This week we were joined by Christel ven der Boom (@xtel), Flipboard’s head of comms, to talk about the value of content curation.
Q1: What is content curation? Is it just social sharing?
Content curation is sharing valuable, interesting content—and your POV—with your audience.
A1: It’s sharing content that’s relevant to your audience. You can add your thoughts on how it impacts your industry to make the share more unique. – @jesseghiorzi #ContentChat
— CHARGE (@CHARGEgoforward) April 2, 2018
A1. Via @econtentmag, “#Content Curation is the act of discovering, gathering, and presenting #digital content that surrounds specific subject matter.” It can be so much more than just #social sharing!#ContentChathttps://t.co/H8taxfWMa8
— SourceMedia (@SourceMediaCo) April 2, 2018
Content curation is the editorial selection and commentary on existing content that contributes to your thought leadership. #contentchat
— HeidiCohen (@heidicohen) April 2, 2018
Content curation is the editorial selection and commentary on existing content that contributes to your thought leadership. #contentchat
— HeidiCohen (@heidicohen) April 2, 2018
Content curation is a way to build your brand while also nurturing industry influencer relationships.
A1: Content curation goes beyond just sharing content on social media. Good curation supports your brand while also building relationships with industry thought leaders. #ContentChat
— Erika Heald | Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) April 2, 2018
A1: Social curation is the strategic sharing of content that is relevant to your audience and on-message with your brand. It should help to promote the concept and ideas of your brand. #ContentChat
— Caitlin Kinser (@caitlinmarie89) April 2, 2018
A1: For me, content curation goes beyond social sharing in that you have to focus on the messaging behind the content. Anything you share should absolutely be on brand and in line with your values. #contentchat https://t.co/9XcX8h4W5i
— Shelby Anderson💫🌙 (@shellbirrd) April 2, 2018
Content curation collects and provides context to content by paring related content under one umbrella. Sharing with purpose.
A1: Content curation goes beyond just social sharing. It’s a way to collect information and stories to save for later as well as a way to package content from across the web for easy consumption in one easy to find place. #ContentChat
— Flipboard Magazines (@FlipboardMag) April 2, 2018
A1: Content curation is the thematic grouping of stories it is a powerful way to provide context and information to readers and give brands a voice. #ContentChat
— Christel van der Boom #neveragain (@Xtel) April 2, 2018
A1 Content curation shouldn’t just be sharing content. It should be sharing with purpose. Adding context to make it more valuable. #contentchat
— Martin Lieberman (@martinlieberman) April 2, 2018
A1 content curation can be social but it’s more about sharing a collection of content that’s interesting for your audience #contentchat https://t.co/pIevQheMGK
— Amy Higgins (@amywhiggins) April 2, 2018
A1: Curation supercharges social sharing. When stories are packaged together, the whole can be more impactful than the parts. Here is a powerful example of curation on @Flipboard by @giwps https://t.co/xRyridJzBL #ContentChat
— Christel van der Boom #neveragain (@Xtel) April 2, 2018
Content curation isn’t limited to social. It can take other forms.
A1: It’s helping your audience find other content that would be valuable to them. It can include social sharing, but could also be something like link roundup posts or promoting useful content to your email list #contentchat
— Kristen Hicks (@atxcopywriter) April 2, 2018
My $.02: it’s definitely more than social. It can be a printed magazine, an article, a Flipboard magazine. Curation is all about the selection! #contentchat
— Dennis Shiao ✍ (@dshiao) April 2, 2018
Q2: Why should a company, or a person looking to build their personal brand, curate content?
Content curation gives you credibility by association.
A2: Think of it as a cocktail party – no one wants to talk to the person who only talks about themselves and what they do. Sharing content from others that relates to your audiences provides them value and gives you credibility. – @jesseghiorzi #ContentChat pic.twitter.com/l3Xbw3IIOk
— CHARGE (@CHARGEgoforward) April 2, 2018
A2 Building a personal brand via curation = showing a deep understanding of your space. And showing great taste! #contentchat
— Dennis Shiao ✍ (@dshiao) April 2, 2018
Content curation provides significant value to your audience while enhancing your brand.
A2: Content curation provides a way to connect brand values with customer interests that is both rich and cost effective. By curating stories around a topic it can be a true service to consumers. #ContentChat
— Christel van der Boom #neveragain (@Xtel) April 2, 2018
A2. A person’s day-to-day typically includes absorbing some form of #content. Content curation allows your business to engage your audience in a digestible format while building your personal #brand through thought leadership in the process. #ContentChat
— SourceMedia (@SourceMediaCo) April 2, 2018
Q2. The main reason to curate #content is to BE USEFUL by sharing info that is relevant to your defined audience. #ContentCuration #contentchat
— Tod Cordill (@todcordill) April 2, 2018
Content curation provides context for your brand’s content and POV. Plus, it helps your content resources go farther.
