Curated Content: What It Is and How To Do It Effectively

Search and social media algorithms feel more like hungry dragons than robots. Feed them a steady diet of amazing content, or they’ll scorch your visibility — or, at least, shrink your reach. 

Of course, every marketer knows that’s easier said than done. Try to brainstorm daily Facebook posts for a year, and your creativity muscles will turn to limp noodles.

Curated content means you can keep the pipeline going even when you’re not creating anything yourself. These are pieces that you gather from other creators and share with your audience, usually with something added. 

Sounds a bit sketchy? It’s not. You’re adding to other people’s work, not stealing it. This guide breaks down everything you need to know before you add curation to your content strategy. 

What Is Curated Content vs. Original Content?

Curated content means sharing credible and relevant materials with your audience. You’re the museum curator, lovingly hanging Impressionist paintings and writing a little plaque for each. 

In this scenario, content creation is the artist’s domain. Every time you write blog posts or film a hilarious TikTok with your team, you’re making original content. It’s entirely under your control, but it takes more time than clicking “share.” 

Curated and original content also have different purposes. Curation is all about building on the knowledge of others and joining larger conversations in your niche. This could be as simple as filming a quick video commenting on a news article and linking to it in the caption. Alternatively, you could send out a weekly email summarizing the must-read reports in your industry. 

Meanwhile, your own content is usually more promotional. Sure, you want the people who read your blog posts to learn something — but you also want them to make a purchase eventually. 

Why Curated Content Matters in SEO and Marketing

Obviously, curation shouldn’t be your entire content marketing strategy. You still need your own voice and value.

But when done well, showcasing other people’s content can help you engage your audience. They’ll start to see you as that somewhat nosy but reliable coworker who’s always ready to provide users with relevant information. Or a heated debate — whatever’s your style. 

The best content curation takes it a step further by incorporating your own expertise into the topic. For example, you might share a video about trending software, then weigh in with tips or bonus knowledge. This strategy enhances your brand authority, provided you add value rather than merely repeating what others have said. 

It also helps satisfy those ever-hungry search engines. When you post regularly and add your own insights with search engine optimization (SEO) keywords, you’re more likely to show up in search results.

Your to-do list will thank you, too. Switching between curating and writing your own original content makes it much easier to maintain a consistent schedule. Don’t have a TikTok video ready for Tuesday? Use curation to fill in the gap instead of pulling another all-nighter with CapCut.

Step 1 — Source High-Quality Material

Finding quality content is the entire point of curation. Without it, you’re just recirculating the dregs of the internet. Not a good look for your brand. 

Where To Look 

You probably already spend a lot of time trawling social media and news sites. But curation is more intentional than your daily scroll sessions. 

• Start by building a list of authoritative publishers who frequently share engaging content. Restaurant Dive always has the latest food service news and McDonald’s scandals. For business-to-business (B2B) professionals, MarTech and Deloitte will always top the list. 
• Set aside a few minutes a day to scan these websites and stay on top of any trending stories quickly. An article that everyone’s chattering about on Monday might be old news (literally) by Friday. 
• Sign up for niche newsletters, too. They bring resources right to your inbox and may help you discover new creators. But don’t rely on them too heavily. The last thing you want to do is copy and paste someone else’s curated collection. 
• Online communities are another obvious place to turn for content curation. Lurk in industry communities on Reddit and LinkedIn to see what people are discussing, sometimes before larger publications pick up the stories. 
• You can also join social lists instead of following individual creators and thought leaders. Just remember that you’re on a mission, or else you might accidentally waste the day scrolling away — “for research,” you insist as your to-do list overflows. 

Prefer something a little less scrolling-intensive? Media databases like CisionOne and Muck Rack do all the legwork for you, but you’ll have to pay for the luxury.  

Finding the Best Content 

Okay, so you’ve braved the depths of Reddit and scoured news sites for interesting content. Now you need to select a few pieces to share with your customers. 

Use this checklist to narrow your options: 

• Recency: Don’t waste time circulating stale content that your audience has probably already seen. Discard any articles that were published over a month ago. Social media moves even faster, so three to five days is a reasonable expiration date. 
• Accuracy: Vet your curated content as thoroughly as you’d fact-check your own. Do their claims make sense, or do you catch a whiff of AI gibberish? Are they using reputable sources? If everything seems trustworthy, it’s probably safe to share. 
• Originality: Look for fresh takes, such as a white paper with data the creator collected themselves. That’s more valuable than rehashed information you can find anywhere. 
• Authority: Curating work from thought leaders and respected publications will bolster your own reputation. McKinsey, for instance, is much more authoritative than an anonymous Redditor. 
• Brand fit: Anything you curate should align with your broader content strategy. If your tone is professional and reassuring, resist the urge to share that juvenile SpongeBob meme. 

Audience profiling can also help you pick the right content. If you’re curating for hiking enthusiasts, look for in-depth materials that appeal to hobbyists. For young fashion lovers, stitching TikTok videos and sharing Reels might have the most impact. 

Step 2 — Organize With a Repeatable System

Theoretically, you could just bookmark content as you come across it. Or share it immediately before you forget. But that can quickly get chaotic, and it won’t help you build an organized content calendar. Save yourself the headache by developing a straightforward system from the very beginning. 

