What are content curation tools?
Content curation tools, as the name suggests, are apps and online services designed to help users find high-quality content to curate in whatever niche they operate in more easily.
If you want more information on this topic, check out the FAQ section below:
Question #1: What are the benefits of using content curation tools?
As we have seen in the previous section, the main benefit of using content curation tools is being able to find quality content to curate more easily. Instead of having to manually search for things you can share, you can just use a content curation tool to find the best content for your audience based on things such as:
- Keywords
- Content quality/shareworthiness
- Source quality (i.e., how credible and influential the author is)
Some content curation tools even allow you to set up alerts whenever new content is posted about your chosen keywords to make it easier for you to share timely and relevant content to your followers.
Question #2: What are the best content curation tools I can use?
The best content curation tools you can use include:
- Hootsuite
- Twitter Lists
- BuzzSumo
- Instapaper
- TalkWalker
- Google Alerts
- TrendSpottr
- UpContent
Let us take a closer look at each one.
Hootsuite allows you to create content streams based on whatever keywords you select. You can use these streams to easily find quality resources whenever you need (or want) to share curated content with your followers. You can also favourite specific content so you can quickly go back to them whenever you want.
Once you find something you want to share, you can either post it immediately or use Hootsuite’s scheduler to automatically post it at a later date.
Twitter Lists also allows you to create ‘content streams’ but from Twitter accounts that you know share quality content that is relevant to your own followers.
BuzzSumo, on the other hand, helps you find content to share based on specific keywords as well but also allows you to limit your selection to those that have had high levels of engagement for an extended period of time. This ensures you are always sharing content with lasting value with your followers.
You can also use BuzzSumo to easily find the most influential people in your niche so you can go over their content and see if there is anything of value you can curate.
Instapaper allows you to instantly save any interesting content you encounter online, highlight any relevant sections, and even add comments.
Pocket, just like Instapaper, also allows you to instantly save all the interesting content you find online and access them on any of your devices at a later time.
Google Alerts, as the name suggests, allows you to set email alerts for whenever new content with your chosen keywords is posted.
TrendSpottr, as you may have guessed, helps you quickly find trending content in your niche. It is powered by real-time intelligence, which allows it to predict trends ahead of everyone else.
UpContent is a web crawler that finds content you can share with your followers based on topics, influence, and shareworthiness.
Working with a team? You can also add notes to any promising content you find on the platform to ensure everyone is on the same page at all times.
Question #3: How much do content curation tools cost?
The cost of content curation tools would ultimately depend on which one you use and what features you need.
Google Alerts, for example, is absolutely free to use but does not have the powerful features of a paid solution such as BuzzSumo, which can cost up to $299 a month, depending on the plan you sign up for.
The good news, though, is that most paid solutions also offer a free plan for users who need powerful content curation tools but do not have a big enough operation yet to warrant paying for extra features.