A2: Creating original content takes time. Curating can stretch your content marketing resources further while providing context for your brand’s POV. #ContentChat
— Erika Heald | Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) April 2, 2018
A2: It’s valuable to your audience. And it’s a way to show you’re part of the larger community – your content doesn’t exist in a vacuum #ContentChat
— Kristen Hicks (@atxcopywriter) April 2, 2018
A2: Because there isn’t enough time to produce all of the content yourself! Content curation is great for remaining active on social with out the time commitment of starting from scratch. I mean we all have day jobs right? #contentchat https://t.co/OtYj0CpHgK
— Shelby Anderson💫🌙 (@shellbirrd) April 2, 2018
A2: An effective content curation strategy can help a small brand/business to supplement their original content. Many have a tough time filling their calendars with fully original content. #ContentChat
— Caitlin Kinser (@caitlinmarie89) April 2, 2018
Content curation can build valuable relationships.
A2: I think you captured at least part of the reason, Erika, in your answer to Q1 – to build relationships. Curating content is one great way to do this. #contentchat
— Michelle Garrett (@PRisUs) April 2, 2018
A2)
It allows for more consistency of posting.
It allows an opportunity for educating oneself on what is out there.
Building opportunities to network.— Andre M. Powell, CC (@andrempowell) April 2, 2018
A2 cont. And sharing other people’s content gets you on their radar – it could lead to relationships where they help promote your content as well #ContentChat
— Kristen Hicks (@atxcopywriter) April 2, 2018
A2) It shows that you can talk about, and are interested in, several subjects. This opens you up to a wide variety of people/brands you could connect with where learning & conversations happen, which helps build your brand & reputation.#ContentChat pic.twitter.com/6vlczZuMWa
— Jason Schemmel – Podcaster. Speaker. #GSDChat🎙🤯 (@JasonSchemmel) April 2, 2018
Here are some standout Flipboard curation examples:
A2: I think examples makes this even clearer. I’ll share a few. The team at @YourBrainTrust curates stories to support busy leaders make more sense of customer behavior and data to drive results. https://t.co/7m33Z8c04Y #ContentChat
— Christel van der Boom #neveragain (@Xtel) April 2, 2018
A2: I also love how @giwps (The Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security) uses curation to bring attention related to topics related to women, peace, security and the economy. https://t.co/RPpQY0qxhy #contentchat
— Christel van der Boom #neveragain (@Xtel) April 2, 2018
A2: Brands can also curate their stories to organize them by topic for a specific audience. For instance @MTraveler has a wealth of travel content and curates its stories for outdoor travelers into a Flipboard Magazine https://t.co/g3KinkiRfU #ContentChat
— Flipboard Magazines (@FlipboardMag) April 2, 2018
A2: Another example is @_CloudLine , a sock company for active people. They curate stories about hiking, backpacking and life in the wilderness in Life on the Trail https://t.co/LY4Q9EH0Qg #ContentChat
— Christel van der Boom #neveragain (@Xtel) April 2, 2018
Q3: OK, I’m sold on the value of content curation. How should I decide what topic to curate?
Identify topics that are aligned with your brand strategy and what you deliver to your customers.
A3] Select your content curation topic to be aligned with your content marketing mission statement. Your goal is consistency. #contentchat
— HeidiCohen (@heidicohen) April 2, 2018
A3 The topics–yes, you want more than one–for your content creation should revolve around your brand, products and services. #ContentChat
— Shannon Mouton Gray (@ShannonRenee) April 2, 2018
A3: You should curate content on topics that you currently talk about… your audience already expects that style of content. If you talk about social media marketing already, then a shared article on that is likely to be appreciated/read by your current audience. #ContentChat
— 🎙JMatt (@JMattMke) April 2, 2018
A3: when curating content for your brand – Align your key content marketing pillars with your curation. What topics does your audience what to learn more about? #ContentCuration #ContentChat
— Amy Higgins (@amywhiggins) April 2, 2018
A3: Is there a broken record emoji? Let your strategy inform your decision. Figure out what segment of your audience is looking for value-added information and how spending time curating news that cultivates that audience can help you achieve your objectives. #ContentChat pic.twitter.com/SHOADQRG2r
— Derek Pillie (@dpillie) April 2, 2018
What topics do you want your brand to be known for and immediately associated with? What are your brand’s areas of expertise? Those are your best curation topics.
