Need Outside Content to Share on Social Media? Try These Curation Tools
Published on June 14, 2017
If you’re going to attempt any sort of social media marketing, then it’s important to realize that finding and sharing outside content is just as vital to your success as crafting your own.
While building your own brand narrative and showcasing your products with original content is the backbone of all digital marketing, drawing inspiration from outside sources in your field is a great way to get started and find what works for your industry; once you’ve started sharing your own handcrafted content, mixing in outside sources is also an effective way to diversify your feed, foster relationships with thought leaders in your field, and position your brand as an active, plugged-in member of the online community.
With that said, we also recognize that scouring the internet for fresh content all the time is hard. That’s where content aggregation and curation tools come in! Here are four Geek-approved content curation tools perfect for social media marketing beginners:
Feedly
When Google Reader announced they'd be shutting down, we made the switch to Feedly – and we never looked back. Compiling and formatting assorted RSS feeds, Feedly is an excellent one-stop shop for aggregating the news stories and articles that matter the most to you, based on sources, topics, and keywords that you control.
Use Feedly’s clean, minimalist interface to quickly read the stories it aggregates in your unique collections, then easily share your favorites across a variety of social platforms at the click of a button; you can also sync up Feedly with a social scheduling platform like Buffer or Hootsuite, allowing you to slot in and share content at a later time of your choosing.
Even better? Feedly’s basic features – which should be enough for most individuals – are free to use; you can also upgrade to a “Pro” version for just $5 a month, or add team collaboration tools for $18/month.
What’s that in your pocket – is it all of the fascinating, relevant content that you’re saving to share for later? It is if you’re using this service, which allows you to easily save articles, videos, and other web content directly to a private personal to view and share later; once you add something to your pocket from one of its 1500 supported apps, it’s yours forever.
Best of all, you can access your saved content from your web browser or your phone; you don’t even need an internet connection to access what you’ve pocketed!
Ready to collect, read, and share the best of the web at your convenience? Getting started with Pocket is totally free!
Storify
When your social feeds start to feel a little too overwhelming, Storify is there; it’s the perfect antidote to the clutter and noise of a busy Twitter timeline or Facebook feed, allowing you to hone in on the stories and topics that matter most to you and your brand.
In addition to aggregating tweets and social posts to create fresh, reusable content assets, Storify makes it easy to keep tabs on unfolding news stories or ongoing topics, letting you quickly search and filter social content – including text, photos, and videos – from sources across the web.
Storify is free to use; you can also request a demo for the more advanced Storify 2, which emphasizes customization and end-user engagement features.
Scoop.it
We’re now approaching the upper ends of the content curation world with Scoop.it, a platform that allows you to not only discover, curate, and share content based around selected keywords, but to easily embed your favorite content to your own website and monitor the ROI from your content sharing strategy.
Because of its additional features, Scoop.it is a bit pricier than content aggregation apps like Feedly; individuals looking to make use of Scoop.it can get started for free, and are able to link up two social accounts and one topic page, or personalized content hub. To make more “scoops” and gain access to more advanced features, you can upgrade to a professional or business grade account for $29/month or $67/month, respectively.
Have any questions about curating content for social media? Want to start generating valuable, lead-generating multimedia content of your own? The Geek team is here to help! Drop us a line today to get the conversation started.
