How to Automatically Curate Content in WordPress

Understanding Content Curation and Its Benefits

Content curation, in its simplest form, is the process of finding, organizing, and sharing relevant and high-quality content from various sources on a specific topic. It goes beyond simple content aggregation, which just collects content. Curation involves filtering, adding context, and providing valuable insights to your audience.

Why is content curation important for your WordPress site?

• It saves time and resources compared to creating original content from scratch.
• It establishes you as a thought leader by showcasing your expertise in a particular area.
• It increases website traffic by providing fresh and engaging content regularly.
• It improves SEO by attracting backlinks and social shares to your curated content.
• It fosters engagement with your audience by providing valuable and relevant information.

Manual vs. Automated Content Curation

While manual content curation allows for a high degree of control and personalization, it can be time-consuming. Automated content curation leverages tools and plugins to streamline the process, making it more efficient.

Manual Curation:

• Involves searching for content manually on various platforms.
• Requires careful evaluation of each piece of content for quality and relevance.
• Allows for complete control over the selection and presentation of content.
• Can be time-intensive, especially for large volumes of content.

Automated Curation:

• Utilizes tools and plugins to automatically search for and filter content.
• Requires initial setup and configuration to define criteria for content selection.
• May require periodic monitoring and adjustments to ensure accuracy and relevance.
• Saves time and resources compared to manual curation.

The ideal approach often involves a hybrid model, where automation is used to find and filter content, and manual review is used to ensure quality and relevance.

Choosing the Right Automation Tools and Plugins

Several WordPress plugins and tools can help you automate content curation. Here are some popular options:

• **WP RSS Aggregator:** This plugin allows you to import content from RSS feeds and display it on your WordPress site.
• **Curated.co:** This platform provides a comprehensive solution for content curation, including tools for finding, organizing, and sharing content.
• **Feedzy RSS Feeds:** Similar to WP RSS Aggregator, Feedzy allows you to import and display content from RSS feeds with various customization options.
• **PressForward:** An open-source plugin designed for collaborative curation, allowing multiple users to contribute to the curation process.
• **ContentStudio:** A social media management and content curation platform with integrations for WordPress.
• **Pocket:** A read-it-later app that can be integrated with IFTTT or Zapier to automatically save articles and share them on your WordPress site.

When choosing a tool or plugin, consider the following factors:

• **Ease of use:** The tool should be intuitive and easy to set up and use.
• **Customization options:** The tool should allow you to customize the appearance and presentation of curated content.
• **Filtering capabilities:** The tool should provide options for filtering content based on keywords, sources, and other criteria.
• **Integration with other tools:** The tool should integrate seamlessly with other tools and platforms you use.
• **Pricing:** The tool should fit your budget and offer a good value for the features it provides.

Setting Up Automated Content Curation with WP RSS Aggregator

WP RSS Aggregator is a popular and versatile plugin for importing and displaying content from RSS feeds. Here’s how to set it up:

1. **Install and activate the plugin:** Search for “WP RSS Aggregator” in the WordPress plugin directory and install and activate it.

2. **Add feed sources:** Go to “WP RSS Aggregator” -> “Feed Sources” and click “Add New.” Enter the URL of the RSS feed you want to import content from. You can add multiple feed sources.

3. **Configure feed source settings:** In the feed source settings, you can configure various options, such as:

• **Feed URL:** The URL of the RSS feed.
• **Title:** The title of the feed source.
• **Link:** The link to the feed source website.
• **Refresh Interval:** How often the plugin should check for new content in the feed.
• **Number of Items to Display:** The maximum number of items to display from the feed.
• **Post Status:** The status of the imported posts (e.g., draft, published).
• **Post Author:** The author to assign to the imported posts.
• **Post Category:** The category to assign to the imported posts.

4. **Display the curated content:** You can display the curated content using a shortcode or a widget.

• **Shortcode:** Use the `[wp-rss-aggregator]` shortcode to display the curated content in a post or page. You can customize the shortcode with various attributes to control the appearance and behavior of the feed.
• **Widget:** Add the “WP RSS Aggregator” widget to a sidebar or other widget area to display the curated content.

5. **Customize the appearance:** You can customize the appearance of the curated content using CSS or by modifying the plugin’s template files. WP RSS Aggregator offers several add-ons that provide additional customization options.