A3: Brand first, then go. Figure out what key topics or verticals are relevant to your brand. Curate in the areas you want to make noise in. – @jesseghiorzi #ContentChat
— CHARGE (@CHARGEgoforward) April 2, 2018
A3: Pick a topic that reflects your brand’s values and area of expertise. For example, if you represent a hotel brand, think travel destinations or travel styles. If you are a food brand, consider curating recipes or stories around healthy living. #ContentChat
— Christel van der Boom #neveragain (@Xtel) April 2, 2018
A3: Curated topics should have immediate relevance to your audience, and still have a connection with your brand. i.e. Say you’re a butcher. Curated content may include a recipe posted by the celebrity chef Bobby Flay. #ContentChat
— Caitlin Kinser (@caitlinmarie89) April 2, 2018
A3: An example of a company that uses curation to demonstrate its expertise is @RivetzCorp.
They provide cybersecurity using blockchain and curate 9 different magazines on related topics https://t.co/jT3mvHVoCg #ContentChat— FlipMarketer (@FlipMarketer) April 2, 2018
Choose topics you care about and can stick with over time.
A3 Select a topic you’re passionate about. Makes the job of curating a lot easier. #contentchat
— Dennis Shiao ✍ (@dshiao) April 2, 2018
A3: Curate topics you are passionate about or topics that you think your audience will be excited to dive into, or, ideally, something that intersects both of those categories. #ContentChat
— Flipboard Magazines (@FlipboardMag) April 2, 2018
A3: Pick topics that mean something to you/your audience. Be deliberate in selections and prepared to have your own take on the topic. Show passion, solidify expertise. #ContentChat
— Alan Fleming (@alan_fleming) April 2, 2018
A3) What topics interest you? You can pick topics you know well & add your 2 cents to, or you can pick a topic you want to learn & highlight your valuable takeaways that others could learn from.
As long as you’re adding value to yourself & those around you…#ContentChat pic.twitter.com/0f6KmD1PuQ— Jason Schemmel – Podcaster. Speaker. #GSDChat🎙🤯 (@JasonSchemmel) April 2, 2018
Find out what your ideal customer needs to know more about.
A3: Social listening. Create “polls”, Twitter advanced search, hashtag search/info around the hashtags, read comments on blogs #contentchat
— Vicky Warren (@VickyWriting) April 2, 2018
A3: Ask/survey your audience. They will tell you what problems that need solving. #ContentChat https://t.co/SCyp2WSc2O
— Carlarjenkins (@carlarjenkins) April 2, 2018
A3a: It needs to bring value to your consumers. Ask yourself if it really will help them solve their problem or will it just be more clutter in the content space? #contentchat
— Jason Webb (@JasonLWebb) April 2, 2018
A3: Think about your customers’ needs. Identify a few related topics you can focus in on over time. Tools like @buzzsumo and @Scoopit are great for this. #ContentChat
— Erika Heald | Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) April 2, 2018
A3. Start by taking a look at your buyer/audience personas. Why are they subscribed to you? What problems are you there to solve? What are they interested in? And then narrow those topics down to what also makes sense for your brand. #ContentChat
— Kim Doughty (@Howdy_Doughty) April 2, 2018
In summary:
A3 To define the content to curate:
(1) define who you are (your brand).
(2) define the audience you’d like to have.
(3) determine the intersection between what is useful to your audience and relevant to what you do.
(4) find quality content#ContentCuration #contentchat— Tod Cordill (@todcordill) April 2, 2018
Q4: I’ve found a ton of great content. Now, what do I do with it? What are some ways to organize and share my curated content?
Turn your curated content into a new piece of content.
A4: Add something new. We like to create visuals from interesting stats in articles and share a link for more context. Sometimes we’ll share things instantly, other times we’ll hold it until a time it’s more relevant by scheduling on @sproutsocial. – @jesseghiorzi #ContentChat
— CHARGE (@CHARGEgoforward) April 2, 2018
A4: In addition to social, you could write blog posts and emails that highlight and add to content you know is relevant to your brand #ContentChat
— Kristen Hicks (@atxcopywriter) April 2, 2018
A4: In addition to sharing individual pieces of content through social media, you can also curate content in SlideShares, infographics, or even in blog posts in an abbreviated/summarized form. Just be sure to provide attribution! #ContentChat
— Erika Heald | Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) April 2, 2018
A4) Figure out what kind of content you want to make from it. A blog article, podcast episode, interview question, live video stream, etc.
