Curating content offers companies, agencies and editorial teams great potential. However, it also presents them with new organizational, legal and technological challenges. Important aspects will be highlighted below.
Content curation is not always widely accepted in traditional editorial departments that traditionally focus on creating journalistic content. Print editorial departments in particular have been trained to research and publish content themselves. In editorial departments with a digital DNA, however, content curation is usually more widespread and is used at least as part of the internal workflows.
In many cases, it is therefore also about changing ways of thinking and establishing an efficiency-driven, targeted process that is independent of who created the content. Compared to traditional media and publishing houses, one might think that content marketers have the advantage that they are ideally already strictly customer-oriented in their marketing communications.
Success with curated content always depends on how well the people involved work and think digitally and how they see new processes and formats as an opportunity rather than a threat.
In practice, content curation is usually understood as a three-step process:
The first step is part of the tools of every editorial team and is part of the editorial, journalistic process. There are countless tools and services that are particularly helpful in this phase and are characterized by different focuses.
The real added value comes in the second part, and this is where things get challenging. It is often about identifying the right topics early on, breaking down content into a few key points and taking a position in just a few words. This requires journalistic skills of its own, especially since speed is also important here. Content spreads digitally at lightning speed. Anyone who comments on and publishes current news only after the editorial conference the next day is often already too late.
The third step involves adapting the curated content to the respective distribution channels and user expectations. The more channels there are to serve, the more complex it becomes.
On the content and organizational side, particular attention should be paid to the following points:
- Find the right mix of curated and your own content, because content curation can improve the effectiveness of your own content; blanket statements about what this mix should look like in percentage terms should be viewed critically, because in practice many factors influence this, from strategy to budget. Experiment with it and measure the result.
- Translate your brand values into “content values” and define how much the curated content and topics must have to do with your brand or product; think in advance about what impact the offer should have on your brand.
- Focus on quality rather than quantity, because there is enough quantity on the Internet anyway. Your users are demanding, often even experts in their field. They expect context and classification.
- Third-party sources and authors should be highlighted prominently and aggressively; one should never pretend that curated content is one’s own content.
- Content and offers from competitors should be included. This shows greatness and makes your offer more attractive and credible for users. It is important to strike the right tone!
- An editorial plan for curated content and topics is critical to success, especially in larger teams; publication times, frequency and scope of the curated content should also be defined in advance.
- Curated content should be optimized based on data just like your own content, i.e. relevant “key performance indicators” should be defined and appropriate tracking should be set up.
- Involve not only editors or employees in the marketing or communications department, but also experts from the respective fields. They often have greater specialist knowledge and follow the relevant sources on a daily basis anyway. Equipped with the right tools, their content output is often of astonishing quality.
- Rely on lean processes and speed based on modern software tools; topics can be discussed in editorial conferences, but the actual publication of curated content should be timely and up-to-date.
Content curation is one of the most important tools for companies and brands that are trying to establish their own media and platforms in order to enter into a permanent dialogue with consumers and customers. When presented in the right digital format, curated content often beats self-produced content in terms of the most important indicators of success: speed, efficiency and relevance.
However, it is not about “creation vs. curation”, but rather about combining both techniques as skillfully as possible in the sense of one’s own communicative objective(s).
