Content curation involves collecting existing content and sharing it on social media or your blog, but it’s not as simple as clicking a “Share” button.

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Effective curation involves thinking of a good topic, finding the best pieces of content, and knowing how to engage you audience. Here are a few tips from content marketing experts to help you add content curation to your current internet marketing strategies.

Choose the Right Topics

Just like any other type of content creation, curating should start with choosing the right topic. Jessie Zubatkin, the marketing director of Curata, offers five great tips to help start your curation off on the right foot:

1. Describe your brand – You should know your brand before you start choosing your topics. Zubatkin says that asking what you want your brand to be known for, what keywords you want to use, and what your brand’s voice and perspective is will determine the topic you should choose.
2. Know your audience – Identifying your target readers helps you figure out what appeals to that audience and how you can address their needs.
3. Consider the landscape – Choose a topic that isn’t too niche but isn’t too broad. You might have trouble finding enough content to curate for a niche topic, and your efforts might seem unfocused if you choose a broad topic.
4. Factor in your expertise – Choose topics that you are genuinely interested in and are familiar with. You need to have enough experience and knowledge in your topics to formulate opinions and commentary to add to your curated content. “Good curation goes beyond summary and adds original commentary to the conversation,” Zubatkin says.
5. Follow the bigshots – After choosing a few potential topics, Zubatkin recommends finding and following the thought leaders for those areas. This will allow you to see how saturated the topic is, and determine what you else you can add to the discussion.

Use Multiple Platforms

Steven Rosenbaum, CEO of Magnify.net, points out that today’s consumers “get their information on the platform of their choosing.” You can’t wait for them to visit your blog or Pinterest page; you need to reach out to them across different platforms. Rosenbaum says you should post on Tumblr, Pinterest, YouTube, and Facebook, and even on other blogs and online publications your audience frequently visits.

Add Your Own Flair

What’s the difference between content aggregation and content curation? Pawan Deshpande, CEO of Curata offers a good answer: “Good content curation takes that extra step of putting the idea into context, explaining why it’s relevant to readers, or otherwise inserting your brand’s opinion on the topic.”

Simply rewriting and republishing content doesn’t make you any different from aggregation sites. Curating great content and adding your own input or commentary allows you to showcase your taste and expertise, and helps build up your brand’s reputation as an industry leader.

Write Good Calls-to-Action

Never forget the power of an effective call-to-action (CTA). You will miss a lot of opportunities to turn your audience into loyal brand advocates without them. “It’s not enough to publish useful information,” Deshpande says. “You want readers to engage with you and take an action that will provide value for your business.” To create strong CTAs for your curated content, he offers five important tips:

1. Set a goal – What are your current marketing goals, and how will your CTAs help you achieve them?
2. Consider the context – What led the visitor to your content page, and where is he/she in your sales funnel?
3. Keep it concise – Keep your CTAs focused, clear, and actionable.
4. Place your CTA strategically – Place your CTA where it’s visible without distracting readers from the actual content.

Maintain a High Quality Standard

Maintaining a high standard of quality is important in any content strategy. Content coach Roger C. Parker offers a useful 10-question scorecard to measure your curated content’s quality and success. Some of the most important questions to ask include:

“Are you selecting topics based on your market’s informational needs?”
“Are you recommending content your market might otherwise overlook?”
“Are you using comments to provide a context for the content you curate?”
“Are you using graphics to enhance the value of your comments?”
“Are you analyzing the popularity of the various topics you curate?”

Being a good content curator can make your online marketing efforts even more effective, and even improve your online credibility and reputation as an individual or as a representative of your brand. Keep checking our blog or contact us for more advice on content marketing and creation.