Content curation and thought leadership are used to provide unique opinions, viewpoints, and information by subject matter experts in order to educate, inform, entertain, or impart wisdom.
A survey conducted in the year 2022 found that organizations used Thought Leadership to offer value to their customers in difficult times. Thought Leadership was deemed more effective than traditional advertising or product marketing, and it has generated a buzz within the industry. The right type of content can help build brand awareness and position your brand as a leading expert in the industry.
You’re not too late if you plan to integrate thought leadership and content curation. This article will explain how to achieve it and use it to connect with more customers.
What is thought leadership?
Thought leadership is the presentation of unique opinions and viewpoints by subject matter experts in order to inform, educate or entertain others, as well as impart wisdom.
Thought leadership can be defined as taking a position and presenting an opinion that challenges the way people perceive things. Some arguments might be controversial and may require taking a stand that’s debatable in the industry.
Some people say that thought-leadership is about being an expert in a certain niche and using their expertise to influence others.
It is a combination of both. It is someone who knows what they’re talking about, is an expert in their field and can offer an unbiased opinion. Thought leaders are able to share their knowledge and perspectives on relevant topics in order to improve their reputation.
What are the benefits of thought leadership?
The ability to think outside the box is an excellent way to differentiate yourself in a crowded market. Here are a few benefits that can help your business grow.
- Create credibility and authority – A unique thought process and opinion will help establish your brand on the market. Over time, your brand will become more established and gain authority.
- Thought leadership does not convert prospects, unlike lead generation tools. It works well if you are looking to attract customers and build a loyal following.
- Thought leadership does not constitute a SEO strategy. It can increase the chances of people sharing and liking your content. It would strengthen your SEO profile.
Content Curation: A Way to Drive Thought Leadership
Content curation is an important parameter for content marketers in the enterprise and business world. It allows you to select content from reliable sources and share with your followers. Content curation is a great way to save time and money when you are creating blogs and social media posts.
Content curation combined with thought leadership can create a monopoly for any niche. Below, we’ll discuss how developing a solid strategy for content curation will optimize your work while driving thought leadership.
1. Define your target audience
The key to content curation is to identify your target audience. Idealy, the people you choose should match your buyer’s personality. Understanding who will be benefited by your thoughts is a critical component of thought leadership.
Your content should not be based solely on your existing customers, but also potential buyers. You want to reach out to a larger audience that will help spread the word, join a community or become brand ambassadors.
2. Platforms and channels preferred by Research Users
It is not enough to identify your audience, you also need to get your content in front of them. Social media has revolutionized the way people consume content.
Social media statistics can provide valuable insights into your audience, including what they like and don’t like. You can then tailor your content to their preferences to increase engagement and ROI.
If you are trying to run an affiliate program, and the majority of your customers or fans use TikTok then short-form material is the best way to go. YouTube and LinkedIn users, however, prefer a slightly longer format.
Using Social Media to Curate Content
Social media is everywhere. By 2027, it is expected that over 6,000,000 users will use different social channels. Curating content can be a great way to add value to your social media followers. You can use this opportunity to highlight your expertise in your field and your thought leadership.
It is difficult to find the time to read articles, search databases, or do research. RSS feeds are a great way to keep up with all the content that a website has published.
You will receive notifications when a new post is made on a site that offers RSS feeds. To be a thought leader, you need to keep up with the latest trends.
Tools to discover and curate content
Two important aspects of being a thought-leader are content discovery and curation. These tools are highly sought after by marketing teams and companies to help drive sales and convert. These tools are some of the most common.
- BuzzSumo is a cloud-based platform that allows you to monitor, discover and research online content. BuzzSumo lets you explore trends and real time statistics for content that is related to a niche.
- SocialPilot is an excellent tool for curating and improving content on social media. The platform searches Facebook content, Twitter content, LinkedIn content, Instagram and other social media. You can use this platform to find and share popular posts on social media.
- UpContent – UpContent allows you to curate, discover and distribute engaging media to your target audience. It analyzes millions of articles, posts and media to keep up with the latest trends.
- Feedzy is a great platform if you’re looking to curate content on your WordPress site. The RRS aggregator collects the latest content from online sources to automatically add to your website.
Quality content is important for thought leadership
High-quality content that addresses topics of interest to customers can effectively communicate thought leadership. It is therefore important to do in-depth research on topics to create content that is engaging and unique.
Here are four tips that will make the process less boring and more enjoyable.
