By 2021, the content marketing industry will be worth 412 billion dollars. It has been expanding at a compound annual rate of 16 percent and the growth will be maintained by the end of the forecast period. There are several reasons why content marketing will continue growing. It is one of the most cost-efficient and targeted inbound advertising opportunities. When carried out correctly, a content marketing campaign can easily produce long-term results. If you’re not focusing on content marketing yet, 2020 will provide brand new opportunities to fine-tune your promotional strategy.
Start by doing effective curation of content. Content curation is the process of identifying and sharing relevant information with your audience. Most often, Content curation occurs via a social media channel but this isn’t the only opportunity. Content marketing in 2020 will bring in bigger benefits than ever before. Here’s how to start doing content curation as a part of the approach.
Understand the Elements of Content Curation
Creating good content in 2020 will depend on several things. Identifying the right audience is the first one. Focusing on quality is equally important. To achieve these goals, you have to understand the element of content curation. This is a highly selective process consisting of:
Sourcing: you need relevant content from reputable sources that your audience will find beneficial or engaging
Refining: curation is about identifying the best bits and pieces, you can’t just share all of the information about the topic
Creating added value: posting a link on your Facebook page isn’t content curation, you have to add value to the original piece through your own commentary or branding efforts
Sharing: which channels will you use to share the content you’ve sourced and filtered? The selection of the right communication platform is an important part of curation
Repurposing existing content: you can feature your own content as a part of the curation strategy and it can be repurposed for different uses and different channels
As you can see, content curation isn’t just about finding a few cool links. It’s about making the content your own through a good understanding of your audience’s needs.
Source Valuable Content in 2020
The good news is that sourcing valuable content has become easier than ever. Multiple tools exist for the purpose and we recommend exploring/testing out at least a few of these options. Flipboard is a great example of a content curation tool that allows you to retrieve high-quality publications on any topic of interest. Pocket and Scoop.it are equally great. If you really want to broaden your horizons and look for interesting content beyond the obvious choices, give Twitter lists a try. Creating your own lists simplifies the process of personalizing your content sources as much as possible. Following what’s hot in Google Trends can also be quite inspiring.
Always Leverage Your Own Content
Content marketing in 2020 should create a fine mix between your own content and the addition of other useful resources. Featuring your own content as a part of the curation mix enables you to establish your own reputation in the industry and have your voice heard. Thus, content curation and content creation always go hand in hand. The rule will continue dominating such advertising efforts in 2020.
You already have a ton of great content in your blog, on your website and as a part of the visual presentations you put together for clients. Such lovely, branded content can easily be repurposed to reach a much broader audience.
Learn How to Add Your Voice
Adding value to curated content will probably be the most important aspect of making the strategy work. People who are visiting your Facebook page don’t just want to find cool links. They want to interact with you. They want your opinion and insight. Hence, adding your own voice to the curated content is the one element you cannot miss on.
Always supplement the curated pieces with a short commentary or your take. You will be creating additional content this way that your audience cannot access elsewhere.
There are multiple strategies for adding value to curated content. Some of the simplest ways to put together a post include summarizing the main points of an article, analyzing the information, quoting an expert, storyboarding by presenting several relevant pieces of content on a topic or abstracting to extract the most important and relevant points.
In 2020, content curation will be easier due to the multiple tools you can use to automate the process but it will also need to be more thoughtful and intentional. If you’re doing content curation right now, take some time to determine how the strategy can be fine-tuned. Also, track results (click through rates, responses, reposts, etc.) to find out whether your audience is responding in an expected way or if you should tweak your strategy further.