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Finding And Curating Content For Social Media

Whether you’re a busy entrepreneur or someone trying to build a personal brand, time is a precious commodity. As a result, social media is often neglected. But the rewards for building an engaged audience, which include the ability to shape perceptions and generate revenue, are simply too good to forfeit.

One of the most time-efficient ways to engage your followers is to curate interesting content from around the web. This is an art form that Lilach Bullock, the co-founder of digital marketing company Comms Axis, knows all about. We asked her how to keep followers happy with just five minutes of daily input.

Finding Content

finding content
Desk of creative worker by BONNINSTUDIO

While curation is quicker than producing original content, “It can be quite time consuming maintaining an engaging social presence as well as sourcing content,” says Bullock. But there are ways of speeding things up. “Leveraging content, sharing sites, as well as social media management tools can ensure that your online activities are much more effective, whilst freeing up time,” she advises.

The sharing sites she refers to use a mix of crowdsourcing and intelligent algorithms to reduce your legwork. “Scoop.it and Paper.li are ideal for finding and sharing content,” says Bullock. Both of these platforms are primarily designed for creating curated newsletters, but they also serve up a stream of content that other curators have shared. You can search by keyword and share directly from within each app.

Buzzsumo is a fantastic tool,” enthuses Bullock. “It’s particularly useful for identifying popular content, as it ranks content in terms of social shares.” She also recommends news reader, Feedly, which allows you to subscribe to, and organize, your sources — “It has handy alerts that can be set up, too.”

How to Post

when to publish content
Close up shot of a woman checking time on her smartwatch by Jacob Lund

Posting like clockwork is best, as your followers will know when to look out for new content. A good starting point is two posts on Facebook and ten Tweets per day, spread out evenly. However, pushing out this many links manually throughout the day is simply not an option, even for full-time marketers. Instead, sign up for a social media management platform. Not only will this allow you to schedule your posts in advance, but you will get access to other great features, such as analytics and keyword tracking.

Bullock suggests Buffer as a good starting point. It lets you specify the times you want to post, and everything you add to your “buffer” will automatically be spread out across this schedule. “I love how they suggest relevant content,” says Bullock, pointing out Buffer’s other main feature.

Hootsuite is a more rounded platform with the ability to manage multiple accounts — “It is one of the more well-known tools and integrates well with the main social networks.“ Another option is AgoraPulse, which is “aimed at SMEs and agencies” with “a great mobile app and a host of other cool features.”

Stay Social

curating content for social media
close up on hands using a laptop computer by Thomas Andreas

To get the most out of your social presence, Bullock recommends “not just simply broadcasting, but conversing and adding value.” In practical terms, this means adding your thoughts to the links you publish, curating articles that may solve problems, inviting submissions, asking questions, and running polls. As with any social campaign, variety is vital.

Most important of all, however, is making sure to engage with comments and replies as they come in. In the business world, consumers are more likely to recommend a brand after receiving a swift, helpful reply. The same goes for any account — if you want to build an army of devotees, make sure to welcome new recruits with open arms.

Looking for even more ways to manage content and social media campaigns? Here are our top 10 tools for social media marketing and content strategy. Also check out the psychology of why we share on social media!

Top image: Fashionable and stylish young man relaxing with coffee, music and internet browsing at the cafe bar by bbernard

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