Benefits of Content Curation for Artists

Content curation has become a increasingly popular fad on the internet. Content curating (definition) is the act of searching out and organizing content from several different sources, and presenting it in a meaningful fashion.

Think of it as a digital magazine, with articles, videos, images, links, and even music from sources all across the web. A content curator does not create any content of their own, but simply gathers information relating to a certain topic, and organizes this either for their own viewing or for an audience.

You know, this is not a new idea. Many of us have been bookmarking links and sharing them for awhile via Twitter, Stumbleupon, Facebook, Digg, Pinterest, Tumblr, and a myriad of bookmarking services on the internet.

But, with the increasing popularity of this phenomenon, several websites have been appearing wholly dedicated to content curration on the web and enhancing the experience of the content curator.

 

How to Become a Good Content Curator

A good content curator always stays on topic, making them appear to be an expert in their field. They consistently share the best information from across the web, in the category of their choosing. With the overload of information on the internet, content curating is welcomed by many as a way to weed out all the irrelevant information. As for artists, share the best links and RSS feeds from artist websites, art blogs, art promotion sites and larger art news websites.

 

Benefits of a Content Curation Strategy

1. Community

   Continuously sharing information and linking to others will help to gain followers. You will meet other artists, bloggers and other curators. Your reputation will grow as you share valuable content from around the web.
   
   

2. You will be seen as a Leader

   If you regularly share the work of other artists and posts from leaders in the internet art world, you will eventually become recognized as a leader. People will look up to you as someone who has knowledge about the topics which you present.
   
   

3. Increase the popularity of your website and art

   Share your own links at regular intervals as well. This is a great way to gather followers for your own art and website/ art blog. 
   
   People are more likely to follow you, since you are the one who curates the content, and they appreciate you for that.
   
   
   
   

4. The links you share say a lot about who you are

   Your audience will learn what makes you tick – what you like and dislike from the things that you share. This will help in attracting followers who share the same beliefs and ideals. This is also a great way to attract the right collectors who are more likely appreciate the type of art you create.
   
   

5. Save time on the web

   Having all your content organized, especially for RSS feeds, will help to save time in having to visit several websites to find your information and news updates. Having it all neatly laid out on one page will make your online experience more efficient.

 

How to curate content

1. Blogging

   I have seen many bloggers using curated content for their art blogs. This involves finding a few related links around a certain topic and commenting about each one. Sometimes it is in the form of a “Weekly Roundup” of links. When posting snippets in your blog, it is advisable to always include at least 2-3 sentences, and link back to the original article. Also, include the copied information in quotes so you will not be penalized by Google.
   
   

2. Pinterest

   Pinterest is one of the most popular content curation systems nowadays. Pinterest involves gathering images from around the web and organizing them into relevant boards.
   
   I wrote an article about how to use Pinterest for promoting art awhile back. Please read here if you are interested:
   
   How to Use Pinterest to Promote Art
   
   
   

3. Online Curation Systems – Online Magazines

   Several content curating systems exist whereby members can setup their own page, and share content from several sources – essentially create their own online magazine. One of them that I have personally used is Paper.li
   
   I will be speaking about this site in a future post. Here is the online newspaper I recently created at Paper.li – Art Promotion Daily. Please subscribe if you haven’t already so you will not miss this interesting post.