Are you adamant that content curation is not a synonym for content creation?
Although you may think the terms are interchangeable, they are not.
Content creation is the act of creating new content for your website, blog, or social media. If you are a career coach, for example, you might create blog posts on how to write a compelling CV or how to get your first engineering job.
Here’s the thing about content creation. It’s a great marketing tool but it can be time-consuming.
There’s so much to do, from topic research to consumer behaviour analysis to outlining and drafting, editing, and even editing, It’s also difficult to keep up with brands who have partnered with content agencies in order to scale large amounts of content.
What is a service-based company supposed to do?
You might consider adding content curation to your content creation.
Content curation can relieve the pressure on your marketing team and allow you to free up time and resources for your company, especially if your “marketing team” is only you. Content curation is about sharing content from other sources on your website, blog, or social media.
How does it all work?
Simple. It’s simple. Content that is focused on your business and your target audience’s core needs.
Content curation is a great tool for service-based businesses if your marketing team feels under pressure or pressed for time.
Let’s look closer at the reasons content curation is so important for service-based businesses.
Why is content curation so important in service-based industries
You’re always under pressure as a service-based company. So what better way to relieve some of that pressure than to add curated content to your website?
This section will discuss content curation, and the importance of it for service-based industries.
Ready?
Let’s take another look.
1. Building trust in customer relationships
Your customers will be more likely to trust you if they see you as a reliable source of information. It can be difficult to get your content noticed if your website doesn’t have a rich knowledge base, a blog that is well-written, or consistent content on social media.
This is because there are so many marketers and bloggers out there vying for search engine users.
Curating content can also help you compete with the best competitors and provide customers the information they are looking for.
Here’s an example from the real world:
Transport and trucking services industries are overloaded with product and content about truck wheels, car accessories, parts, and other related topics. Businesses in this industry have a better chance of attracting more customers and generating more revenue by having a blog that is both original and well-curated.
American Trucks, for example, creates guides that are based on the top accessories and products consumers are searching for. Customers can compare products and share opinions which increases trust in the platform.
American Trucks’ content is not the only thing it creates. American Trucks can keep up with the industry’s high standards of content without compromising quality by adding curated content.
We recommend the following:
- Add your perspective to the content, if it is relevant
- Create a process that will help you consistently curate and publish content
- To verify, select, organize and publish content, you need to use a real person
- Every content asset should be thoroughly vetted to ensure that it is valuable, honest, and aligns with the core needs of your target audience.
2. Educate your customers
Customers can share content to help them understand the benefits of your services.
When your company offers many services, with specific features such as customized onboarding for government fleet management software and virtual medical assistant services, leveraging curated content can be a great way to educate customers.
These are just a few ways that curated content can be used to educate your customers
Keep customers informed via email
It is easy to show your customers that you are willing to go above and beyond by sending them helpful guides and articles via email. The emphasis should be on the word “relevant”.
Send out a questionnaire to your audience asking what topics they are most interested in.
Want to create internal email newsletters with curated content in just a few clicks. Learn how we can assist.
Get hot case studies from the media and publish them on your blog
Once you have a good understanding of what your customers are interested in, impress them with new and relevant case studies that you publish on your blog.
Create and publish webinars in your niche on topics that customers are most interested
A knowledge base section can be created on your website. It can be used to republish valuable and topic-relevant webinar videos. You can take this to the next level by hosting a podcast that reviews and summarizes webinars.
Get the ultimate guides with a selection of the most sought-after advice.
Make a list of the most useful advice articles that you can find and organize them into ultimate guides. These are great for lead magnets!
3. You can be a authority
You can establish yourself as an expert by curating content that is relevant to your audience. This is a huge deal if your goal is to be a magnet for organic traffic.
It’s crucial to understand the types of articles that you would like to be associated with in order to make yourself an authority figure within your industry.
If your original content is conversational and friendly, you should avoid curated assets with a formal tone. You should also verify the information and stats provided in the curated content to ensure that it is accurate and not plagiarized.
