Consistency is key for any brand looking to find success among the thousands of potential competitors they may have; however, delivering quality, relevant content every day or week does have its challenges. One of the most common challenges is finding topics to cover and information to back up any claims made in the post itself.
Content curation has proven to be one of the best ways bloggers can improve the content of their site, as well as create consistent, relevant posts that will capture the attention of the reader and leave them feeling informed.
What is content curation?
Content curation is the practice of reading another's work on a subject and then taking the most valuable information to create a new article entirely. Writers who curate do so by adding their own knowledge and personality to the article, using only the same basic information from the original article itself.
If content curation sounds risky, that's because it can be; when content isn't properly rewritten in a unique way, with added information that boosts the article's value, the curated content will attract little attention. In addition, writers attempting to curate posts for their own blog or website must know the difference between curation and “scraping.”
Scraping differs from curation in that it is the act of stealing content without adding anything new, which is frowned upon by most readers and writers. Curation adds something valuable to the final product, which in turn makes it a viable way to create content.
There are several ways you can be successful while practicing content creation:
- All sources should be credible and offer reliable information.
- Curated content should thoroughly cover the subject of the original article.
- Curated content should be relevant to the time period and offer up-to-date information.
- Ensure quality over quantity – more posts won't necessarily mean higher traffic if the posts are of poor quality.
- Follow a strategy that will target specific reader interests (rather than guessing or including content that is not relevant to the reader).
- Optimize the content strategy throughout its course.
When articles are curated properly, they should contain the same basic information as the original piece of writing, but it is up to the writer to ensure that the sources being used are credible. There is no use in curating false or made-up information, as it will only lead to future distrust of readers. Bloggers looking to include content curation as part of their blogging strategy need to know which sources they can trust for information.
Once a credible source has been found, it's time to focus on the content itself. When choosing a topic, it's important to pick something relevant to today's society; for example, curating an article about the release of the first iPhone will not be relevant to today's day in age, and readers will not be interested in old news. Instead, look for topics that cover up-to-date issues or news, as these will be far more interesting to the reader.
After a number of articles have been chosen for curation, it's important that the newly written article be done well, as poorly written content will not attract readers. Curated articles should include the basic information of the original post but should not copy it exactly. Only short snippets or quotes of the original article should be copied word for word; it's up to the blogger to ensure that the rest of the article is well-written and of high quality. Spelling should be exact, as well as grammar and formatting. In addition, the content should be easily digestible and should be written in a way that any reader can understand.
Content curation is not a one-size-fits-all solution, but it does have many potential benefits for those who wish to implement it into their blogging strategy.
The key is to curate content that targets reader interests while adding something valuable to the information in the newly written piece. It takes time to find the perfect content curation strategy, and every blogger should work to optimize their plans as time passes.
Despite how useful content curation may be, it is not a magical solution to increase traffic. Curation is an effective method of adding valuable content to a blog, but it's important that bloggers know they should still be marketing their content elsewhere in order to bring in new readers. Fortunately, once new readers are brought to the blog, they will be treated with easily digestible, relevant content that will have them coming back for more, again and again, each week.
