Curation can be an important skill for online marketers. It’s a straightforward way to build an audience through thoughtful sharing and a recognition of good content.
It can also be time-consuming. Which is why I put together this beginner’s guide to curation, giving some easy methods for managing too much information, noise and spam.
Pick a method or two, and learn to curate information painlessly and quickly.
- Interface: Browser for setup, email for alerts
- What it does: Google sends you an email any time a news article, blog post, website or video includes your search term (company name, product, phrase, hashtag, etc.).
- Also: Customize frequency, region, language and more.
- Wade says: An essential tool for reputation management. I’ve used it for years to find blog posts about Y’all Connect.
- Interface: Browser or any number of apps
- What it does: Allows you to group people you follow (or don’t follow) on Twitter any way you want. Check out tweets from friends, corporate competitors, Pokémon Go thought leaders or food trucks.
- Also: Set lists to public or private. Share public lists with your followers, such as this list of Birmingham restaurants (no Twitter sign-in required).
- Wade says: One of the most powerful and underutilized tools on Twitter. Save enormous amounts of time and effort.
- Interface: Browser or Facebook app
- What it does: Similar to Twitter lists, allows you to group people and pages on Facebook any way you want. See updates from relatives, real estate agents, news sources or secret crushes.
- Also: Set lists to public or private. Share public lists with your followers, such as this list of Birmingham restaurants (sign-in required).
- Wade says: Facebook makes it difficult to see timely updates from the ones you want. This is a great work-around.
4. Groups on LinkedIn and Facebook
- Interface: Browser or apps
- What it does: Join active groups with members passionate about topics, industries, hobbies and more. Answer questions, ask questions and trade links and ideas.
- Also: Set notifications if you want to know when someone posts to the group, or turn them off if they’re too much.
- Wade says: This is much more than curation: It’s also an opportunity for networking, brainstorming and learning.
5. #Hashtags
- Interface: Browser or apps
- What it does: Best on Twitter, OK on Facebook. Find others talking about specific topics, such as #marketing, #blogging or #socialmedia.
- Also: Great for tracking real-time events, whether a conference or breaking news, such as this transcript from #yallconenct.
- Wade says: Still one of the easiest ways to jump in a topic and learn something new.
Building a message sometimes needs a little inspiration. And curation can provide all the inspiration needed for hungry audiences and curious minds.
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See even more ideas on curation.
