I just finished watching Hootsuite U’s ‘A Guide to Content Curation: How Social Media Changed the Game’ hosted by Cameron Uganec, HootSuite’s Director of Marketing Communications. Don’t worry, I took some quality notes for you all so you don’t have to watch the full 30 minute video. Here are the take-away points:

3 Steps to Social Content Curation

1. Listening & Discovery: Follow the right news sources, early adopters and conversations on social media to make sure you’re in on the relevant content loop.

2. Sharing & Publishing: It’s not enough to just post the same content to all social platforms. Know your audience across each channel. Publish content according to their tastes and time zones.

3. Amplify: The more people in your company who are contributing content to your channels, the better. Get everyone involved and interested in building your brand online (called the Empowerment Model).

6 Steps to Successful Social Content Curation

1. Don’t Be A Repeater: Put the content into context.

2. Handpick Content: It’s easy to automate discovery, but it’s better to be picky. Take pride in what you’re sharing.

3. Align With Your Brand: What you’re sharing should be relevant to your overall messaging/voice/marketing goals.

4. Have A Plan, An Editorial Calendar: Know where you’re headed. This will make it easier to know what you’re looking for.

5. Don’t Spray And Pray: Know your platform and know your audience. Timing is also key.

6. Your Audience Are Humans Not Robots: Don’t sound automated. Get creative.

How do you use curated content in your social marketing? I’d love to hear any additional tips if you’ve got em’!