Build Your Own Taxonomy 

As you gather blog posts and other content, compile them in a spreadsheet or a tool like Trello so you can easily find them later. That way, you won’t have to go on an epic scavenger hunt every time you want to share something you scrolled past last week. 

Use tags to categorize this content, making it easy to find what you need. For example, you might label content by format, such as “Video,” “White Paper,” and so on. Or you could tag them by topic, target audience, or funnel stage. It all depends on your goals and content marketing strategy. 

Create a Low-Stress Workflow 

Not every piece in your spreadsheet will make the cut. Speed up the curation process with a simple workflow, such as: 

• Intake: Enter the content into your system and tag it. 
• Triage: Categorize content by priority level, such as “Share Immediately,” “Save for Slow Days,” or “Hot Takes (Too Risky?).”  
• Shortlist: Create a list of five to ten pieces of curated content per week. They should cover a breadth of topics and formats so your collection always feels exciting. 
• Editorial approval: Decide who will sign off on curated content. For small businesses, that might be the owner or marketing director. Larger companies may have a designated curator. 

Step 3 — Add Value and Attribute Correctly

Curation works best when you say something new. It’s your chance to showcase your subject authority and move the conversation forward. 

Here are a few ways you can add your personal touch: 

• Contextualize the piece within a larger trend or debate.
• Discuss what you agree (or disagree) with.
• Expand on something the creator briefly mentioned.
• Relate it to your personal experiences or case studies. 

Watch your tone. Curating is about adding value, not stepping on other creators (especially smaller ones). As your mom might say, if you don’t have anything constructive to say, just move on to a different piece of content.

You should also give credit to the original creator by naming them and linking to their work. Blog content and white papers are usually fine to reshare without asking permission. However, you should always ask permission before publishing user-generated content (UGC) and social media posts. These pieces are usually more personal, so get consent before sharing. 

Tools To Make Content Curation Efficient

Forget about Googling random topics until inspiration strikes. With content curation software, you can collect materials and share them more effectively. 

Discovery tools help you find content much faster. Use BuzzSumo to generate content ideas and see trends. Or try building a custom dashboard with Feedly. Instead of clicking dozens of links, you can see all your favorite blogs and news sites in one space. 

As you gather content, platforms like Notion and Trello allow you to organize and store it. That way, you won’t forget that groundbreaking report you would swear you saw on YouTube. You can also save time by automatically scheduling and publishing it with Buffer or Hootsuite.

The work doesn’t end there. Use monitoring tools like Google Search Console or Google Analytics to see how people respond to your curated content. Does UGC consistently send more traffic to your site? Add more to your content calendar to keep the momentum going. 

Content Curation Examples You Can Lift Today

Channel your inner museum employee with these curated content examples. 

Weekly Digest Email 

Send your subscribers a short roundup of the top stories in your niche. Add a one- or two-sentence blurb so it feels curated, not like a grocery list. You should also follow email newsletter best practices, such as making it mobile-friendly and segmenting your audience by interests. 

Evergreen Resource Hub

Don’t just share evergreen (or always relevant) content once and forget it. Build a webpage that links to must-read articles, reports, and other resources. Your audience can refer to this list when they need credible information. 

Links often change or disappear, so check this page regularly and remove any defunct pages. Otherwise, your resource hub will quickly become a graveyard.  

Executive POV Roundups 

LinkedIn and industry blogs are a goldmine for thought leadership. As you read these pieces, copy and paste helpful or provocative quotes into a document. 

When you have a handful of quotes on the same subject, compile them and add your commentary. For example, you might gather executives’ opinions about the ethical use of AI in your industry and weigh in. 

Social Carousels 

Platforms like Instagram and LinkedIn let you build carousels of images and slides. Use them to summarize key takeaways from your curated content, and add links in the caption so your followers can read more. 

Thematic Mashups 

You can’t always bring experts together for a live debate, but you can put them into conversation with each other. Combine contrasting quotes from specialists with your own analysis. A marketing company, for instance, could compare the benefits of video and social media marketing, with the writer giving the final verdict. 

Measuring the Impact of Curated Content

The effects of curated content can be subtle, but don’t assume nothing is happening. Here are a few metrics that can help you track your progress: 

• Assisted conversions
• Backlinks from other creators 
• Click-through rate for email newsletters 
• Return on investment 
• Time on page 

Use A/B testing to experiment with different headlines, summaries, and formats. Your audience might be indifferent to a social carousel but love Reels dissecting other creators’ content, or vice versa. You won’t know until you experiment.  

This data can also give you original content inspiration. If your re-posted videos get consistent engagement, break out your smartphone for some filming of your own. 

Building Authority Through Smart Curation

Curated content can help alleviate the pressure of constantly producing new material. It also positions you as an industry leader who’s actively engaged in all the major conversations. 

Of course, original content still matters, especially when it comes to raising brand awareness. If you need help keeping up, consider hiring a writer to bring your ideas to life. Compose.ly’s expert writers can assist with everything from SEO to creating evergreen content. 

Visit the Compose.ly Resource Center for more content marketing hacks. And if you’re ready to create content that other people will be itching to curate, explore our managed writing services.

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