When it comes time to tackle social media, the vast majority
of options can be pretty overwhelming. All the different platforms, including
their strengths and weaknesses, means there needs to be a varied strategic
approach. This also applies to curating content for all of these outlets. If
the pressure of needing to sit down and curate your own social media content
gives you the shakes, don’t worry. Here is a breakdown of how to gather content
like the professionals do – without the spinal shivers.
First, it’s important to understand what curation means.
Curating content means gathering content of the highest caliber that is
targeted to your audience and then sharing it via social media. The ideal way
to curate is to create or collect information, graphics, and other content,
adapt it to your specific brand and demographics, and then use it to start a
conversation. What are some techniques you can use to curate your own content?
Pay Attention
First, pay attention to what the industry experts in your
niche are up to. Watch their content stream to get an idea for what inspires
the most engagement. Be careful. No one likes a copycat. However, the work of
others can be an excellent source of inspiration. Also, their trial and error
will help you leap ahead when it’s time to post your own content.
Gather Resources
Do some research on statistics in your industry and then
come up with a creative way to use them. Design an infographic. Create visuals
with photographs or renderings. Make a video. Add your own spin to the numbers
to get the information out there in a fun or more interesting way.
Don’t Ignore
Commentary
Use your current audience to curate content. Did someone say
something motivational? Share it! Did a comment make a valid point? Use that as
a jumping off point to create a new post. Was there some engagement that got a
particularly high response rate? How can you spin that into something you can
use?
Collaborate
Work with others in your industry or field. Collaborate to
create something amazing and then share the content. This not only benefits
both parties in terms of saving time but also introduces each of them to the
other’s current network and audience. Find influencers with an already
established audience and work on something together.
Inspiration
Use the work of others to inspire you to curate content.
Attend a fascinating workshop or local event? Use that to create content! Read
a great ebook? Summarize the points that really hit home for you and share it
with your readers. Enjoy that last Powerpoint Presentation? Take notes and use
those as inspiration to share great snippets. There is inspiration everywhere.
The key is to keep your eyes open and ask yourself how you can use it to create
something interesting.
Tools
Worried about needing to be in constant creation mode? Don’t
be. Set aside time to do the work and then schedule out the posts in a tool
like Hootsuite. Hootsuite allows users to gather text, images, links in one
place and then schedule them out for a future date. No need to be in curation
mode every day.
These are just some of the ways you can approach curating
content for your social media. The sky is the limit so there is nothing to
really be scared of. Practice using some of these techniques this week and see
if that doesn’t make curation a bit less painful.
If you are still frightened to take that first leap into
content curation, contact us and let us show you the way! Don’t forget to
#BeAwesome and remember that #SocialIsntScary.
Hollie Clere of The Social Media Advisor is a “#BeAwesome” Developer, Social Media, Brand Builder, Content Manager, Trainer and Author in LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+,YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram and the tools to manage them.
Click here for her Social Media Workshops, Classes and Seminars
No comments:
Post a Comment