The 60-40 split between original and curated content isn’t a universal law. It’s a starting point that changes based on your team capacity, platform priorities, and brand voice strength.
What matters more is understanding the distinct purpose each type serves. Original content establishes your brand’s unique perspective and authority. Curated content keeps your feed active and positions you as a trusted filter in your industry.
This guide breaks down both approaches in practical terms. You’ll see the real trade-offs, platform-specific considerations, and how to blend them strategically rather than arbitrarily splitting your calendar.
What Original Content Actually Means
Original content is anything your team creates from scratch. This includes social media posts written in your brand voice, images shot by your team, videos produced internally, and graphics designed for your channels.
The defining characteristic is ownership. You control the message, format, and timing completely. This content originates with you rather than being sourced elsewhere.
Examples span from a simple text-only LinkedIn post sharing your take on industry news to a full video tutorial filmed in your office. Both count as created content if your team produced them.
Many businesses repurpose longer assets into social media posts. A blog article becomes five Twitter threads. A webinar recording splits into ten Instagram Reels. This approach maximises the value of your original work.
Understanding Curated Social Content
Curated content means sharing material that originated elsewhere. You’re selecting, filtering, and presenting third-party resources to your followers.
On social platforms, curation follows the same principle used in libraries and newsfeeds. You collect, evaluate, and present external information for your audience.
A curated post typically links to or embeds third-party content. Your role focuses on choosing high-quality material and framing it for your followers rather than creating the main asset.
Effective content curation adds your perspective. You don’t just share a link—you explain why it matters, highlight key takeaways, or connect it to your audience’s challenges.
Social media managers use content discovery strategies to identify valuable articles, research, and resources worth sharing with their community.
Why Original Content Builds Authority
Original content is your primary tool for establishing thought leadership. When you create rather than curate, you demonstrate expertise through your unique insights and methodologies.
Brand voice emerges through created content. Your tone, values, and personality become clear when you’re not relying on others’ words. This builds audience recognition and trust over time.
Original Content Strengthens Authenticity
Research shows that original content revealing process details, failures, or behind-the-scenes realities increases perceptions of authenticity. Younger audiences particularly value this transparency.
Created content lets you share proprietary knowledge. Your frameworks, case studies, and specific methodologies can’t come from third-party sources. These differentiate you from competitors.
The engagement potential of original content often exceeds curated material. Studies found that 45% of users would unfollow a brand for excessive self-promotion, but that refers to purely promotional content, not valuable original insights.
Platform Algorithms Favour Native Content
Short-form video platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels reward native, original content more than reposted third-party clips. This affects your reach potential significantly.
On Instagram, original visuals dominate. Photos, Reels, and carousels perform better than shared links, which aren’t even native to the platform.
The Real Costs of Creating Content
Content creation requires substantial time investment. Long-form original content often takes several days from ideation to publication, whilst even simple social posts need writing, editing, and approval.
Resource allocation becomes a constraint quickly. Smaller teams struggle to maintain consistent output of quality original material alongside other responsibilities.
Outsourcing content creation increases budget requirements. Hiring designers, videographers, or content writers can cost hundreds to thousands monthly depending on volume and quality standards.
Skill Requirements Add Complexity
Original content demands diverse capabilities. You need writing skills, design knowledge, potentially video editing expertise, and platform-specific format understanding.
Training team members or hiring specialists both require investment. Many businesses underestimate the skill level needed for content that truly stands out.
The pressure to maintain originality can lead to creative burnout. Constantly generating fresh ideas becomes exhausting without systems and processes supporting your team.
How Curated Content Solves Practical Problems
Content curation dramatically reduces production time. Finding and sharing relevant third-party material takes minutes compared to hours for original creation.
You can maintain a regular posting cadence even with limited resources. Curation strategies enable consistency when creating original content daily isn’t feasible.
Curated content proves particularly valuable for newsjacking and real-time marketing. You can react quickly to breaking industry news with commentary instead of producing new assets from scratch.
Curation Builds Community Connections
Sharing others’ content builds relationships within your industry. Tagging sources and giving credit creates networking opportunities and demonstrates generosity rather than competitiveness.
You position yourself as a helpful filter. When followers trust your curation judgement, they rely on you to surface the most relevant industry developments and insights.
| Curation Benefit | Business Impact | Best Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| Time efficiency | Maintains posting frequency with small teams | Daily social media presence |
| Industry positioning | Establishes you as knowledgeable curator | Thought leadership building |
| Content variety | Provides diverse perspectives and formats | Keeping feeds interesting |
Curated content adds variety to your feed. Mixing external voices with your own prevents monotony and provides followers with diverse perspectives on industry topics.
Where Curated Content Falls Short
Over-reliance on curation weakens your unique brand identity. A feed composed mostly of curated links can feel generic, making it harder for audiences to remember what you uniquely stand for.
You have no control over third-party content quality or accuracy. Sharing material that later proves incorrect or controversial reflects poorly on your brand judgement.
Platform Algorithms Limit Curated Reach
TikTok’s algorithm strongly prioritises native original short-form video. Accounts mainly reposting others’ videos without transformation or commentary see low reach or face moderation.
