In the majority of situations, it is always best for a company to create their own content. Creating original content not only proves to readers that your company is knowledgeable, but it is becoming even more important when it comes to Google rankings. You want to rank well on a Google search engine results page (SERP) so that readers can find your website in the first place, and one of the top ways to make this happen is through quality content. Google wants to see that companies are putting out something that is benefitting readers, and so more and more companies are hiring more and more writers.
So what’s the problem? The problem is that many companies still aren’t putting out enough quality content. Companies are asking writers to push out as much content as he/she can as fast as possible, but Google is catching on, and so this simply won’t work anymore. This leaves business with two choices: Put out less content but make it quality, or curate content.
The What, When, Why and How of Content Curation
The What: Curating content means finding content that is related to your company, your niche, or any particular topic. In many cases, companies will actually hire someone called a content curator as opposed to someone who writes and creates content. It does not compete with content creation, but works with it (more about this in the “why” section).
The How: This person is in charge of looking around the web for articles written by others and then creating an article full of these links and his/her own opinions (or your company’s opinions). It is very important to understand, however, that curation is not easy. Just as creation needs to be high quality, curation needs to be high quality. There area several different things that need to happen to make sure that curation is done right:
- Focus on all types of content including videos, images, whitepapers, etc.
- Plan ahead. Have a clear target when it comes time to research. This means understanding your audience and pinpointing content based on that understanding.
- Always comment on an article before you share it to others. This shows that you are invested in the piece and want to share it for the better.
- Find authority sites and well-written posts only. This is where a lot of time involvement comes into play.
The Why: Curation is a great way to get your company name out there amongst others in your niche. It helps to give you visibility and share your opinions even if writing your own content isn’t possible. Because of the nature of curation, you’re not the only company gaining visibility, so most blogs and industry leaders will be happy to connect with you and have you curate their content; thus improving your relationships further.
Curation is also a great way to learn something new. After reading so many articles and researching so many different topics, you’re bound to fine valuable information that can help you (and then your readers).
The When: If you can’t create content, curating it is your next best option. If you are creating quite a bit of content and have a little bit of extra time and/or resources, consider doing both in order to help grow your brand.
Is your company very involved in content curation? Do you have a process that works well or any success stories? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
