Over the years, content curation has become an art that not everyone knows how to master. The term, as such, is relatively new, so I’m going to teach you everything you need to know about it, right here and now.
After all, providing the information our readers and potential customers want to get is no easy task. In fact, it has become a profession like any other.
Few content creators manage to give their readers and/or consumers the content they are really looking for.
Do you want to become an expert content curator? If the answer is yes, keep reading to learn about the techniques, tools and tricks I have for you. Let’s get started!
· What is content curation and what does it involve?
All content must be perfectly structured and designed to deliver information to our readers as well as possible (I go into this in more depth below).
That’s why I think it’s a good idea to start by explaining what the term means:
Content curation is the selection, filtering and transformation of the
information available to us so that we can then present it in the
right way to our target audience.
This sentence is short, but it covers many different concepts that I’m going to explain to you one by one. In addition, the content curation process can be divided into different phases to make it easier to understand.
In short, the content curator transforms the “storm” of information that rains down on us every day on the internet into more useful and valuable content for a specific audience.
You could say it’s something similar to what some journalists have done throughout history, but in this case the term is more closely related to digital publications and social media environments.
Web writers and copywriters also take care of this, although the latter’s role goes far beyond content curation.
· What skills should a good content curator have?
Anyone can practice content curation, with more or less professionalism. That said, whether you’re looking for a curator or want to become the best one yourself, you should keep in mind some of the skills typical of a good content curator.
1) Good command of computers and their tools
If you don’t know the content editing and creation tools, we’re lost.
Office tools such as Word or content management systems such as WordPress are essential for creating content.
2) Knowledge of the internet and Google
To be one of the best, you have to move around the internet like a fish in water. If you don’t know Google’s best search techniques or can’t manage to find the information you’re looking for, you’ll hardly be able to do this job.
Encyclopedias are fine, but they tend to be a bit outdated.
3) Information management
No matter how well you can search on Google, to do the filtering you need to know how to manage the information we find. Not all of it is valid or truthful.
4) Knowledge of the subject matter
A good content curator is one who has at least a moderate knowledge of the subject they’re dealing with.
We can’t create quality content if we don’t have enough knowledge of the chosen topic.
5) Competence in the field of communication
Knowing how to create content in the right way, so that the message reaches our end user with complete clarity, is key.
A near-perfect grasp (nobody’s perfect) of reading comprehension, grammar, vocabulary and spelling, among other things, is very important.
These are some of the most important skills that every good content curator should have. If you think I’ve left any out, you could leave a comment in the comment box below and we’ll discuss it.
I’m always open to comments and suggestions!
· 6 simple steps for professional content curation
To understand the work of the content curator much better and be able to become a true expert on the subject, we’re going to divide this process into 6 sub-processes, explaining each one in detail.
In the title I’ve used the word “simple” to describe the steps of this process.
When you’re starting out as a content curator, it may not be so easy to achieve the result you want, but I assure you that with patience and practice you can create better content than others.
Are you ready to become one of the best? Here are the steps a content curator should follow.
1. Choosing the topic
To create good content, we need to be clear about the topic we’re going to cover and which keyword we’ll use.
To do that, we should carry out thorough keyword research, so that we choose the right keywords when writing the text. This can be key to success with your readers.
If we correctly choose the topic our reader and/or consumer is interested in, as well as the keywords related to that topic, our audience will easily know what we’re going to talk to them about.
Knowing what to talk to our audience about isn’t always an easy task. You can also draw inspiration from the trends around at the time you choose the topic.
2. Searching for information
Like the previous one, this step is of crucial importance. A good content curator must find the most suitable material on the topic they’re going to cover before filtering and processing it.
To do this, an in-depth search must be carried out in whatever media we have available. Today, the internet is a bottomless chest where you can find information of all kinds.
A good content curator is able to find the most relevant and complete information and then transform it however they see fit, giving it more value and importance for their target audience.
Experience plays a fundamental role here in knowing how to find the best sources of information. I’m referring to the most truthful and reliable ones. The internet is full of hoaxes and false or incomplete information.
Knowing who to trust and who not to is important. Not forgetting the work that every good content curator must do: cross-checking the information.
In our search for information, we must read and understand the content we’ve found, in order to identify which pieces are truthful and have the information most relevant to our audience.
