The situation

When it comes to facilitation, content is always king. That may seem obvious, but there’s much more to having quality content than the material simply being good. How can trainers ensure that their material is valuable to an audience that thirsts for the wisdom they possess?

The trick

Here’s how to effectively curate content:

1. Make sure your content is valid and relatable. Having valid content is self-explanatory, so do an appropriate amount of research on the topic you wish to discuss—which means doing more than inserting the first five links you find in a Google search. Ensuring content is relatable is equally important. What good does it do to exhaust yourself on a topic or angle that no one cares about or can put into practice?

2. Create a schedule for when you will publish content. Quarterly is viewed as a best practice, but that doesn’t hold true for all content areas. Prioritize which areas should be updated most frequently. Set reminders—perhaps through Outlook. Hold yourself accountable for keeping information current and reachable, but also feel free to delegate content to others when necessary and optimal.

3. Stick to one platform. Having content spread out across multiple systems is unnecessary and only complicates the process of creating and locating it. The audience must be able to know where to find information. If you end up violating this rule (don’t be afraid to admit it), try out the Catcat.com platform, which enables you to collate all your organization’s information for free.

4. Always remember to continuously promote your new content. If people don’t know content is on your site, they’ll never use it. Use email, a newsletter, links on the learning management system, social media, posters, or any other form of marketing you have at your disposal. Also, teach learners how to get to curated content.

Pro tip

Someone must own content curation past the first wave. If it can’t be you, a subject matter expert can be a great option. You can simply be the SME’s project manager.