Content Curation
Content curation is the process of discovering, selecting, and sharing valuable content created by others while adding your own insights, commentary, or perspective to provide additional value to your audience.
Why content curation is valuable
Maintains consistent posting
Curation helps fill your content calendar when you don't have time to create original content, ensuring regular engagement with your audience.
Builds industry authority
Sharing and commenting on relevant industry content positions you as someone who stays current with trends and developments.
Provides audience value
Curated content can educate, inform, or entertain your audience with high-quality information they might not discover otherwise.
Saves time and resources
Finding and sharing existing content is more efficient than creating everything from scratch while still providing value.
The content curation process
Content discovery
Industry publications, Follow key publications, blogs, and websites in your industry
Social media monitoring, Track hashtags, influencers, and competitors for shareable content
News aggregators, Use tools like Feedly, Flipboard, or Google News to monitor relevant topics
Professional networks, LinkedIn and industry groups often share valuable insights and articles
Content evaluation
Relevance assessment, Does this content serve your audience's interests and needs?
Quality verification, Is the information accurate, well-researched, and from credible sources?
Value addition potential, Can you add meaningful commentary or insights to this content?
Brand alignment, Does sharing this content align with your brand values and messaging?
Adding your perspective
Context explanation, Why is this content relevant to your audience right now?
Personal insights, Your experience or opinion about the topic discussed
Industry application, How this information applies specifically to your industry or audience
Call to action, Questions or prompts that encourage audience engagement
Types of content to curate
Educational resources
Industry reports, Research studies and data relevant to your audience
How-to guides, Tutorials and instructional content that helps your audience
Expert interviews, Conversations with thought leaders in your industry
Case studies, Real-world examples of successes and challenges
News and updates
Industry news, Breaking developments in your business sector
Platform updates, Changes to social media platforms or tools your audience uses
Regulatory changes, Legal or compliance updates affecting your industry
Technology developments, New tools or innovations relevant to your audience
Inspirational content
Success stories, Examples of achievements in your industry
Behind-the-scenes content, Insights into how successful businesses operate
Motivational insights, Content that inspires and energizes your audience
Creative examples, Innovative approaches to common business challenges
Platform-specific curation strategies
LinkedIn content curation
Professional articles, Share business insights with your professional commentary
Industry discussions, Contribute to conversations about professional topics
Career advice, Share resources that help your network advance professionally
Company spotlights, Highlight interesting businesses and their achievements
Twitter content curation
News commentary, Share breaking news with your quick takes and insights
Thread sharing, Retweet valuable Twitter threads with additional context
Article sharing, Link to articles with compelling preview text
Quote tweets, Add your perspective to others' tweets through quote tweets
Instagram content curation
Visual inspiration, Share beautiful or interesting images with proper attribution
Story sharing, Reshare relevant content to your Stories with commentary
Quote graphics, Create visual quotes from curated articles or insights
Behind-the-scenes sharing, Curate content that shows interesting business processes
Facebook content curation
Article sharing, Share longer-form content with thoughtful commentary
Video curation, Share educational or entertaining videos relevant to your audience
Community discussions, Share content that sparks meaningful conversations
Local business spotlights, Highlight other businesses in your community
Best practices for content curation
Always attribute properly
Credit original creators, Tag or mention the content creator when sharing their work
Link to source, Direct people to the original article or content
Use proper formatting, Quote marks for direct quotes, clear attribution for shared images
Respect copyright, Understand fair use guidelines and don't violate copyright
Add meaningful value
Don't just repost, Always include your own commentary, insights, or questions
Provide context, Explain why this content is relevant to your audience
Share personal experience, Connect the content to your own professional experience
Encourage discussion, Ask questions that prompt audience engagement
Balance curated and original content
80/20 rule variation, Some experts suggest 70% original, 30% curated content
Quality over quantity, Better to share fewer high-quality curated pieces
Strategic timing, Use curation to maintain posting consistency between original content
Audience preferences, Pay attention to how your audience responds to different content types
Tools for content curation
Content discovery tools
Google Alerts, Email notifications for specific keywords and topics
Feedly, RSS feed aggregator for following multiple sources
Pocket, Save articles and content for later curation
BuzzSumo, Discover trending content in your industry
Social media curation tools
Hootsuite, Schedule and manage curated content across platforms
Buffer, Plan and publish curated content with your commentary
Sprout Social, Monitor mentions and discover content to curate
IFTTT, Automate content discovery from various sources
Content organization tools
Notion, Organize and plan curated content with notes and commentary
Trello, Manage content curation workflow with boards and lists
Airtable, Database approach to tracking and organizing curated content
Google Sheets, Simple spreadsheet tracking of content ideas and sources
Building curation systems
Develop content sources
Industry publications, Subscribe to key publications in your field
Influencer following, Follow thought leaders who consistently share valuable content
Competitor monitoring, Watch what content your competitors are sharing
Customer feedback, Pay attention to what topics your audience asks about
Create curation workflows
Daily monitoring, Set aside time each day to discover new content
Content evaluation criteria, Consistent standards for what content to share
Commentary templates, Frameworks for adding your perspective consistently
Scheduling systems, Plan when and where to share curated content
Measure curation success
Engagement tracking, Monitor how curated content performs compared to original content
Audience growth, Whether curation helps attract new followers
Website traffic, Track visits from curated content with links to your site
Lead generation, New prospects generated through curated content engagement
Common curation mistakes
Sharing without adding value
Simply reposting others' content without commentary or insights provides little value to your audience.
Over-curating at the expense of original content
Too much curated content can make your brand seem like an aggregator rather than a thought leader.
Poor source verification
Sharing inaccurate or low-quality content damages your credibility with your audience.
Ignoring copyright and attribution
Failing to properly credit original creators can lead to legal issues and damage relationships.
Advanced curation strategies
Create curated newsletters
Weekly roundups, Compile the best content from your industry each week
Topic-focused collections, Curate content around specific themes or challenges
Commentary newsletters, Include your insights on each piece of curated content
Community-driven curation, Ask your audience to suggest content for curation
Host curated discussions
Panel discussions, Bring together content creators for live conversations
Roundtable events, Discuss curated content with industry peers
Community forums, Create spaces for discussing curated content
Social media chats, Host Twitter chats or LinkedIn discussions around curated themes
Develop content partnerships
Guest curation, Invite industry experts to curate content for your audience
Cross-promotion, Partner with other brands for mutual content curation
Content exchanges, Regular sharing of each other's best content
Industry collaborations, Work with industry associations on curated content
Content curation with SocialRails
SocialRails supports content curation through:
Cross-platform sharing, Share curated content across all 9 platforms with platform-specific formatting
Content scheduling, Plan curated content alongside original content in your calendar
Performance tracking, Monitor how curated content performs compared to original content
Comment management, Engage with responses to your curated content across platforms
Content organization, Keep track of successful curation strategies and sources