Then take the major points/takeaways from it (the value people will get from it) & create from there.#ContentChat pic.twitter.com/OzDqpUViBa— Jason Schemmel – Podcaster. Speaker. #GSDChat🎙🤯 (@JasonSchemmel) April 2, 2018
Don’t try to be everywhere. Identify a few core places to share your curated content.
A4: Where you share depends on the audience you’re trying to reach and how you want to engage with them. Don’t spread yourself too thin. #contentchat
— Christel van der Boom #neveragain (@Xtel) April 2, 2018
Curate for yourself/your internal audience first.
A4: When I find content that I like for a brand that I work with, I save the info and link in a “Jab List” (JJJRH @garyvee anyone?). That way When I’m building my calendar I have content to choose from, as opposed to searching in the moment. #ContentChat
— Caitlin Kinser (@caitlinmarie89) April 2, 2018
A4 Organizing curated content depends on its purpose. I’ve had clients that wanted each piece read, summarized and graded (based on a relevancy score we devised). #ContentChat
— Shannon Mouton Gray (@ShannonRenee) April 2, 2018
A4 For one client we created a database (their word, it was an Excel spreadsheet) of the content that included name, author, source, date, etc. #ContentChat
— Shannon Mouton Gray (@ShannonRenee) April 2, 2018
Curate content in your existing communication channels, and consider a Flipboard magazine.
A4: A curated Flipboard magazine is a good way to expand on a conversation. Share them via email or text, embed them in a blog post or on a website, add them to your social streams to help people dive further into a conversation. #ContentChat
— Flipboard Magazines (@FlipboardMag) April 2, 2018
A4: Organize your content by topic. Use Flipboard to create different magazines per topic. Here is an example of one longgg blog turned into several topics. https://t.co/YW6fOsgn9T #contentchat
— Janette Speyer (@JanetteSpeyer) April 2, 2018
A4: here we go— @Flipboard duh! and Newsrooms and @listly or just lists, Curating content from thought leaders, Tweetwalls, magazines, newspapers, your social media posts, using things like @Newscred and even @Uberflip #ContentChat even old mixed tapes are examples https://t.co/2Jnb5Fh92R
— Amy Higgins (@amywhiggins) April 2, 2018
Q5: Are there any common content curation pitfalls to be aware of?
Start with a purpose. Don’t curate just to fill a social media queue.
A5 Don’t “curate” just for the sake of having something to share and maintaining a social presence. Share with purpose and add relevant context. #contentchat
— Martin Lieberman (@martinlieberman) April 2, 2018
A5. Quality > quantity. Don’t collect and list every piece of #content you find just to fill up space. Find what is important or relevant and share it. #ContentChat
— SourceMedia (@SourceMediaCo) April 2, 2018
A5.
* Not giving credit.
* Spamming.
* Content is too similar
* Content curated and distributed without an objective besides views/clicks.#contentchat https://t.co/rpWtjwUkEq— Ben Sailors (@SailorsBen) April 2, 2018
Read before you curate and make sure you’re not spreading fake news.
A5: Read before you share! Don’t just look at the headline and share with your audience. You can get yourself or your brand into trouble. – @jesseghiorzi #ContentChat pic.twitter.com/y9tOGyUU0t
— CHARGE (@CHARGEgoforward) April 2, 2018
A5: Make sure that if you’re sharing content created by someone else that it’s credible. The worst thing to do is share something that isn’t supported by fact. #ContentChat
— Caitlin Kinser (@caitlinmarie89) April 2, 2018
A5 Pitfall = don’t automate your curation, like via an RSS feed. That’s the antithesis of curation! #contentchat
— Dennis Shiao ✍ (@dshiao) April 2, 2018
Give your curation the same level of care and attention as you would give to content creation.
A5: Writing without a purpose, writing something that doesn’t speak to your target audience, and not properly editing video, audio and using spell check. #ContentChat https://t.co/loeGVnTZwA
— Carlarjenkins (@carlarjenkins) April 2, 2018
Don’t steal, plagiarize, or otherwise misuse other people’s content.
A5) Regurgitating the same information that you curated.
Passing it off as your own (plagiarizing, stealing, not giving credit, etc.)
Not staying on topic.
The content doesn’t provide any value to anyone.You don’t want people to react the way Ryan is in this GIF…#ContentChat pic.twitter.com/fSB2lePFZ6
— Jason Schemmel – Podcaster. Speaker. #GSDChat🎙🤯 (@JasonSchemmel) April 2, 2018
Q6: Since @Xtel works for @Flipboard, I’d love to hear her + your best practices for getting started on Flipboard.
