10 Content Curation Services your Agency should be Offering

Since the launch of our Curata Channel Partner program in early 2011, we have seen a number of innovative ways that marketing consultants, public relations (PR) agencies, content marketing agencies, inbound marketing consultants, and SEO & SEM agencies have been able to introduce content curation to their clients and add value-added content curation services as well.

Here’s a quick run through some of the best ways we have seen agencies add content curation services to add additional revenue streams to their business and provide a more robust content curation offering to their clients.

1. Choosing an Appropriate Topic
The first step in content curation is to determine the topic about which you will be curating.  You can help your client A) find a topic that relates to their industry, B) is neither too broad nor too narrow in scope, C) has sufficient throughput of content being produced, and D) does not have existing overwhelming coverage.  In some cases, some clients will want a topic that is too broad — making it difficult for them to become the go-to destination for curated content on that topic.  In other cases, some clients will want a highly selective topic that does not have sufficient content to curate about.  In these cases, your role as an agency is to recommend a topic that is just right for them.

2. Identifying Influencers and Sources
Once your client has identified their curation topic; the next step is to identify the sources and influencers to follow.  You can build this list for your client by identifying these sources through media monitoring lists, Twitter lists, blog rolls on industry sites, and through Google Blog Search. We have found that PR agencies are well-versed in this because they are often already monitoring these sources for their clients.

3. Branding, Styling and Design
Not all agencies are able to provide this service, but for the ones who offer design services - branding the curation experience to your client’s needs is a no-brainer.  You can brand all the venues where the curated content appears including a dedicated microsite, social media profiles, and email newsletters.

4. Day-to-Day Content Curation Services
Many of our channel partners may curate content on behalf of their clients.  This is a great fit for agencies because unlike the previous three types of one-time services, day-to-day curation is recurring never-ending activity — and can provide an on-going revenue stream.

5. Writing Blog Content
Curating content is important, but it’s also just as important to create original content as well — to position your client.  You can offer to write original content on behalf of your client which helps share their perspectives.  While you may be curating content for your client every day, we recommend writing original content two or three times per week.

6. Promotion and Awareness
Creating a great destination with both curated and original content does not guarantee that it will be a hit.  In order to be successfully, it does need to be promoted to the outside world.  As an agency, you can provide services by issuing a press release announcing the new curated site, recruiting industry influencers to contribute content, and requesting other relevant sites to link to the new site.

7. Social Media Consulting
Many companies start curating because they want to kick-start their social media programs.  Curation can certainly help add more vibrancy to a stale social media presence. Aside from that, you can provide your clients with full service social media consulting. Key social media curation services such as performing an audit of existing social media accounts, developing a strategy for what types of content should be shared with which accounts, providing day-to-day support to interact with followers on behalf of your client, and proactively following and engaging with key influencers.

8. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Consulting
Another ongoing service you can provide around curation is Search Engine Optimization consulting.  With content curation, your client will quickly build a large index of the best and most relevant keyword rich content on their topic. Alongside this, you can offer services to tag content, title content, write keyword rich and descriptive lead-ins to articles that both showcase your clients perspective on the content, and also cater to search engines.  Finally, you can provide regular reporting to your client on the efficacy of your SEO efforts.

9. Content Marketing Services
Aside from writing blog posts, and day-to-day curation on behalf of your client, there is a whole range of other content marketing services that you can provide such as building andmanaging editorial calendars, building and executing content marketing plans, complementing overall marketing communications strategies, and re-purposing existing content to share across multiple venues.  Curated content often builds the foundation for the content marketing pyramid.  You can add a lot of value by helping your clients build upon this foundation.

10. Mobile App Development
One of the newest and hottest venues for consuming curated content is mobile.  Content curation is particularly well-suited for this because the content is time-sensitive and ever changing — and therefore a great fit for the consumption habits of mobile users.  Some of our channel partners such as Version 2 Communications have built custom applications for the consumption of their curated content.

These are some of the top services that we have seen our channel partners offer on top of Curata — but I am sure there are many more.  If there are other content curation services that you have seen agencies offer, let me know.  If you are interested in learning more about our channel partner program, or perhaps trying out Curata to see what services you may be able to offer, check out our channel partner program.