With around 1 billion active users, Instagram is by far one of the most popular social media platforms around today. Having a well-curated Instagram feed is the best way to give your brand a consistent Instagram aesthetic that showcases your brand’s personality and values.
It’s no secret that content curation is an integral part of any social media or marketing strategy. So… how do you get started?
In this quick guide, we will dive into what curated content is and the benefits of using it.
What Is Curated Content For Social Media?
Curated content is any content you share on your account that was not created by you but is still interesting or beneficial to your followers.
It can include anything from an informative blog post to expert advice from an academic.
Similar to a museum curator, whose job is to choose the artwork, a content curator will select interesting and engaging content that you can share with your followers.
What makes curated content exciting is that you no longer have to write or produce the content you publish.
Instead, content curation is about sourcing relevant content and sharing it with your followers in a way that they find exciting and adds value to your brand.
Not only does this save you time, but it also keeps your Instagram and social media profiles looking consistently active. Moreover, it allows you to diversify your content to help keep your audience engaged.
Curated vs Created Content
Created content is unique content that is written or produced by you specifically for your target audience. Remember that whatever content you create belongs to you!
Every unique piece of content you create or produce will directly represent your brand, product, services, or expertise.
Curated content is sourced from external sources and by sharing it, you can offer your audience valuable content related to your brand. This will help diversify your brand and acknowledge the value of other similar brands.
When answering the question of ‘what is curated content’, the simple answer is that content curation is cross-promoting whereas unique content creation is self-promoting.
Here’s a quick list of the differences…
Curated Content
- Cost-effective
- Saves time
- Offers your audience alternative but relevant information and content
- Helps build new relationships
Created Content
- Demonstrates your brand identity and values
- Increases your overall credibility
- Indicates your opinions and knowledge in your given field
- Fosters deeper connections and brand loyalty with your followers
6 Benefits Of Using Curated Content For Your Brand
The reality is, with more and more brands popping up every day, users are getting bored of brands that only showcase themselves.
Curating content allows you to diversify your social media content by including content from similar accounts or brands. This will keep your account exciting, removing the monotony of posting solely about your brand.
One of the main benefits of sharing curated content is that it allows you to keep up with Instagram’s algorithms. As such, it is ideal for the times where you don’t have new content.
Instagram will recognize your consistent posting habits and will ensure that your account remains visible.
Content curation can also…
1. Create a Deeper Understanding of Your Industry
If you want to lead or become an influencer, it’s crucial to know what’s happening in your industry at all times.
To successfully curate content, you need to constantly research and learn as much as possible about your industry. Find out what leaders in your industry are up to and share their content with your audience to provide value and insights.
This will help you stay ahead of any trends and keep your audience interested. Noting trends and behaviors will also help you develop a stronger understanding of your industry and consumers.
2. Help Increase Brand Awareness
One of the main aims of any brand is to engage your audience and to create brand awareness.
Sharing curated content is a great way to put yourself on other people’s radars. By seeing well-known brands and names on your feed, followers will be more likely to click through and check out your brand.
3. Help Fill Up Your Calendar
Let’s be honest, it’s difficult to produce new content every day. Any social media strategy will have some gaps.
However, sharing curated content ensures that you continue posting consistently even on those days where you have no new content. (And don’t forget that Preppr can help you schedule all your posts in advance so that you can consistently post content without any stress!)
4. Offer Added Value For Your Audience
Your followers will likely look to you for industry or brand-specific information. The reality is that you will not know every single thing about your industry and there’s no need to pretend you do!
By carefully curating information of similar or related accounts, you can expose your followers to multiple perspectives. This gives them more insight into your industry.
5. Help You Build Your Own Networks
Sharing other people’s content is a great way to let them know you exist. As a result, it can help bring in some extra traffic to your account.
Though you may not get anything in return, it’s important to notify brands when you are sharing their content.
Explain what you found intriguing or useful and inform them about your brand and what you’re doing. Over time, this could turn into a mutually beneficial relationship.
6. Offer Useful Insights About Your Followers
Finally, sharing curated content is a great way to see what your target demographic responds to.
Be sure to keep track of what content you are resharing and note how your audience responds. Doing so will help you to filter and share the right curated content, which will allow you to engage with your audience on topics that they find interesting.
Conclusion
There are a multitude of benefits to sharing curated content. And with the right knowledge and experience, it will become second nature to you!
By sharing curated content, you can increase brand awareness, rank higher in search engines, or simply engage better with your target audience. To reach social media expert status, it’s important to strike a balance between curated and created content to keep your feed consistent and exciting!
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