Leveraging IFTTT and Zapier for Content Curation

IFTTT (If This Then That) and Zapier are automation platforms that can connect different apps and services. You can use them to automate content curation by triggering actions based on specific events.

Examples of IFTTT and Zapier recipes for content curation:

• **Save articles to Pocket and automatically share them on WordPress:** When you save an article to Pocket, IFTTT or Zapier can automatically create a draft post in WordPress with the article’s title, URL, and excerpt.
• **Share articles from Twitter on WordPress:** When you favorite a tweet containing a link to an interesting article, IFTTT or Zapier can automatically create a draft post in WordPress with the article’s title, URL, and excerpt.
• **Post articles from specific RSS feeds to WordPress:** Similar to WP RSS Aggregator, IFTTT or Zapier can monitor specific RSS feeds and automatically create draft posts in WordPress when new articles are published.

To use IFTTT or Zapier for content curation, you’ll need to connect your WordPress account to the platform and create “applets” (IFTTT) or “zaps” (Zapier) that define the trigger and action.

Filtering and Refining Curated Content

Automated content curation tools can generate a large volume of content, so it’s important to filter and refine the results to ensure quality and relevance.

Here are some techniques for filtering and refining curated content:

• **Keyword filtering:** Use keywords to filter content based on its topic or theme. Most content curation tools allow you to specify keywords to include or exclude from the results.
• **Source filtering:** Focus on content from reputable and trustworthy sources. You can whitelist or blacklist specific websites or RSS feeds.
• **Content quality assessment:** Manually review the curated content to ensure that it is accurate, well-written, and engaging. Look for factual errors, biased opinions, or low-quality writing.
• **Duplicate content detection:** Avoid publishing duplicate content. Use a plagiarism checker to identify and remove duplicate articles.
• **Sentiment analysis:** Analyze the sentiment of the curated content to ensure that it aligns with your brand’s values and message. Avoid publishing content that is offensive, controversial, or negative.

Adding Value to Curated Content

Content curation is not just about collecting and sharing content. It’s about adding value to the content and providing your audience with insights and context.

Here are some ways to add value to curated content:

• **Write a brief introduction:** Provide a brief overview of the curated content and explain why it’s relevant to your audience.
• **Add your own commentary and analysis:** Share your own thoughts and opinions on the curated content. Explain how it relates to your industry, your business, or your audience’s interests.
• **Ask questions and encourage discussion:** Invite your audience to share their own thoughts and opinions on the curated content. Ask questions to stimulate discussion and engagement.
• **Provide additional resources:** Link to other relevant resources, such as blog posts, articles, or videos. This will provide your audience with a more comprehensive understanding of the topic.
• **Cite your sources:** Always cite your sources to give credit to the original creators of the content. This will help build trust with your audience and avoid plagiarism.

Optimizing Curated Content for SEO

Curated content can improve your website’s SEO by attracting backlinks and social shares. However, it’s important to optimize the content for SEO to maximize its impact.

Here are some tips for optimizing curated content for SEO:

• **Use relevant keywords in the title and description:** Include relevant keywords in the title and description of the curated content to help search engines understand what the content is about.
• **Write a unique and engaging introduction:** The introduction should be unique and engaging to attract readers and encourage them to read the rest of the content.
• **Use internal links:** Link to other relevant pages on your website to improve internal linking and help search engines crawl your site more effectively.
• **Use external links:** Link to the original source of the curated content to give credit to the author and provide readers with additional resources.
• **Promote the content on social media:** Share the curated content on social media to attract more readers and social shares.

Monitoring and Evaluating Your Curation Strategy

It’s important to monitor and evaluate your content curation strategy to ensure that it’s effective and achieving your goals.

Here are some metrics to track:

• **Website traffic:** Track the traffic to your curated content to see how many people are reading it.
• **Engagement:** Track the engagement metrics, such as comments, shares, and likes, to see how people are interacting with the content.
• **Backlinks:** Track the number of backlinks to your curated content to see how many other websites are linking to it.
• **Social media shares:** Track the number of social media shares to see how many people are sharing the content on social media.
• **Lead generation:** If you’re using content curation to generate leads, track the number of leads generated from the curated content.

Based on the data you collect, you can adjust your content curation strategy to improve its effectiveness. For example, you might need to adjust your keyword targeting, source selection, or content promotion strategy.