How To Move the Dial with Curated Content

In order to discuss moving the dial with curated content, we have to define curated content, and we have to define ‘moving the dial’. Just as an Art Museum’s director curates paintings, so can you curate content!

Curated Content is a list of links, or an RSS or Twitter feed of content that would appeal to a similar audience. One great automated example of curated content is AllTop.com– a site that automatically aggregates articles from top content providers on many different subjects. A User looking for information on a topic can simply go to a content curator and find links to it there, rather than randomly Googling a topic. Curating content is a good way to participate on Social Media without having to produce new content- there are several Social Media ‘personality lifestyle brands’ that have made a living out of simply aggregating content from multiple other sources.

What does ‘Moving the Dial’ Even Mean?

Let’s be clear, content curation is probably not going to lead to a deluge of new leads. The idea here is that content curation is a long term play- you start off by sharing a few links on Twitter every day, and eventually people come to recognize you as a good source of information regarding your chosen topic. Eventually they sign up to follow you and hopefully are so compelled by what you curate that down the line they engage into a discussion, which you nurture into a lead, and eventually becomes a sale. It’s a long term process and at some point you will have to be prepared to engage your consumers- no one is going to buy from you just because you compiled a good list of blog articles! The idea behind content curation is to provide a reason for someone to consistently engage with your brand.

You can do effective content curation in about an hour a day- it seems like a lot of time to spend but as with all marketing channels, weigh the ROI and decide if it’s worth it, or if it can be delegated.

1. • Sign up for an account with Buffer; this service allows you to add content to a feed that can be dripped out during the day. No one likes being on Twitter and seeing 14 posts in a row from the same person, and then nothing else all day. Services like Buffer or Hoot Suite can simulate a 24 hour social media presence- just make sure you’re set up to be notified when you get an interaction, so you can respond.

 

1. • Begin to curate your own reading list with an RSS service like feed.ly, or simply set up a list of bookmarks and visit them in a ‘digital patrol route’ every day. You don’t have to share every piece of content, but when you do, try to include some insight with it, give readers something they can’t get elsewhere.

 

1. • Trickle content out throughout the week, and keep your feeds full. Don’t post things where you have only read the headline- this could backfire.

 

Pretty soon you’ll be reaping the rewards of thought leadership! For more on SEO check out our Dallas SEO, Austin SEO, Houston SEO, & San Antonio SEO pages.