On Facebook, link posts remain common, but research suggests original native video receives preferential distribution in many niches.
Curated content rarely showcases your specific expertise. Whilst it demonstrates knowledge of industry developments, it doesn’t prove you can solve problems or deliver results yourself.
Trust Questions Arise From Poor Curation
Content curation can reinforce bias if your sources lack diversity. Repeatedly sharing the same voices or perspectives creates echo chambers that limit your authority.
The trust question depends on selection quality. High-quality, transparent curation builds credibility, whilst poor source choices spread unreliable information under your brand name.
Building Your Content Mix Strategy
Start by assessing your current capacity honestly. How many hours per week can your team dedicate to content creation versus curation?
Many businesses begin with higher proportions of curated posts when resources are limited. As teams grow, the balance typically shifts toward more original content.
Platform-Specific Considerations Matter
Different social platforms reward different content types. Instagram favours original visuals like photos, Reels, and carousels. Pure link curation isn’t native, so brands often curate by reposting user-generated content with clear credit.
LinkedIn performs well with both original thought leadership posts and curated industry news. Twitter rewards real-time commentary on curated links. Facebook sees mixed results depending on your niche.
Consider engagement patterns for different content types on each platform you use. Test and track performance rather than assuming one approach works everywhere.
Audience Expectations Shape Your Ratio
Some audiences expect primarily original insights and would view heavy curation as lazy. Others appreciate a well-curated feed that saves them research time.
B2B audiences often value thought leadership demonstrated through original content. Consumer audiences might prioritise entertainment value, which curation can provide efficiently.
Survey your followers or analyse engagement data. Which posts spark conversations? Which get saved or shared? Let audience behaviour guide your content balance.
| Scenario | Recommended Split | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Small team, limited budget | 40% original, 60% curated | Maintains presence whilst building original content library |
| Established thought leader | 70% original, 30% curated | Emphasises unique expertise whilst staying connected to industry |
| News-focused industry | 50% original commentary, 50% curated | Balances timely sharing with unique perspective |
| Visual-first platform focus | 80% original, 20% curated UGC | Algorithms favour native content creation |
Practical Implementation Guidelines
Create a content calendar that intentionally mixes both types. Don’t randomly alternate—plan strategic placement based on your goals for each week.
Use systematic content discovery processes so curation doesn’t become last-minute gap-filling. Schedule time weekly to identify quality third-party material.
Add Value to Every Curated Post
Never share links without commentary. Explain why the content matters, highlight key takeaways, or ask your audience a question that prompts discussion.
Your commentary transforms curation from passive sharing into active thought leadership. Even brief context positions you as an expert interpreter rather than just a broadcaster.
Tag and credit original sources properly. This builds industry relationships and demonstrates integrity that strengthens audience trust in your curation judgement.
Repurpose Original Content Strategically
Create pillar content that generates multiple social posts. One comprehensive blog article can become a video summary, carousel post, quote graphics, and discussion threads.
This approach maximises your original content investment. You spend significant time once and extract weeks of social media material.
Track which formats perform best on each platform. Transform your original content into those formats rather than defaulting to text-only posts everywhere.
Measure What Actually Matters
Monitor engagement rates separately for original versus curated content. Which type drives more comments, shares, and meaningful conversations?
Track follower growth patterns. Do spikes correlate with increased original content, or do curated posts maintain steady growth?
Measure your goals, not vanity metrics. If brand awareness is the priority, reach matters most. If community building is the goal, engagement depth outweighs volume.
- Audit your last 30 posts: calculate your current original-to-curated ratio
- Identify your three most engaging posts from each category
- Set a target ratio based on resources and platform priorities
- Block creation time for original content in your calendar
- Build a swipe file of potential curated sources
Adjust Based on Results, Not Assumptions
Review your content mix quarterly. Has your capacity changed? Have platform algorithms shifted? Are audience preferences evolving?
Don’t rigidly stick to a predetermined ratio if data shows a different balance works better. Flexibility beats dogmatism in content marketing strategy.
The right mix for your brand will differ from competitors. Your unique combination of resources, audience expectations, and business goals determines your optimal balance.
Quick Answers to Common Questions
What is a curated social media post?
A curated post shares third-party content you’ve selected and presented to your followers. You’re filtering external information rather than creating the main asset yourself.
Is curated content more trustworthy?
Trust depends on your source selection quality. High-quality curation from reliable sources builds credibility. Poor curation can spread misinformation or bias, damaging your authority.
Should I always add commentary to curated posts?
Yes. Your perspective transforms passive sharing into thought leadership. Even brief context explaining relevance positions you as an expert interpreter.
Moving Forward With Your Content Strategy
The original versus curated debate misses the point. Both serve distinct purposes in a comprehensive social media strategy.
Start with your current capacity and platform priorities. Build systems that make both creation and curation sustainable rather than sporadic.
Test your mix deliberately. Track results. Adjust based on data rather than industry generalisations that might not apply to your specific audience.
The businesses that succeed don’t pick sides. They strategically blend both approaches based on resources, platforms, and goals. Your perfect ratio emerges from experimentation, not from copying competitors.
