What Is Content Curation? Why Does It Matter for Inbound Success?

Have you ever been to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City? It is one of my favorite museums to visit, and I try to make a point to go once a year—specifically between the months of May and September, when the yearly fashion exhibit is on display. 

It’s my favorite yearly exhibit because of how the museum directors decide upon the themes and build a curated collection based on that theme. One recent hit exhibit was focused around the theme of “Camp.” The museum curators were not discussing fashion that people typically wear while camping, but they focused on fashion humor and parody, which can mean so many different things to different people. 

Just like museum curators are tasked with choosing their interpretation on a theme and what to share with their audience, you too should curate what content you share with your audience, to elevate your brand and showcase your industry expertise. 

Content Curation Defined

Simply put, content curation means sharing content that isn’t written by you or your company, through various marketing channels. This can be sharing an influencer article on a social platform or via a marketing email or sales email sequence—or writing a blog on your top favorite sales enablement blogs.

4 Reasons Content Curation Is Important 

You may be asking yourself why sharing other people’s content is important to your marketing efforts. Think about being at a party: If you are talking about yourself the whole time, are people going to want to interact with you?

Here are four reasons you should consider testing content curation as a part of your marketing efforts.

1. Fill gaps in your content calendar.

Whether you are new to content creation or have been blogging for so long that it is hard to come up with new content, utilizing curated content can help fill in some of the gaps in your own content.

In fact, for many of our clients, we recommend following the 60/30/10 rule on social media platforms.

• 60 percent of the posts should be industry/third-party articles 
• 30 percent link to your blog articles
• 10 percent link to your landing pages and other content

We have found that this structure helps build followers and post engagement, and it grows your brand authority. 

Pro Tip: When sourcing content to share, stay away from any of your competitors’ content and focus on neutral industry publications and influencers. 

2. Establish that you are on top of industry trends. 

One of the ways to show that you are an expert in your field is to share timely industry information on your website or social media channel. This shows current and prospective customers that you do the research for them and are always recommending the best options based on what is going on in the world. 

Even though you didn’t write the content yourself, you are building brand credibility by sharing it via your channels. It’s also the perfect opportunity to present your perspective and insights through commentary in the social posts where you share the content, further showcasing your expertise.

3. Build your network and make connections. 

When you share content from a reputable source and tag or backlink to them, they may be encouraged to do the same with your content, thus spreading your potential audience and reach. 

4. Feature uber-relevant content for your buyer personas. 

Depending on the size of your team, you may not have the capacity to write hyper-segmented content for all of your personas and industries. This is where content curation can really be helpful. Have your teams source and share content that you know is relevant to a specific audience. 

If your company is new to marketing, this is especially beneficial as you build your content library. Use content curation and share articles in your sales or marketing emails, even though it isn’t directing people back to your website. It is all about sharing knowledge and being helpful. Potential customers will appreciate that.

Content Curation: A Win-Win

Whether you are new to marketing or have been doing it for a while, content curation is a great way to grow your content library with less effort than producing everything in house. 

Want to ensure you curate content for all your buyer personas? Download our guide Mapping Content for Different Buyer Personas to help you identify any potential gaps.