If you really want to give your audience the content it wants, don’t feel you have to create all that content yourself. When you look at the really successful accounts you follow, you’ll see that in addition to their own content, they also share great content from elsewhere. That’s called ‘curated content’ and it’s part of your media marketing management plan to build your followers and demonstrate your areas of interest.
In this article, we’re going to look at where you can find the best content to share. You can also read our hints on how to manage curated content marketing on social media – but first, let’s look at how to build and populate a strategic curated content plan.
More than ‘sharing content’
When you’re planning your content promotion services and strategy, think about more than just sharing the content you like. Instead, take the time to think about your target audience and what content will be useful to them.
Once you know what types of content your audience will appreciate, go out and look for it. Put together a database of sources, articles, reflections and references that will help you add to your audience’s knowledge and understanding, and show them that you are truly engaged with their needs.
Then you can plan how you’re going to share this content – on the right channels at the right time, and with the right message from your business. Here are our top places to look for curatable content:
Industry bodies
These are a great source of up-to-date information within the industries you work in, or are targeting. Industry body websites often have great content, including opinion pieces, and these can be great to share. If you’re a member of a relevant industry association, you may also have access to other content and topics that help to influence how you talk to your audience.
Subject experts
Whatever industry you’re in, there will be subject matter experts who have good followings and put out useful content. Identify who these people are for your sector, product and target audience and start to follow them. Share their content with your own take or thoughts attached. And don’t forget to interact with them too – you may be able to talk to their own online content writers and contribute to discussions, articles or panel discussions.
Email newsletters
Newsletters are a great way of keeping in touch – and companies love to use their newsletters to tell you all about their latest products, updates and opinions. That makes them great sources of information that you can share with your own audience.
Videos
It’s not all about written content, of course. Video is powerful and a great thing to share with your followers and customers. Look for video content that will be really helpful to your audience – it may be a ‘how to’ or an technology explainer, or it may be a time lapse of a relevant project. Whatever you choose, it’s a great form of content to share.
Conferences and events
These are great hubs for new ideas, new products and new approaches. Look for events, conferences or exhibitions where there are businesses or organisations that complement your work. Use them to show how your own product or service works in a wider context, and to demonstrate that you have a real interest in what’s happening in your industry. There are often also resources that you can use as part of your virtual marketing.
Content management resources
There’s lots of advice about how to manage your curated content. And that includes tools that can help you to organise the sources that are most useful to you. You might, for example, put some Twitter lists together to help you instantly access the best information. Or you might subscribe to newsletters on LinkedIn or add email newsletters to a database. These will all help you to keep a record of the sources that are most useful – and the content you have shared.
Don’t forget your network!
Sometimes, the people with the best shareable content are the people you know – your network, your suppliers, your employees, and even your customers! And these are all groups who love to have their content shared. So don’t forget these people in your planning. Sharing your employees’ content shows what great people you have in your team, and sharing your network shows that you are proactive and build great relationships. And of course, your customers have their own areas of expertise, innovation and growth, all of which you can build on.
Good quality curated content is incredibly valuable to your social media marketing management strategy. If you want to know more, or would like some support from a curated content marketing coordinator, why not call us on 0800 994 9016 or use our contact form in the menu above to find out how we can help?
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- How virtual marketing support can help you manage the marketing mix
- 10 Tips for audience engagement and driving traffic with email newsletters