs and wineries. Of course, you can also create your own content. Here’s an article on Content Creation: Like Hosting Out-of-Town Guests, that you might like.
Creates Community
Posting about a particular subject draws in like-minded people. How often have you yourself, as a content curator, been impressed or tickled by a content on someone else’s post? Content curation, done the right way, gives you that sense of community that we’re sometimes lacking.
Opens the Imagination
The best Facebook page or Pinterest board unlocks your imagination. Sometimes you get a lot more than you expected, when you go to a beautifully curated account. Sometimes you think “I could make that outdoor sofa set from old pallets” or “that Grand Marnier Soufflé looks entirely do-able!” Here’s a post about Pinterest Influencers: Curating Pins that you might like.
Positions You As a Thought Leader
If you have original ideas, then curating content can make you a leader. People will come to you first when they want an answer about your area of expertise. When you add context to a news article, for example, you reframe an already-existing viewpoint. And who doesn’t want to be a thought leader?
Secret Sixth Reason
Here’s the reason many of you curate content: It’s your passion. And you want engaged followers. Don’t you?
It’s also more social to post other people’s content instead of making your social feeds another RSS dump.
Great post.
Hi Bridget,
There’s another good reason for curating content. It’s supposed to be social media.
Thank you for the comment,
Carol
And another – no one is an expert in all things in their field. The best way to provide value to your audience is to help them by providing the information they need even it it didn’t come from you.
Hi Robert,
Yes, I love that. It’s a way to think of one’s audience first–even if the subject is one you’re not an expert at.
Thank you,
Carol
And another. Sharing other people’s content builds connections and encourages reciprocity.
Stunning images, by the way.
Hi Clement,
My apologies for missing this comment! Yes, sharing does increase connections and reciprocity.
Thanks for the comment!
Carol
Agree with all the points made in your post and with Bridget, Robert, and Clement!
Good stuff!
Justine
Thank you, Justine! And thanks for the share on LinkedIn. Appreciate it!
Carol