These are just a few additional ways you can position yourself as an authority by using curated content.
Interview original authors on a video or podcast show
You have recently published curated content which received raving reviews? You can keep the momentum going by interviewing original authors in a video or on your podcast.
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You can get the most from this tip by arriving prepared for the interview
- Before you interview, do extensive research on the author
- Ask the author questions before the interview so that you have more context and inspiration for your official interview
- Asking the author questions that are open-ended and engaging during the interview
- Ask your audience questions to the interviewee.
- Natural give-and-take in the official interview
After every section of an article, add a personal reflection/analysis.
Do you love republishing articles. We don’t blame you! We recommend adding personal reflections to every section of your curated content. This will give it a more authoritative feel.
Republish content from industry influencers and catalog them in cluster topics
To increase street cred, there’s nothing better than affiliating with influential people.
This tip can be used to your advantage by creating cluster topics that allow customers to dive deeper into any topic on your blog.
Hire a content writer service or use the right tools to scale your content
It is crucial to scale your content if you want to be a true expert in your industry. But we have already discussed how time-consuming this can be.
Consider using an AI writing tool or content writing service to show your customers that you are the real deal.
4. Provide value
You can provide value to your community and customers by curation of content. Share useful content that is relevant to your niche.
We would choose “value” if we had to pick one word that could be used to cover every marketer’s content focus. Is there any other word more appropriate in an information-obsessed society?
Let’s take a look at this.
Are you a seller of project management services Do you sell project management services? If so, your customers will need content that answers burning questions such as:
- How can I ensure that my project timeline stays on schedule?
- What are the best project management tools for every project?
- What qualities should I look for when looking for a project manager
- What is a project manager?
- How can a project manager save me project?
Are you selling personal training sessions? Your customers will want content that answers questions such as:
- What can I expect during my first session of personal training?
- What are the best ways to get the most out of a personal trainer?
- What equipment does a personal trainer recommend for working out?
- Are personal trainers able to modify exercise?
- What should I bring to a personal coaching session?
You can probably guess that listicles, lists, guides, videos and behind-the scenes snippets are some of the most effective content formats for answering questions such as these.
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To find out which content formats your audience prefers, you can also conduct a survey. This tip can be used to ask respondents their top questions about your industry.
5. Keep up-to-date
Are you embarrassed when your competitor discusses a hot topic before yourself? Are you embarrassed to be the last person to learn about new developments in your industry’s field?
You are in luck, because curated content can help keep you on top of industry trends so that you are always in the know.
These are just a few ways that curated content can help you stay relevant.
- Spend time each week researching the most recent industry reports
- In your newsletter, recap the key points you learned from industry reports on Twitter and LinkedIn.
- Your blog can recap the key points you have learned from industry reports
- Spend time each week looking for industry case studies and learning from them
- Every week, dedicate time to check for industry news and current events.
- Live videos on social media allow you to recap the key takeaways from case studies. Invite viewers to join you to ask questions or engage with you.
- Pin current news and updates to your top social media profiles
- To stay competitive, you can learn from your content-based business and apply the lessons to your service-based company.
Conclusion
We hope you have made it this far.
Here’s a quick overview of today’s topics, just in case you need it.
TL;DR:
- 1. You can create and publish your content.
- 2. Content curation is the process of aggregating and sharing content from other sources.
- 3. If content creation is your only focus, it can be time-intensive and create unnecessary stress for your marketing team.
- 4. You can supplement your original assets with curated material to help you reach your goals without sacrificing your team.
- 5. Curated content can be a great way to build trust with your customers and educate them.
- 6. Curated content can help you position yourself as an authority and provide value. It also helps you remain relevant.
That’s all! Are you ready for curated content to supplement your work?
We are here to help. Scoop.it is a tool that allows you to research and publish the best content possible. Register now for a free account.
Scoop.it Blog published the article Why Content Curation Is Essential for Service-Based Industries.
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