Why You Need to Create Original Content

"If all you're sharing is other people's content, why do people need to follow you?"
~ Anita Kirkbride

Recently I've sat with a couple of small business owners who have been "on social media" for a while but have not been doing much. In planning to ramp up their social game, one of the first things they both wanted to do was to get apps that help curate (bring them content based on keywords). This way they would have content to share.

I couldn't understand why this was important to them. I'm never at a loss for something to share.

Granted, we all have different strategies and goals. Here's where I find my content to share:
  • Experts I Know - I'm really lucky to know a few of them and their information is very relevant for my target market.
  • Clients and Friends - I follow all of my clients on all social media platforms. Their information is not always relevant to my target market but sometimes peripherally. I pick and choose to share what makes sense.
  • Service Providers and Other Trusted Sources - A big one for me is iContact which is the email marketing software I use for most of my work. I watch what they're posting to share interesting articles and also to stay current.
  • Search Topics - I search for information on something specific because I want to learn. Then I share the best of the results.
  • My Own Content - I spend a fair bit of time creating content and want to maximize its usefulness to others. By far most of what I share is original content in one form or another.
I use a Twitter list and a Hootsuite stream to keep track of the first 3 items above. Twitter is my fave so that's where you'll find me most.

Being able to curate good content is important but not as important as creating your own original content. That's where your time is better invested.

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