Content curation: A cure for lame excuses against content marketing

You see the statistics. You read the experts’ blog posts. You hear them chanting: “Content is king! Content is king!”
And you think: Yes. Got it. Content is important. Of course it is.
Then you reflect for a moment: We really have to work on our content. 
But then: … Well, not me personally. I don’t have time. But someone. Someone has to work on that.
You feel good. Until: But who? Everyone is overworked. No one has time. I can’t add writing to someone’s plate. They’d hate me.
Your palms sweat: We’ll have to outsource. But we can’t afford that. And it would take too much time to educate someone on what we do. It wouldn’t work.
You take a deep breath and turn off your Twitter feed, which is filled with #contentmarketing rally cries.
You sigh, a little dejected: Well, it’s something to think about. It’s definitely something to revisit. When we’re all a little less busy.
Sound familiar?
For many business and marketing leaders, the thought of adding “content creation” to their team’s (or their own) to-do list is enough to cause a hive breakout.
But in reality, content marketing doesn’t have to be overwhelming. You don’t have to go from creating zero content one day to writing 10 blog posts and an eNewsletter the next. It’s not an all-or-nothing concept.
The key to making content marketing a reality for your company is developing a smart strategy ahead of time – and part of that strategy may include adding content curation to your content mix.
Content curation means actively searching, finding and sharing third-party content with your audience that it finds interesting, entertaining and trustworthy. You know what your audience wants and needs, and you’re sifting through the sand to uncover the gems that they would find valuable. By doing so, you’re positioning yourself as a trusted resource on the forefront of your industry.
Content creation, on the other hand, means that you are developing original content based on your own opinions, thoughts, experiences, etc. You are sharing your unique spin on a topic, and positioning yourself as a thought leader by demonstrating your knowledge in your industry.
I know, I know, being a “thought leader” seems much sexier than being a “resource.” We all want to be known as authorities in our industry. But the truth is that while original content creation is awesome, it may not be something that you can maintain on a consistent basis. And being a resource is much better than being a bystander.
The best solution is a combination of the two. The folks at Convince and Convert found that the optimal balance for most companies is to share your own original content 25%-50% of the time, with 40% being the ideal.
The key takeaway: Don’t turn your back on content marketing because you’re too overworked or understaffed to churn out original content on a day-to-day basis. You can find a way to make it work for your business, on your schedule, with your resources.
By putting a strong strategy in place – one that is customized to fit your business model – you can position yourself and your brand as both a resource and a thought leader in your industry.