One strategy that worked for us when curating content on social media is to focus on a specific theme for each day or week. For example, we might dedicate Mondays to sharing tips and advice related to our industry, Wednesdays to interviewing a relevant guest expert, and Fridays to highlighting a special offer or case study. By focusing on different themes each day or week, we were able to keep our social media channels interesting and engaging while also providing valuable content to our audience.
When people say that consistency is a key to the success, they were definitely talking about social media! Any social media platform has its own algorithm, but one thing that they all have in common is that they favour accounts that consistently make content. I once said that any content that was not posted is a missed opportunity, and I will stand by it. I would suggest posting at least 4 times a week on Instagram including 10 stories per day. For TikTok, I would advise posting daily and using trending sounds. Also, it is helpful to post your content during "peak" hours which is usually 6-9 pm during work days. There are many strategies that are good to use for expanding your platform but no matter what you are trying, just stay consistent!
To put it simply: a social media strategy is a goal and the social media plan is the way to get there. We gather the data from the Sales team, mostly (if it's a medium-sized company) and/or the owner because we need to gauge the company's needs and vision for curation. Also, our main source of data is the social media channels the brand already employs and their site analytics to see where and when the audience is pouring in and what we can do to nurture those leads further. Then , we proceed to curate the content we know has performed well within our target audience. Please credit Brenton Thomas (bthomas@twibiagency.com), founder and CEO of Twibi twibiagency.com. You can find him here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brentonthomas
Curating content can come off as lazy or uninspired if done wrong. And, of course, that is the last thing you’d want to happen. The key to our strategy was to position ourselves as thought leaders, and to do so, we needed to know our audience and answer the following questions: How does this piece/blog help them? Is it relevant for them and their problem? Does the content align with the brand perception? The content shared by creators, writers, other companies, etc., has to follow the principle of satisfying the user intent. Thus, we ensure that every piece of content, whether ours or curated, is of the best quality possible from a credible source and that it fits with our values.
Using the 4-1-1 Rule as a guideline allows us to curate content on our socials without flooding our feed with too much outside content or underutilizing its power. For every six posts you create on your social feeds, four should educate or entertain and the other two should soft or hard sell your brand. Within those four entertainment/educational posts, your curated content lives, sharing engaging, thought-provoking, hilarious, or evocative content with your followers. Those with smaller budgets can curate more content than their original creations, while those with better resources can focus more on original content and less curation. If the content keeps your followers engaged, you've found a winning strategy!
User generated content (UGC) is a great way for companies to make their social media content more authentic and relatable for their audience. The great thing about UGC is that it can come from anywhere – previous comments on social media or blog posts, customer feedback via surveys or testimonials, or even putting out a direct request for your audience to create content using a specific hashtag. This takes some of the burden off of your social media team to create fresh, new content. It’s also a great way to boost user engagement, as people love to see their comments and posts showcased on a brand’s social media pages.
When it comes to curating a social media feed, it helps tremendously to maintain a balance between following guidelines while still leaving room for creativity. The best way to approach social media is to start with a variety of content mediums that span videos, photos, influencer collaborations, and more. Additionally, it can also help to experiment with various aesthetics, colors, and formats within the brand guidelines. Once you have built a feed of 20+ posts, revisit your content and make note of what received the highest engagement. With these statistics in place, you can now re-evaluate your strategy to include content that is similar to the posts that performed well and build a feed that your target audience loves.
Introduce your offers via one social media channel where you can achieve the highest engagement with your niche market. This micro-branding approach is time-saving and less expensive. It is also effective in achieving the right exposure you need for your business. Focusing on one medium helps create a more personalized and customer-centric brand that is convenient to manage, especially for less experienced business owners. Furthermore, it lets you navigate a more specialized path that warrants success, which is way better than generally casting a wide net across all channels with low customer engagement.
Curated content should be viewed as the start of a conversation with your followers on your social media. At Cottage, if we utilize a post discussing the workforce changing to at-home post covid, our addition could be a brief statement about our AUD’s as live/workspaces with images of our structures. This adds context and allows us to contribute to the conversation without forcing it.
We show off what we do. We believe in the strength of our work and use LinkedIn and Instagram to post our video content as well as show off the behind the scenes. We have learned that especially on Instagram, our audience wants to see how we did what we did, and that has helped us reach new potential employees as well as new clients. By being open and showing off our brand and how we work, we have reached a greater audience.
