How Content Curation Saves Your Audience from Content Overload

When content curation is implemented effectively, everyone wins.

The brand, or curator, saves time that would have been spent crafting more original content, maintains an active and engaged presence on social media, and is perceived as a trusted thought leader–goals that support and enhance their other content marketing efforts.

Additionally, the audience equally benefits by gaining access to more valuable, relevant content, written by a variety of sources–the reward for brand loyalty that keeps on giving.

With these kind of benefits, it’s no surprise that content curation has earned such a prominent role in content marketing strategies over the past year.

There is one additional value proposition that content curation offers, however, that isn’t as widely discussed but is perhaps the biggest reason why it will continue to thrive:

Content curation is the remedy for content overload, a very real challenge that both brands and audiences face. People are exposed to thousands of messages every single day and this constant stream of information can feel relentless.

As a result, brands have to work even harder to stand out, while audiences scroll endlessly through the excess in search of the stuff that actually interests them.

Curation solves this problem by putting the power and influence in the brand’s hands while reducing the amount of time and work invested by audiences.

Brands select and present specifically tailored content that their audience will love; in turn, audiences are able to streamline their content sources, more inclined to go to their trusted brands for the content they want instead of wading through the content themselves.

Effective content curation eliminates all of the unnecessary noise, providing a service that is in constant demand. People don’t want more content; they just want better content and they will continue to go to the sources that provide them with just that.

“When you choose to find, share, and comment on the best of the best articles in your industry, you will gain authority. If you do it consistently, you’ll build authority. People will look to you to see what’s happening and what’s worth discussing.”  - Kevan Lee, Buffer

There are some excellent brands who demonstrate how providing tailored and intentional content can result in a loyal, educated, and engaged community. Here are two to illustrate:

The Skimm

With how quickly news happens these days, it can be hard to keep up and process, but The Skimm has made it possible to digest the world’s daily news in fun, bite-sized pieces.

This fun brand curates and presents the world’s most important news using their distinct, relatable voice, so subscribers feel more informed without having to endure the typical snoozefest that comes from deciphering the newspaper.

Their community is a powerful and loyal one–they even include their “Skimmbassador’s” birthdays and gamify referrals to keep people sharing and coming back for more.

Rand Fishkin

There’s a reason Rand Fishkin is called the Wizard. This founder and former CEO of Moz has not only built amazingly helpful tools for marketers, but he’s also created a magical brand experience for his followers.

Take one look at his Twitter account and you’ll see over 361K followers, many of whom actively engage with the content Rand shares on a consistent basis. Even his Twitter bio sets the expectation: “I tweet 30-40x/week about marketing, SEO, technology, and startups.”

He curates a wealth of industry articles, blog posts, videos, and more every single week and always inserts his own annotations. He’s definitely earned major authority thanks to his consistent efforts.

Considering curation as a service can help shape every step of the process, from evaluating content to presenting it to an audience to engaging in meaningful conversations as a result. As you work through each stage of the process, consider some of these guiding questions:

• When you are evaluating content for curation, ask yourself: Will my audience derive value from this piece and is it written by a reputable source? (Hint: Read it!)
• When you are presenting the content to be shared, ask yourself: Am I providing enough context or generating enough interest to encourage people to click on or engage with this content?
• When you are engaging in follow-up conversations, ask yourself: How can I keep this conversation going and gain even more insight into my audience’s interests and needs?

Applying this level of intentionality to each step of the process will ensure that your brand stands out and gives your audience even better content.

Instead of treating it like a “set it and forget it” practice or another item on the content marketing checklist, it is worth investing the necessary time and energy into creating a tailored experience that will ultimately build fiercely loyal customers.