Automation can be really handy for content marketing. Especially when it comes to curating.
The aim of curation is to find relevant content for your target audience. Original content that other creators make. Then you share it on social media, your blog, or in an email newsletter. But all parts of the process can take up time you just don’t have.
Automated content curation tools can help. From content discovery to creating posts. There are a lot of similar ones out there. But these are the only 4 you really need to know about:
A quick brief on content curation
Curating comes from the world of museums. The artworks in a memorable exhibition are chosen carefully. So, you need to do the same with content on all your marketing platforms.
Source: GIPHY
There are lots of benefits of content curation too:
- Keeps your content calendar full
- Become a thought leader by adding unique insight
- Stops you looking too self-promotional
- Increases social signals (linked to SEO)
- Great openers to start networking with influencers
- Increases engagement and helps build community
There’s a ton of content curation software out there. Like Scoop.it, BuzzSumo, UpContent, and ContentGems. And sure, they’re great.
But we’re staying focused here. And going for simplicity and functionality with our automated content curation.
Pocket – save while manually curating
This one seems a bit strange. Because you use it while manually browsing. What’s automated about that? Well, instead of bookmarking great content and organizing it yourself, Pocket does it for you.
No curation strategy would be complete without research. But usually the perfect article pops up when you don’t have time to read it.
If your browser is a mess of pieces of content you’ve planned to read later but haven’t, Pocket can help.
Source: Pocket
It’s a simple plugin that lets you save content from around the web with a single click. And they all get saved to the same place. There’s no messing around with creating or picking folders on the go.
It’s also integrated with 1500+ apps, so you can automate tons of tasks and workflows with the content you’re browsing. It even works offline on the mobile app. Poor internet connection will never stop your bank of content expanding.
It can also categorize your content by reading time. (A game-changer for your next quick bathroom break.)
Source: Android Police
The free version could be all you need to save, read, watch and listen. But the Premium version is an ad-free space with a permanent library.
You can also customize your content with ‘smart tags’. These put everything into a relevant category, so it’s easier to find later. The more you select, the more personalized the tags get.
It’s a free, no-frills tool. And you might prefer reading tons of new content and curating manually. But make the process a whole lot easier with some automation.
Flipboard – breaking news and popular stories
Flipboard specializes in curated news stories. It’s an aggregator. Which means it brings loads of content to one place. Usually via RSS feeds.
One of the best automated content curation features is the ability to create Smart Magazines. They’re almost like ‘playlists’ of content centered around specific genres. They can include articles, photos, and videos.
Once set up, it’ll automatically update with similar suggestions. So, you’ll never miss a thing.
There are tons of specific topics to browse through. From machine learning to eCommerce. You can make it public or keep it private. Plus, invite others to collaborate on group magazines.
You can also click to see less of what doesn’t interest you. And the app will remember.
Source: Flipboard
You can follow your favorite publishers for easy access. Lots of respected publications supply Flipboard with content too. Like:
- Business Insider
- The New York Times
- BBC News
- Vogue
There’s also a cool section curated by The News Desk called: The Daily Edition. This is handy for users who want an overview of high-quality content on breaking global news.
Source: Flipboard
You won’t find a pricing page either, as it’s 100% free. Perfect for startups and small businesses with no budget.
If you want fresh content from your favorite news sources, keep it all in one place. And use an automated discovery tool to keep it updated in real-time. Where you choose to share it after that is up to you.
Quuu – share curated content for social media on auto-pilot
Social media platforms are now a huge part of any content marketing strategy. Your business needs to be on them for brand awareness. And to connect with your audience.
Quuu finds original content for you to share on your own social media accounts. When you sign up, pick the categories that interest you most. Then choose to share content manually or automatically.
It works with Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Algorithms are constantly changing, so the reach of your own content may not be great. But that’s why curation is so effective for social media marketing.
It’s basically risk-free. And you can share to your social media channels through schedulers:
- Buffer
- Hootsuite
- HubSpot
- SocialBee
These guys make social media management a lot easier. And allow you to plan everything you’ll be posting in advance. All team members can get involved too.
Fully-automated content curation is great for social media feeds. But you can mix it up too. Try using Quuu to find your content then post it manually on your social networks.
This means you can write engaging, high-quality share texts for social media posts. And add hashtags to Tweets if you like. It’s a way of taking curated content to the next level.
It doesn’t have to be long. It can just be a couple lines. Or you could summarize the piece in bullet points. Maybe ask a question. Or copy and paste your favorite quote.
You’re just trying to make your audience quickly see why they’d enjoy the content. So, make sure whatever you write is engaging and resonates.
elink – curated newsletter and web page creator
Content creation is hard. That’s one of the benefits of content curation. Someone else has done the hard part for you.
elink is another bookmark content marketing tool. But it takes things a step further. Yes, it’s a creation tool. But it’s a curation creation tool. (Stick with me.)
Email marketing can have one of the highest conversion rates in content marketing. And elink helps you build one of the easiest types—a curated newsletter. But that’s not all.
You can also create:
- Web pages
- Social media bio links
- RSS widgets
- And more!
All you need is the URL to embed the content. And you don’t have to be a designer because there are over 50 templates to play with. Design and visual content is the biggest challenge for 23.7% of content marketers. With elink, it doesn’t have to be.
The automation features mean you can keep web pages constantly updated with new content. You can even have newsletters filled and sent out at regular intervals.
Source: elink
You can also publish and embed your created page on almost any website. There’s even a WordPress plugin and Chrome extension to speed up the process.
Their free plan allows you to take advantage of the bookmark tool. But for any of the good stuff, you’ll need to upgrade. But don’t worry. Their auto-pilot monthly pricing is only $36. Well within budget for a lot of companies.
Conclusion
Each of these automation tools takes the pressure off curation. Manual curating should (ideally) still be part of your strategy. But most of the time, it’s just not a priority.
If you’re busy running a business yourself, technology can lend a hand. The best content curation tools help streamline things.
These 4 tools can cover:
- Saving and organizing content
- Keeping you updated with all trending news in your industry
- Finding and sharing social media content
- Creating newsletters and web pages from curated content
Yes, there are lots of other options. But with plenty of unnecessary features. Take it back to basics and keep it simple with these automated content curation tools.
Have you used any of these automated content curation tools before? Are there any that should have made the list? Let us know below!