3. Organizing and filtering the data
Once we’ve used the search channels to get the information and content we might need, we’re faced with a huge amount of data from multiple sources.
It’s time to organize everything we’ve found based on the importance of the source and the interests of the topic we’re covering.
For example, if we want to talk about a football player and we find 8 reliable sources of information, but 3 of them are genuine football newspapers, we can give more priority to the sports newspapers.
In the filtering phase we must get rid of any information we’ve found that is useless or too old. Sometimes the results aren’t what we expected and we have to continue searching and filtering.
4. Adding extra value to our content
It’s one of the key processes of a good curator. The quality of the curator, as well as of their content, depends on it. Knowing how to add that spark of extra value that other sites haven’t managed to give can change everything.
If we know which audience we’re addressing and what they want to get, it’s easier to create that valuable content to satisfy search intent.
Those who know how to create good content and give an extra something to the content they create are the ones who ultimately achieve the most success.
Not only on social media, but also in search engines, which means visits and earnings increase exponentially.
5. Content distribution
Once the content has been created, what matters now is that people read it and get to know it. To do that, we must choose the most suitable channels for our target audience, in order to reach our readers in the smartest way and achieve the success we’re hoping for.
Although many experts say this task belongs to the content curator, I maintain that it’s something for the Community Manager to handle.
The social media manager usually has a better grasp of content distribution on platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn or Instagram, among others.
6. Analysis of the results obtained
It’s the most anticipated moment after all the hard work that’s been done. Creating good content isn’t easy and can take us hours, days or even weeks for the most complex pieces.
Now it’s time to see, through the KPIs we set, whether our content has fulfilled the functions we had planned. For this, there are all kinds of analytics tools and measurement tools.
These are the best tools for content curation!
Finally, I’m going to give you the names of the tools that every good content curator should consider for their work.
There are many, and everyone will have their favorites. Below is a list to help you get into this world more easily:
⇒ Google Alerts:
Very useful for setting up alerts for the keyword or phrase you want. The search engine itself will send you an email every time that term is mentioned on the internet.
Ideal for keeping up with everything that happens in your niche. For example, in my case I have several automations of this kind set up:
● “Ismael Ruiz”: my first name and first surname, in case a company or professional mentions me,
so I can find out right away and say thank you, if it’s because they’ve shared some content from my blog.
Or, why not, take action if the mention has negative connotations. This can be especially useful when a brand is mentioned on the internet: you find out immediately and can resolve customers’ questions or complaints, if that’s the case.
● “Content marketing”: since this is my specialty within the field of online marketing,
it’s essential for me that whenever any newspaper, blog or publication mentions this expression,
Google alerts me with an email.
That way, I can stay up to date and keep learning about new content marketing techniques that I’m not yet familiar with.
⇒ Feedly:
It’s one of the traditional tools we bloggers use to be the first to find out when a digital magazine, newspaper or other blog we’re interested in publishes new articles.
It’s one of the most convenient ones I know, since just by searching for the URL of the domain you want or the name of the blog, it will add it to your feed list.
That way, when you open your app, it will show you, newspaper-style, each and every update from each one.
⇒ Pocket:
While browsing the internet, you may come across articles or information that you’d like to take as inspiration for an infoproduct or future content, but that you don’t have time to read right now.
With Pocket you can save it in a kind of “virtual folder” and view it at another time, as well as organize it by topic, if you wish.
⇒ Flipboard:
It works very much like a digital magazine, where as soon as you log in you can see all your favorite content, simply by setting up the blogs or topics you’re interested in.
⇒ Paper.li:
With Paper.li you can build, 100% personalized and free of charge, a magazine tailored to your tastes and information goals.
It works almost exactly like Flipboard, and you can even share the news or content from this set of “feeds” on your social networks, the only difference being that the URL you share will be Paper.li’s and not the original one.
But even so, you’ll still be able to interact on these platforms all the same.
· Conclusion
If you think I’ve missed any important one that you know is valid for curation, please let me know in the comment box below and I’ll add it to the list.
And from now on, when you research a topic in your field to generate content for your blog, you’ll know you’re doing part of the work of a professional content curator 😉
Content curation is just one piece of a broader strategy: find out what content marketing is, and if you’re looking for more ideas for your institution or business, you’ll find several examples in 9 types of content strategy for Public Administration.
