For those of you who manage a blog or post frequently on social media, you’ll understand the challenge of constantly coming up with the right content.

One brilliant way of addressing the problem is content curation – that is the art of handpicking interesting and relevant content created by OTHERS and sharing it with your audience and connections on social media and elsewhere.

Typically you would have unearthed this content by monitoring the web using services such as Google Alerts, Feedly, BuzzSumo and Medium or by keeping a look-out for relevant content in the mainstream media, industry publications, newsletters, podcasts or other content you subscribe to.

Content could be everything from a valuable blog post, expert advice from a relevant thought leader, an excellent media article or anything else you believe your audience would appreciate.

Okay, so curated content is content created by others … so how do go about the task of curating content but still maintain your profile as an authority or expert? Surely that’s about creating original content?

The key rules for content curation

You can develop cracker curated content and preserve your status as an authority by:

Choosing content that specifically relates to your area of expertise or area of specialisation. This will constantly reinforce where your expertise lies and remind people what you are best known for.

Selecting content that is helpful to your key audience. Just like a museum curator’s role is to choose the most important artefacts to display, your role is to select only the best and most relevant content to share with your followers.

Providing your own insights and commentary. This is an opportunity to flaunt your position as an expert in your area. You can do this by:

  • Explaining why you’ve chosen a certain piece
  • Discussing what you agree (or possibly disagree!) with
  • Expanding on something you think is important but has only been touched on fleetingly, or
  • Describing your own personal circumstance relating to the topic at hand

Remember, your audience will appreciate the curated content more if you give it some context and explain why it is relevant or important for them to read. Adding your unique perspective will also build your reputation as someone who truly understands what is happening in your industry or field.

By way of example, there has been an announcement in the media about a new regulation that will impact your customer base. Not only should you explain how the regulation will impact your customers, you should also explain how best they should prepare for its arrival.

Finally, give credit—even if it is as simple as a mention of the author at the end of the piece. This is a nice way to acknowledge someone else’s work. Everyone likes to be recognized and it might even get you some additional shares!

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