A complete content curation guide. Basic recommendations and advices

 Today people are using their social media profiles to grow up their business and, as a result, get a bigger income. However, you won`t get a needed result without understanding some basic principles of working with content. And right now, we will be talking about content curation.

What is content curation?

We know that some of out readers are beginners in this sphere, so we should start with a simple definition to explain what we will be talking about. Content curation is a process of adding your voice (and value) to a handpicked collection of content. You gather content connected to one topic from different sources, publish it in the social media and share it with your fans. As you see, the process of content curation is the way easier than it sounds.

However, some developers are performing such content curation without any strategy in order to get a bigger traffic or to increase leads. Well, it`s not how we do it. So, now we will describe basic steps of making a great content curation.

Be sure in a content that you are working with

You should understand that everything that appears on your social media page will be shown to your fans and, probably, other users (if someone will make a repost). To avoid mistakes in the process of content curation, you should always check the information you are going to post or share.

Content curation is much easier than creating your own content

We must agree that this principle is true. You already have something that you are going to work with and there is no need to spend time on creating other content. If you already have something special that was created for you, you can share it with your fans. And again – there is no need to create something else.

Grow your network

If you are working for other people, these people will also work for you. It`s a strong law of the social media. If you are sharing good and interesting content, people will definitely pay attention to it. You are showing your brand, or your blog, or other sort of your business. If you are making everything right, your audience will grow.

Stay informed about all important news

A regular social media user always knows what is happening in the world. Why? Because he is always working with the content, sharing and posting it to the news feed. And of course, he will see other people`s news and posts. That`s how social media works.

How to perform a right content curation?

Now we are moving to the next part of our guide, and now we will be talking about content and everything that you can make with it to achieve success in the process of content curation.

Obviously, you`ll need to determine the topics to share with your fans. After that, locate the articles for those topics. To perform this action, you`ll need some extra tools. We will talk about them later. Now, to decide which posts should be shared, consider to yourself:

• Who should you share this with?
• Why would this help them?
• Is this a trustworthy source?
• Is it unique and worthy of sharing?
• Will it make the reader grin, snicker or blush?

Then, when you`ve finished with all these questions, you should time to schedule them. When doing this, also consider the social media “rule of thirds”:

• Share a third on personal brand promotion
• Share a third of curated content
• Share a third about the conversation happening on social media

Know your audience

You should understand who your fans are and what content will be enjoyable for them. You can check their social media profiles or use social media analysis tools to understand who are you working with.

Share only what matters

Relevant. Timely. Interesting. Useful. People won`t react on something that is not interesting for them. However, if your content is really valuable, they will pay attention to it.

Promote yourself

If we are talking about business, promotion is probably the most important part of the whole working process. However, you shouldn`t cross the line and start spamming. Make regular promoting posts two or three times per week, and it`s a maximum.

Schedule your content

You can`t add new post on every time you want or can. There must be a strong schedule for every day of the week. With it, you will have enough time to prepare new posts or correct mistakes. For every social media, there are basic recommendations about when to post content. Try to use them, maybe they`ll help you.

And now, we came to the final part of our article – content curation tools. Why do we need them? Well, with it`s help it will be easier to start and improve your curation skills. So, let`s see what we have.

Buzzsumo

What to see what key influencers are sharing and when they are doing it? With Buzzsumo, you will have an opportunity to see this. You are able to choose a specific period of time (last few hours or last few days) to check all the content that appears. However, to use such advantages, you should pay. From $79 to $559 per month.

Twitter list

If you are a regular Twitter user, you have probably heard about such option. With Twitter list, you are able to check all things that are happening right now, including post sharing and other things dedicated to content.

Pocket

With this smart tool, you are able to Save articles, videos and stories from any publication, page or application. From any device. You agree that this is much better than saving hundreds of emails with links and texts that are important for you. Pocket will keep all your information in one place, and you are able to use them at any moment.

Feedly

Such tool gives you an ability to work with all needed resources, including news resources, websites and other pages. You can also share your favorite posts with your friends.

Conclusion

So, here it is – our short guide about content curation. We get here everything that you need to know about it, and even more. We hope you`ll use our recommendations during your work.

Best Instagram marketing tools for business that will really upgrade your profile!

Today more and more people are trying to grow up their business through the social media. And it`s ok, because every social media is a place where every developer could find his target audience, regular clients and an opportunity to get a huge income. All businesses are different, so everyone is using different methods of work with their social media profiles. In our today`s article we will be talking about Instagram as one of the most popular social media on the planet.

