There is a mass of content crap online now. One million posts on WordPress alone are published DAILY, and 72-hours of video per MINUTE are uploaded to You Tube. Content marketing is exploding and every brand is being advised to churn out the content to engage their readers. Cutting through the noise to find the value is like trying to find a needle in a haystack unless you can find good sources. A well curated reading list via email or social media that sifts through the dross and just delivers the industry news gems is a godsend.
(I recommend this article by Carson Ward about the Content marketing crap deluge which highlights the issue well.)
Curating content done well, is a content marketing alternative to just delivering your own content. Having an audience that respects and trusts the information you deliver can raise your authority within your niche. I run a curated stream on shellshockuk with strong engagement. I might not have massive follower numbers (at this time) but I have a lot of re-tweets, favourites and replies. And we all know that it’s engagement and not followers that counts – right?
I also ran an essential Link Building reading list newsletter but put this on hold when I had to focus on client work (gotta pay the bills). I’m planning to bring back my newsletter very soon with a focus on the crossover of design, content and SEO.
Another reason content curation can help a brand is through the networking it opens up. As a newsletter gains popularity then requests for inclusions begin to roll in and this helps you to connect with industry peeps and gives you leverage in asking for ‘favours’ in return – such as shares and a little link love. It’s a great way to link build.
