When it comes to adding new content to your website or blog, creating long-form articles or original posts may be the first thing that comes to mind. However, sharing relevant third-party content can also be a smart move that benefits both you and your readers. The internet provides access to a wealth of information, and linking out to or curating external content can provide a service to your readers while taking some of the pressure off of you.
Sharing third-party content can relieve your workload, improve the credibility of your own content, position you as an authority, and foster connections and relationships. Finding a balance between original and shared content is key.
There are several effective approaches to sharing third-party content, including simple linking, content aggregation, and content curation. WordPress offers plenty of tools to help you implement these strategies, including plugins such as WP RSS Aggregator, Echo RSS, MyCurator, PressForward, Curation Suite, and Flow Flow.
WP RSS Aggregator allows you to combine multiple RSS feeds and display them on your site using a shortcode. Echo RSS generates posts on your blog based on public RSS feeds. MyCurator provides targeted content based on up/down votes. PressForward allows you to design a custom set of sources for content aggregation and offers built-in options for attribution and redirecting to the original source. Curation Suite adds a sidebar to your post editor that lets you search for external content and add it quickly through a visual editor. Flow Flow pulls content from social media streams to create a responsive grid of relevant content.
Sharing third-party content can make you part of a broader community, bolster your credibility, and help you grow your website or blog more quickly. Do you have any tips for finding awesome content to share? Share them in the comments below!