A6 First step for me was to download the app and play around. Bonus: it finds you great content! #contentchat
— Dennis Shiao ✍ (@dshiao) April 2, 2018
A6: Once you have set up your Flipboard account, it’s easy to create your first magazine. But first, determine your focus and voice. Here are some more practical tips https://t.co/hSkQTL7rtp #ContentChat
— Christel van der Boom #neveragain (@Xtel) April 2, 2018
A6: Here are some more practical tips on how to get started with curation on Flipboard – check out this cheat sheet https://t.co/ERytDP2a0d #ContentChat
— Christel van der Boom #neveragain (@Xtel) April 2, 2018
A6: Set up an account. Find topics that interest you. Create a first magazine. Start adding relevant content that catches your attention. Create a second magazine. Repeat as often as you’d like! #ContentChat
— Flipboard Magazines (@FlipboardMag) April 2, 2018
Q7: Any tips for proving the ROI and business impact of curating through a platform like @Flipboard? What can we measure and what metrics matter?
A7: If you are consistent, engaging and collaborative your Flipboard magazine can be a significant driver of traffic and awareness. @stylishmanmag has been able to build a business https://t.co/BnQ65wKWDh #ContentChat
— Christel van der Boom #neveragain (@Xtel) April 2, 2018
A7: Speaking of referral traffic, check out the data from media analytics firm https://t.co/GzmX8onv7m If your audience is on mobile, consider adding your brand’s content to Flipboard. https://t.co/WNf3htkNeB #ContentChat
— Christel van der Boom #neveragain (@Xtel) April 2, 2018
A7: You can measure engagement and reach metrics. Does the curation help offer content that keeps your customers and prospects engaged? Can what they engage with help inspire ways for you to create new content for your brand? #contentchat https://t.co/DDQSYfWTpO
— Amy Higgins (@amywhiggins) April 2, 2018
A7. Revenue is what matters, but audience size is a step on they way. Track your lead source, whether it’s @Flipboardmag, #socialmedia, or a specific campaign, thru to revenue by leveraging #marketingautomation and #crm.#contentchat
— Tod Cordill (@todcordill) April 2, 2018
A7. If you have a blog add it to a Flipboard magazine and reflip some of the articles into relevant magazines. You will be amazed at the traffic increase to your blog. Check on Google Analytics. #contentchat
— Janette Speyer (@JanetteSpeyer) April 2, 2018
A7 Most ROI is measured in interactions & conversations tone & temp but Flipboard it’s more about cross platform sharing that’s metric of measurement as it becomes more reach metrics🌐🤔 #ContentChat
— BrainBlender🤔🌐 (@BrainBlenderTec) April 2, 2018
Q8: Who are some of your favorite content curators and why?
A8: Some of my favs for their curation around media, comms and tech are @jangles, @thekenyeung, @augieray, @scottmonty & @mathewi.https://t.co/gzXJoeoZtbhttps://t.co/dD3U5y10uthttps://t.co/0Is9ojhW2dhttps://t.co/Ysc4fjUZumhttps://t.co/wwEtMyndcM#ContentChat
— Christel van der Boom #neveragain (@Xtel) April 2, 2018
A8: To broaden my world, I love what @rahman_nazneen, @GracefulGarvin, @fabiusangel & @jentrification curate. https://t.co/WSsQcsd8ynhttps://t.co/cpGbitq6i3https://t.co/TVUWEUct03https://t.co/UqsbBqt0aP#ContentChat
— Christel van der Boom #neveragain (@Xtel) April 2, 2018
A8] My favorite content curators include @CSPenn, @GiniDietrich, @Joderama @Iconicontent @njellering @contently #contentchat
— HeidiCohen (@heidicohen) April 2, 2018
A8 Flipboard themselves. They have editors on staff who curate content. Check out “10 for Today” https://t.co/vFafVPsgjk #contentchat
— Dennis Shiao ✍ (@dshiao) April 2, 2018
A7: @PatFlynn because it is helpful and you can implement his advice #contentchat
— Meagan Wristen (@MeaganWristen) April 2, 2018
A8: No longer around, but I always liked the link roundup posts from The Toast. Good business examples are @Ellevest (have a section of recommended links in every email) and The Hustle, which sends an email which collects and comments on links to business news #ContentChat
— Kristen Hicks (@atxcopywriter) April 2, 2018
A8: A couple of my go-to sources are @CMIContent & @MProfsWire. #contentchat
— Michelle Garrett (@PRisUs) April 2, 2018
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