Don’t deviate too far from your core messaging. Our business is about making high quality coolers and giving back to wounded veterans; that message stays front and center in all we do as well as all we say on social media. It’s tempting to try and appeal to more people on social platforms, but when you try too hard to speak their language, you run the risk of losing your own voice. Keep it authentic, and the people who need to hear your message will be there.
No matter how much information you put on the internet if the audience doesn't relate to it, there's no chance of success. Our organization follow the audience's voice by looking through what they need. If you notice your comments, inbox, emails and other portals through which you interact with your customers, you'll know that content is right there. You just have to look into it. We go through these sections to see what our audience is demanding and curate the content on that basis. When you upload what the audience asks for, you get certainly more engagement than what your other content gets. Also, since you're listening to your audience, they feel valued and special. And by doing this, you're giving them some valuable content which is useful to them and adds value to their life.
One critical part of content curation has surprised us - we’ve built some solid relationships with creators that have helped us grow our social presence even more. Whenever we repost someone else’s content, we avoid sending the cookie-cutter, “Hey! We shared your post, would you like to share ours?” message that is so transactional it can be alienating. When we share someone’s content, we aren’t doing it for a link back from them, but because we believe in the message. We always reach out to creators when we share their content, but we do it as a courtesy and to thank them for creating great posts. Those messages are genuine, and they’ve started some conversations that have led to some powerful professional relationships and friendships, naturally leading us to better opportunities.
When we like a particular product, we especially like accessing it behind the scenes. Who are the members of a team? How is the product in question made? To satisfy our curiosity, social networks like Instagram or Facebook can be a storytelling tool to humanize companies. These are generally short stories, which will allow a story to be told about a product to its community.
When it comes to content curation on social media, one strategy that worked for me was to focus on engaging with my followers and providing valuable information. I found that by responding back to people who asked questions or sharing interesting articles that were relevant to them, I was able to build a following of loyal consumers who appreciated the quality of my content. Additionally, using hashtags and other search engine optimization (SEO) techniques helped me reach a wider audience more easily.
In today’s PC-driven environment of social consciousness, a lot of branded social accounts are deathly afraid of touching on anything that comes close to being culturally sensitive. They just don’t want the bad PR. But as a result of this, their content on social media is usually sterile, plain vanilla, and frankly, boring. This makes it super hard to gain followers and have any posts go viral. That is why as we plan our social media content, we aren’t afraid “to go there.” In other words, we are not afraid to get a little edgy and go after people, calling them on their BS and hypocrisy. We like it when followers comment “oh snap!” when we roast someone. And honestly, this has worked really well for us. So long as you don’t take it too far (let your gut be your guide), slightly racy content can get your brand some serious traction.
When it comes to curating content on social media, one strategy that has always worked well for me is to focus on quality over quantity. In other words, it’s better to share a few pieces of high-quality content relevant to your audience than to post some stuff that is only loosely related to your brand or message. Social media is all about building relationships. So, when sharing content, add your personal commentary or start a conversation. It will make your followers feel like they’re part of a community and encourage them to engage with your brand deeper.
Scheduling your content – curated or not — is the ultimate time-saver. It also allows you to identify and fill any content gaps or publication time gaps. This includes forgetting to schedule a key campaign post that has to go out on a specific day. Using a social media management tool, like Planable, will assist you in planning and scheduling your content ahead of time, analyzing your performance to adjust future strategies, and demonstrating the ROI of your social media efforts.
Content curation means that you don't have to create all of the content that you post. Rather than pouring hours into content production, you can re-share from factual and reliable sources. The goal of curating content is not only to free up internal resources — it's also to identify the content that will be of most value to your audience. This enables you to reposition it in a way that increases engagement and serves your organizational goals. Note that content curation isn't completely hands-off. Once you've found content that your audience will enjoy, it's best to bring some added value in order to encourage engagement and ignite conversations. Otherwise, users will skip your profile and head over to the original creator's instead. You could include your own opinion, introduce a relevant statistic, or create a charming graphic to go alongside the post. If you can find at least one way to differentiate your repost from its original form, you're more likely to capture your audience.
If you're curating content for social media in order to advertise your products or services, I believe this is the ideal technique to adopt. That's because the marketing content must be balanced out with other forms of content. You risk alienating your audience if you don't do this. The 80/20 rule is a great approach to balance your promotional content. You should share four pieces of non-promotional content for every item of promotional content you share. That way, you can keep your audience engaged and avoid feeling like they're being swamped with advertisements.