1. Choose the right topic – There are many topics to choose from. A thought leader, however, will present topics that provide valuable insights to the audience.
You should ask yourself these questions when you decide on a subject.
a. What makes your content appealing to your audience unique?
b. Why should the audience be interested in the topic?
c. Does the topic on which you’re writing have a current trend? What will you do to make it your own?
2. Take authority – Being authoritative is a sign that you have mastered the subject and are a specialist in it. A thought leader shares fresh insights for users of a particular industry.
3. Consistency is the key to everything. Content needs to be updated or uploaded regularly to reach as many people as possible.
4. Align your goals with the goals of your audience. A thought leader understands how to align their goals and serve their audience. Although it may not lead to conversions, key performance metrics can be achieved.
5. Content that is valuable will ultimately bring satisfaction. Readers feel satisfied when they gain new knowledge and replace confusion. To create content that is thought-provoking, it’s important to consider the customer.
The role of curating in thought leadership
You can add the latest insights to your content by curating it. It is important to add your own annotations or commentary to cement your position as a thought-leader. You can differentiate yourself from other sources and meet fair use requirements. This will also boost your overall SEO offering.
It is important to distinguish yourself from other sources of content when you curate. If you’re directly extracting content from curated sources rather than syndicating them outright, this is a very important consideration.
You should only add half the content of the original when you extract a piece. You should also include keywords that are relevant to your brand in order to establish yourself as an authority on the subject.
You can also use annotations to create new content based on the curated content. Below are six different ways to create original content.
- This is usually for new curators. You can only extract a small portion of the article. Post the title, the first sentences of the original article or an image. You may be accused of copyright or plagiarism if you use this form of annotation.
- Summary- A summary is a brief summary of an article by the curator. This requires more work, but if it is done correctly, it will appear original, as it’s not found anywhere else online.
- Quoting – A curator who quotes will look for interesting text blocks and add their own commentary. A quoted piece has a high ranking value, which increases your chances to establish yourself as a thought-leader.
- Retitling – Retitling simply means changing the title of a page to make it more appealing to attract more clicks. This method is useful when sharing content on mobile sites or social media.
- Storyboarding- Storyboarding is a way for a curator or creator to combine multiple pieces of content into one narrative. It takes a lot more effort but may be worth it as it provides greater value to the reader.
- Parallelizing- A leader of thought can parallelize unrelated content. The curator can make connections between the two topics and relate his point of view to a bigger issue.
How to Choose the Right Distribution Channels
It doesn’t matter how insightful and well-written your content is if nobody can find it. The campaign’s success depends on the right distribution and promotion strategies for thought leadership content.
Thought Leadership Distribution Guidelines
You can promote content based on your business. Existing thought leaders have an established network that is willing to promote and help them with their thought leadership campaigns.
It is a little difficult for small businesses and startup to gain exposure. Consider these strategies if this is your situation.
- Pitch publications, journalists and other industry influencers in order to gain extra attention.
- Promote your content through internal and external channels of the company.
- Collaboration with brands you don’t compete with.
- Contact opinion leaders for contributions.
- Create content that encourages people to share content by analyzing content creators.
- If you have the budget, consider adding sponsored content to your marketing strategy.
How to Measure the Success Curated Content
It is crucial to evaluate the effectiveness of any campaign. It will show you whether or not you have reached your goals. These metrics may be based upon organic traffic, engagement on social media, backlinks and email subscribers, sales or leads, PR mentions and more.
Avoid these Common Mistakes When Curating Content
Certain content curation techniques simply do not help in the thought-leadership campaign. You don’t want to come across as unprofessional or shady. You may be subject to legal issues, have your website penalized by Google and face other problems. Most common mistakes include
- The consequences of publishing plagiarised content or copyrighted material are serious.
- Links to low-quality content.
- Use of the same website or sources.
- Posting more content or less content
- Sharing content from wrong sources
- Engaging followers
- Update old content
- Make the content about you
Conclusion
To be a thought leader, you need to have a deep understanding of the subject and a desire to challenge conventional thinking. You need quality content on relevant subjects to communicate thought leadership.
The process is simplified and made less time-consuming by content curation. Research in depth to create engaging and unique content. You can create a monopoly, and get more leads and customers.
Answering questions for others is a valuable skill. To become a thought-leader, you don’t need to answer all of your prospects’ questions. You are not the one who is looking for an answer. Your audience wants to know what’s best for them.
The post Curating content for thought leadership: How to build authority and influence in your industry appeared first on Scoop.it blog.
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