Here`s the thing – it`s not difficult to form your business account on Instagram, it`s hard to upgrade it and become better than your opponents are. Everyone is trying his own methods of upgrading the profile and attracting people, but we are not sure that all these methods are workable and could give the needed result. So, here we will show you the best social media marketing tools that will make your business account better in one moment. We`ve been working with these tools for a long time and we are sure that they will be working good for you too.

1. VSCO cam. A photo-editing tool

If we are talking about Instagram, the first association that comes to our mind is a word “image” or “photo”. We use photos to introduce ourselves or, if talking about business – showing people our product. However, we need to make our photos looking better than they are.

Since VSCO was released in 2013, this tool made a huge revolution in Instagram. Every user who wanted to make his profile better, downloaded this tool to his smartphone.

Every VSCO user is able to use 10 different filters for editing his photos. If he wants more, he can easily purchase extra filters that are better than basic. Also, in VSCO you have an ability to edit pictures by changing brightness, saturation, contrast, sharpness, saturation color temperature and other options.

If you want to see good examples of VSCO-edited photos, you can follow a tag #vscocam and fresh photos will appear in your timeline.

2. Layout for Instagram

We are sure that sometimes you see some photo collages that appear on your news feed in Instagram. And you probably start thinking of something like that for your own profile. Well, we can help you here.

Layout is probable the best square app for Instagram which allows you to create collages of different shapes and with different number of photos there.

How it could help you in updating your business? Well, it could be an element of surprise for your subscribers. They are tired of watching simple posts with one or two photos one after another. With collage you are able to show them much more than with a single image. Your product could be shown from different angles, so you are showing your customers every single detail of what they are going to purchase.

3. Hyperlapse for Instagram

This video editing tool isn`t so popular as other examples in our article, but we must say that it could really upgrade your profile in all aspects.

Most of us don`t watch all video posts that appears on the news feed. The reasons are different: we don`t have time, we are not interested in this right now, we don`t like this current profile. However, Hyperlapse for Instagram could really change everything. With it, you are able to transform a simple video into a really good presentation that will draw people`s attention. Again, you are able to show them every detail of your product and make it as fast as possible.

4. Repost for Instagram

We don`t need to forget that Instagram is a social media where people are able to share information with each other. For example, you saw a cool post on someone`s page and you want to show it to your fans? How can you do it? Of course, you need to repost it onto your page, and to perform this action you definitely should use tool called Repost for Instagram.

This tool allows you to share user-generated content with other people, who are probably interested in it. with such activity, you are able to:

• Increase the number of subscribers
• Increase the number of potential clients
• Increase your traffic

All these points are important for businesspersons who are working with Instagram to upgrade their business.

5. Squaready, Whitagram

Right now, more and more users are trying to avoid Instagram`s square crop getting in the way of a well composed photo. Someone is taking square photos on their smartphones and someone is using borders to give their picture the right shape.

Squaready is one of many Instagram tools that allows you to edit photos by adding borders to them. With such change, your images will be looking more natural and user will be able to focus his view on the main object.

Conclusion

So, here is our list of the best tools to manage social media (Instagram) that could help you during your work. We hope you will use this information to improve the quality of your content and grow your business.

Main questions your social media bio should help answer

Many people who are creating their social media profiles sometimes don`t even realize that they make one big mistake at the beginning – they don`t pay attention to their bio.

In most cases nobody is interested in formalization their bio because they think that people will see all important information from the content on the page. However, it`s not true. Bio is the first thing that appears to people`s eyes when they open a social media profile. So, to make them continue scrolling down your page, you should do everything to form your bio right. There are basic questions that your social media bio should answer to. If you make everything right, the result will be immediate – people will pay much more attention to your social media account.

Question 1: who are you?

Yes, we need to start from the simplest thing that couldn`t be ignored in any case. Even if your profile is dedicated to your company or your business website or your blog, you should give people a full information about yourself. With it, users will have a better understanding of what you are doing or what can they get from you (goods, services, feedback).

Question 2: where do you work?

This question continues the line of the first one. For example, if you are a software developer, you should mention the name of the company you are working at. If you are a freelancer, this information should be also included to your social media bio. You should mention how long do you work or used to work in the current company. This is a very important detail because people realize what experience you have and what can they expect from you (professional skills, knowledge).

Question 3: what do you do?

You have probably heard this question millions of times or even more. However, it gives your subscribers an understanding of your working sphere, kind of services you give and exactly can you make for them. It becomes crucial if we are talking about specific positions like software developer, photo/video editor or someone who are working in one highly specialized sphere.

Question 4: how can we get in touch with you?

Of course, if you are an experienced person, you won`t chat with everyone who writes a message to you. However, if other serious persons want to contact you, you should give them such opportunity. In your social media bio, mention a resource (Gmail or something like that) where people can send messages.

Wrap Up 2018 With Cool Content ???

