Curation Revolution

Jan Gordon Is 5 Minutes Ahead
Jan, CEO and founder of Curati.com Editors of Chaos, is always 5 minutes ahead. I write for Curatti (http://curatti.com/author/martinsmith/ ) and it has been a great experience one I strongly suggest to other writers.

Why did http://curatti.com/red-bulls-branding-lesson-media-companies-now/ go mega-viral with potential views approach half a million thanks to shares? Because Jan has a talent for language and shaping stories to BLOW UP.

Combine Jan's prescient 5 minutes ahead with her ability to make content blow up based on shaping it like a surfboard and you get a #mustfullow content curator and one of our 50 Great Content Curators.

@ janlgordon

The Amazing Cendrine Marrouat
Cendrine told us this was one of the nicest reviews of her work she's ever received. Hard to believe since here writing and tireless content curation is informative, inspirational, smart and hard working.

Cendrine is one of the hardest working "bands" in content marketing. When she takes a "day off" she is probably teaching.We shared a fraction of where she writes and curates and its six places.

Cendrine understands COPE (Create Once Publish Everywhere), but she doesn't fall into the trap. She actively supports, engages on and refines here content arsenal.

Not ONLY is Cendrine one of our favorite and hardest working "bands" in content marketing and curation she is one of our favorite Bedouin too. Always moving and in touch with what's happening we love it when Cendrine shows up. We share a cup of tea, warm our hands against the desert wind and talk about where we need to go next.

Cendrine beat me to the punch and wrote some nice words about me yesterday you can find in her 5 Social Media Gurus To Follow post:
http://socialmediaslant.com/social-media-pros-follow/

My post was schedule before we saw hers, but hearing her feedback was inspiring just when inspiration was needed. Thanks Cendrine and rock on :).

@Cendrine Marrouat - https://www.cendrinemedia.com

GPlus Guru Mark Traphagen
If you don't know Mark you should and if you don't use GPlus and your an Internet marketer you should be shot. Mark is more than just one of the top GPlus experts in the world, he is also a friend and fellow cancer survivor.

Something about surviving a bout with the Big C that makes you want to give back and Mark does. He speak all over the country (and soon the world I predict) about the power of concepts like the new SEO, GPlus, Google authorship and semantic web.

If you aren't part of the more than 80,000 followers Mark already has on Gplus we suggest you hop on board this train since your Internet and content marketing will be better because of it.

Great Conent Marketing
We've discussed why lawyers and real estate agents must create content and social marketing. We haven't discussed WHAT kind of content they should create. Since we are speaking with lawyers let's stipulate a few important conclusions:

* Content marketing must generate social shares and links to matter.

* Cause marketing, since it is highly emotional, generates great social shares and links.
* The best content marketing you can WIN is UGC (User Generated Content) since it brings social shares and links along with it.
* Content marketing is expensive and takes time, but it can give any business that gets good at it an unprecedented market advantage.

That last bullet may be a little "trust me" for some, but trust me ANYTHING you do now must be supported by content marketing OR your assets will be stolen and/or be worth less.

Now that we have agreement on the base stipulations for our content marketing what kind of marketing should we create? A: Communal and cause.

Cause marketing like the IndyWeek Give Guide mashup is brilliant because you do almost NO WORK and achieve a huge benefit even as you help others (so win, win, win).

IndyWeek.com found a handful of local nonprofits across a variety of segments, asked them to submit an application and then formed their profile page out of that application (could have automated it all and they will next year). Cost = CHEAP, amount of new content = 27 pages. Amount of new social links, shares and SEO? HUGE.

Lawyers & Real Estate Agents
Divorce attorneys could gather 20 or 30 nonprofits probably easily out of their rolodex. Each nonprofit should be aligned so women's shelters, Ronald McDonald House and other community support reinforce the office's business.

Real Estate agents are really community content gatekeepers. They know the best restaurants, schools and stores because that knowledge helps them sell houses. Great content and social marketing real estate agents like my friend Bill Gassett know all the great local charities too so create a Give Guide to share that knowledge.

I can't remember when I've seen such a clear content and social marketing homerun that costs so LITTLE especially since my friends at WTE Solutions know how to set up a Give Guide now, so I bet total costs don't exceed $5k. Benefit, on the other hand, has to run into the millions (done right).

Something CORE is changing pushed by social media and a altruism mentioned in books by Godin and Benkler, the commons revolution is happening. You In?

Solid background on content curation including definition here. For many of my Scoop.it brethren may be redundant, but helpful generally. I don''t understand the exclusion of Scoop.it as a powerful content cuaration tool however. That is a sloppy oversight.

Scenttrail Marketing Archive
Thought it might be an interesting exercise to revisit key posts from Scenttrail Marketing. Curation Is The Next Web Revolution is why I got to play with Scoop.it.

After one of Scoop.it's founders, Marc Rougier, read this post they offered to let me play with their cool new tool while still in beta. Curation Is The Next Web Revolution feels more true today than when it was first shared in early 2011.

Curation is the best way to test content as I described in How I Use Scoop.it (http://sco.lt/5pwF6n). We are so committed to content curation we are building a new tool called CrowdFunde to help websites understand what content helps them the most.

No doubt in our mind content curation is what's next. What about you? Are you curating content? Share how you use tools like Scoop.it, G+, Paper.li or your blog to create effective content marketing and we will share with our tribe.

The other day, someone asked me to share a list of my favorite social media pros. Since I used to do it on Creative Ramblings, I figured that it would be a good idea to occasionally resurrect this tradition. Warning: These are not the usual suspects. ;-)

Hubs vs. Stand Out Content
Fascinating conversations with @ janlgordon@Guillaume Decugis& "Content Shock" author blogger Mark Schaefer helped create this conversation about Hubs vs. Stand Out Content with @Mark Traphagen.

As we attempt to understand and plan for the future of #SEO and #contentmarketing these conversations becoming increasingly important.

 
https://plus.google.com/102639884404823294558/posts/M2YrHJV3FYS

One of the best Scoop.it curators, Jan Gordon, launched Curatti.com Editors of Chaos today. Jan's laudable mission is to increase relevance and knowledge while decreasing spam and the mount of info we all attempt to wrestle to the ground daily. Go Jan Go!

Content's Many Audiences
When you create content you need to think about who will be its eventual consumer. Do you know who and why your content will be consumed by? Not ever and not nearly.

What you do know is you need some content for search engine spiders, the only one guaranteed to read every word on your pages (lol). You also need short attention span and mobile theater. Think of a smart phone as a game console and you wouldn't be too far wrong.

Finally you need content that springs legs and walks around the world. My advice is to NOT plan for consumption as much as general content characteristics. Search engines love LONG form content. Users love graphics and short attention span theater.

Mobile users want instant gratification and to easily file for later. Rich snippets work great on mobile, will leave search engines wondering what the heck you are up to and may or may not go viral.

Do you need all three kinds of content: long form, rich snippets and games for mobile and viral content? Sure, and DO make sure you create all three, but don't limit where you publish.

Always test everything everywhere. If you have a rich snippet go viral then write a blog post and create some more weight for SEO and to promote viral. If you have long form go viral cut it up and tweet it.

Don't get MARRIED to the idea that X content goes into Y channel. Be flexible, test everything and COPE (Create Once and Publish Everywhere).

Great post from @TMGmedia correctly defining the work horse of any content marketing - your BLOG.