There’s little debate about the importance of content marketing in today’s web-driven landscape where twenty-seven million pieces of content are shared every day.
Marketers overwhelmingly agree that content marketing is the most cost-effective way to build loyalty and brand awareness, drive customer engagement, generate and nurture leads, and boost sales.
But while the pathway is more direct than ever before thanks to multiple platforms and the micro-targeting that data and demographics allow, consistently creating content that’s relevant, thought provoking and timely, is not easy. In fact, it ranks as the top challenge facing marketers today.
According to a recent CMI study, 88% of B2B marketers say content marketing is part of their strategy. But only 30% feel they are doing it effectively.
To make matters worse, as the need for smart, quality content continues to grow, the time marketers have to create it seems to continue to shrink. With a predicted 200% annual growth rate for B2B content volume (source: Forrester Research), how can marketers keep up with the demand for consistent, high-quality content?
Many marketers are turning to content curation to augment their content creation efforts. Content curation is the process of sifting through already existing content to find and share relevant pieces.
The Benefits of Augmenting Creation with Curation
- Build credibility. Sharing content from other thought leaders or influencers raises your credibility by association.
- Establish your expertise. In finding relevant, useful content, you demonstrate your own knowledge and domain expertise.
- Increase customer engagement. Readers are more likely to click on an article from an established source.
- Get discovered. When you share content and include the original source link, you benefit from the source’s SEO ranking.
- Save time and money. If you use the right tools, collecting, curating and publishing content is fast, simple and cost-effective.
Studies show that a mix of original content with curated content is more effective in creating better and broader customer engagement than original content alone. So continue to create your own content to build your brand awareness promote your own specific calls to action, but augment with content curation to maximize your content ROI.
Put content curation to work for you with the xiQ app, a Smart Selling Tools’ pick for Top Marketing Tool of 2015. The app’s Content Curation Workbench lets you collect, curate and publish high-quality, relevant content to share with your customers, prospects and account team. Use it to create custom newsletters or your own private label app. Download xiQ free. (Content Curation Workbench requires paid subscription.)