With 2 weeks left before we ring in the year, this is your last chance at BIG savings and compelling posts.

Inspire your followers to shop for those last minute deals. Entice them to come into your restaurants or venues. Entertain them with fun facts about the New Year. Motivate them to take an appointment for your services by the end of the year. Get them thinking about 2019 in a positive way!

What’s On Trend

New Year Deals ?

New Year Eats ?

New Year Fun ?

This is always a fun time of the year because anything goes. Your customers and followers are anxious to begin fresh and new. But are also seeking awesome deals. Keep them coming back for more with exciting templates.

What’s Up This Week

December 19 – Look for an Evergreen Day

Inspire your customers to do DIY projects with the help of your products or services.

December 20 – International Human Solidarity Day

Even if you’re promoting your products and services, showing your customer that you are charitable as a business wins many, many points!

December 21 – National Re-gifting Day

Interesting time to have this holiday – right before Xmas?! It’s a fun post to get them engaged, that’s for sure.

December 22 – Christmas Tree Lights Day

Encourage your customers to get together with their families and/or friends. Do you carry Xmas tree ornaments? Or anything that can be displayed on trees?

December 23 – Happy Festivus

For all the non-believers of Xmas, this holiday is for them! Why not have fun with it by promoting random products in your store or café?!

December 24 – Christmas Eve

Everyone is in a good mood right about now. Share your love with them! Share the spirit of the holidays!

What are your marketing plans for the holidays? Are you going full force on sales and discounts? Will you wait for the new year for that? Every business has their own strategy. We respect that. That’s why our library is available to you all year long. Feel free to use whichever template fits into your plans.

Next week we get your followers ready for new year’s resolutions. Yes, it’s that time again!

If you don’t see anything that suits you, be sure to let us know! We have professional designers on hand to create social templates for your needs. And of course, any questions, comments, or concerns are welcome. It’s always important to take every opportunity to attract new customers, whether it be by using your own creativity to design content, or by saving time and using PromoRepublic library to find customizable content that works for you.

Awesome social media contests you should try!

People who are working with social media profiles to grow up their own business are always using different strategies to attract more people, get a bigger traffic and just to be better that their opponents.

One of most entertaining methods of attracting audience is a social media contest.  Why? Well, people don`t like just to read posts about great services or goods, they want to take part in the process. So, with good social media contest you can give them such opportunity.

In this article, we will tell you about some basic principles of creating a perfect social media contest and show you some successive examples. So, let`s go.

How to create a good social media contest?

If you understand that you can draw people`s attention with a contest, you should try it. However, you can`t just create special conditions and ask everyone to join in. No, that`s not how it works. Here we get a list of the most important things that should be followed while creating a social media contest:

1. Set yourself a goal. You must clearly understand what do you want to achieve (have a bigger income, have more fans on your page or just to get a bigger activity on your profile).
2. Be creative. There are lots of variants of how you can perform your contest. Try not to use basic variants, think about something unusual.
3. Leverage all your social media channels. The more active users you have, the better result you will get! If you have active profiles in Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, it`s great! Let all your fans know that they are participants of your contest, and the battle will begin immediately.
4. Don`t let things drag out. You should know exactly how long your contest will be. The optimal variant is from ten days to two weeks, and it`s a maximum. If it will be longer, competitors will lose their interest in such contest.
5. Measure everything. When everything is ready, you must be sure that you control everything: contest`s impact on brand engagement, clickthrough rates, conversions and sales.

If you will follow all these points, you can be sure that the contest will be great and people will get only positive emotions from it. And now, let`s take a look on the examples of social media contests. Remember that we`ve looked only on Facebook contests, because the number of participants there is the biggest then in all other social media.

EA Sports

You`ve probably heard about these game developers from Canada. Their biggest project named “FIFA” is probably the most popular football video game in the world. However, we should say a few words about the whole company.

They know that their audience is always interested in playing FIFA with each other, so they are making regular contest on their Facebook page. The winner always gets small bonuses for his game account. Sometimes they can launch a huge contest with a big prize – a signed short of a real player or a ticket to the football match.

Vans Custom Culture

Vans Custom Culture is a national high school shoe customization contest where schools from all United States are getting a real chance to win money for their art programs. Vans Facebook page has got over 77 000 likes and it keeps working to help students to “embrace their creativity and draw attention to the importance of art as an integral part of their schools”.

With their hashtag #vanscustomculture they are able to promote their contest on every social media. However, the biggest number of fans is gathered on Facebook.

Conclusion

Social media contest are always good for people because with them they are able to increase their social media activity, attract their fans and make themselves a better developers. We hope that our recommendations helped you and you will use them while working on your future projects.