Content curation is probably the most useful task you can dedicate yourself to. It's a way to engage, to share, to humanize, to appreciate, to brand, and to take part in a community - not to mention it's a lot of fun (and not many professional tasks qualify for that title).
When you're trying to boost traffic - whether that be to a website or a social media profile (or both) - content curation is the perfect tool. You'll boost your visibility and enhance your authority. People will begin to turn to you for interesting and educational links.
These eight tools will help you curate content more efficiently, and boost traffic as you do.
1. Slideshare
Visual content is always going to be your best friend, and Slideshare gives you a unique platform for it. Being less densely populated than most social networks, it's easier to be seen by the right audience.
Plus, it provides you with a quick fire way to get information across in an easily shareable format. You can find, save and share other people's slideshows, as well. That makes it a fantastic way to both curate and create content for your audience to enjoy.
- Here's a detailed guide on using Slideshare to curate content
- Here's detailed guide on using Slideshare to build traffic
2. DrumUp
DrumUp is content curation tool that sends you daily emails of the most popular content on your topic. Further more, it lets you tweet or schedule to tweet any of the articles you get. And best of all, you can add your own feed into the mix.
Apart from Twitter, you can also add LinkedIn and Facebook (as well as Facebook pages) which makes DrumUp a perfect content management platform for social media platforms. The fact that you can add your site RSS feed and manage scheduling to all authenticated accounts and pages also makes it a great traffic generation solution.
- Here's a detailed guide on using DrumUp to curate content
- Here's detailed guide on using DrumUp to build traffic
3. Paper.li
Have you seen those linked newspapers on Twitter lately? Most of them are created through Paper.li. You put in the keywords, the app does the content collection, and you customize and share it with your followers.
There are two benefits to this tool. The first is that you can let people know relevant industry details before they may have heard it anywhere else. The second is that your content can be included in that digital newspaper. While there are several of these style of apps now available, this is my personal favorite.
- Here's a detailed guide on using Paper.li to curate content
- Here's detailed guide on using Paper.li to build traffic
4. ThingLink
The Infographic is one of the most popular forms of content on the web. Infographics gain more likes than images alone, and are a great engagement tool with a high probability of going viral cross-platform. But wouldn't it be better if you could make them interactive?
ThingLink gives you the tools to do so, and to measure the success of those interactive images. They have accounts for business, native ads and educators, each one tailored to fit your needs. It is one of the coolest tools on the web right now.
- Here's a detailed guide on using ThingLink to curate content
- List example: MyBlogU Helps You Create Better Content
5. Storify
A part of Livefyre, Storify isn't quite a curation tool, but more a storytelling device. But we all know that's the first step in successful curation... creation. It also doubles as a discovery tool through its breaking news feature, and hashtag campaigns.
If you have a team, you can use their live collaboration to draft evergreen content together, which makes Storify a popular option for media sources and brands looking to keep one up on the competition.
- Here's a detailed guide on using Storify to curate content and build traffic
6. Bunkr
If you want to gather content to display literally anywhere with any device, this is the app for you. Bunkr allows you to create presentations by curating content from any online source.
Images, videos, charts and graphics, audio, news articles, blog posts, social media, downloaded files... you can get it all, then show it off to your group through the app itself, making it easy to collect and display, with interactive features and customization.
- Here's a detailed guide on using Bunkr to curate content and build traffic
7. Listly
Everyone loves a good list - you're reading one right now - so why not make your own and begin sharing them out with your audience to attract the same kind of traffic?
Listly is a tool that makes it easy to gather facts, craft an organized list with expanded details, and add enhancements like visuals. You can collaborate with other members of your team, and share it out to your social networks. It's also a great way to turn your content into a list.
- Here's a detailed guide on using Listly to curate content and build traffic
8. Reddit
Reddit is a complicated platform to nail down. On one hand, it offers a dedicated community of highly engaged users that have a certain amount of control over their own subreddits, including anonymity.
But it's good for content curators, as well - there's an endless supply of new and valuable content, and a way to share your own. You can even start a subreddit dedicated to sharing out your content regularly, and gaining links to your website.
- Here's a detailed guide on using Reddit to curate content
- Here's detailed guide on using Reddit to build traffic
This page lists many more content and traffic building tools, so don't hesitate to check out more.
A Note On Content Curation (And How You're Doing It Wrong)
Now you have the tools, but I'm also going to leave you with a bit of advice. Many people who are curating content these days are doing it the wrong way. They're just gathering any relevant industry tidbit that could in any way connect with their brand and shoving it down the throats of their audience.
Like any other form of marketing, your goal should be to engage with the people who are viewing your content. Whether you're showing off your own work, or someone else's, you need to put in more effort than merely throwing together a few links and expecting people to read it.
Do you have any tools that you think should go on this list? Any advice for boosting traffic through content curation? Let us know in the comments.