According to Twitter user statistics, 6,000 tweets are sent every second, adding up to 500 million tweets per day. That’s a lot of photos, links and videos to go through and just from one social network.
There’s no question that we’re bombarded with lots of information every minute of our online presence which in turn makes it difficult not only to find good content but also to stand out when sharing content with your followers. But, how can we weed through information overload to offer our audience quality content? On this post, we will go over an interesting option: Content Hubs.
Haven’t heard of Content Hubs before? Some time ago, we had a 2 part conversation about Content Hubs on our #BizHeroes chat (Part I, Part II). There were some great tips and tricks on getting started. Let’s review what we learned about Content Hubs and how they can help businesses and solopreneurs.
What is a Content Hub
First, let’s start by defining what a content hub is. I’ll let our #BizHeroes explain…
A1: A content hub connects the dots of your content marketing strategy, including posting, sharing, collaborating, and educating #bizheroes
— TheAlternativeBoard (@TAB_Boards) September 15, 2015
A content hub definitely mixes many content marketing related tactics but if we want to simplify it, it can be…
- A location where a consumer can go to get plenty of information on a specific topic (@ExperianDQSteph)
- A place where you could get topical quality content (Futuristic80)
- The ‘go-to’ place for great information (@lifeofaworkgirl)
In a nutshell, a content hub is a structured and organized section on your website or blog that presents a variety of content on a specific topic.
Yet it is not a blog or website
A1: A website can house a blog or hub, but isn't one on it's own. Blogs are mainly your content. Hubs are a collection of content.#Bizheroes
— Bree Kelley (@breely216) September 15, 2015
Our guest for Part II of our Content Hubs chat, Jade Phillips (who wrote an awesome post you can find here!) explained that “content hubs centralise content from several sources. They pull content into a neat presentation with context!”.
Context is the keyword here. When building a Content Hub, you have to know who you’re targeting, what you’re offering and why you’re doing it.
What type of content should go on a Content Hub?
If you have your audience and community in mind, then a content hub could help you in many ways. A great idea is to use a hub to share and promote your community rockstars.
A content hub is a smorgasbord of relevant material that showcases the talent and know-how of the community. #BizHeroes
— Madison Jones (@MadisonJonesHR) September 15, 2015
A2: User generated content is great for content hubs! Check out @kennethcole 's selfie contest: http://t.co/uCjKnrxl9W #bizheroes
— My Brand Evolved LLC (@mybrandevolved) September 15, 2015
Always keep in mind the importance of offering value by keeping your followers informed.
A1 Content hubs are a unique space for industry knowledge too. You're keeping people up-to-date as it all happens #bizheroes
— Jade Phillips (@lifeofaworkgirl) September 15, 2015
Some other options of content to share on a hub include:
- video, podcast/audio, written content, images (@expertsdotcomvp)
- Infographics, videos, e-books, templates, white-papers, photos (@SmartSuiteBree)
- Content from hashtag campaigns from several social sites (@lifeofaworkgirl)
- Great content can be from people who are social media experts like @tamaramccleary, @isocialfanz, @rachelloumiller (chevd80)
Why should I create a Content Hub?
One of the most important matters is that all the content you include is valuable enough to represent your brand in a positive way. But also, it can offer information about you and your brand and attract more traffic to your blog + website. Here’s what our #BizHeroes had to say:
A1: Content hubs offer a unique blend of media created by many different influencers. The topics support your brand's mission. #Bizheroes
— Coyote Logistics (@CoyoteLogistics) September 15, 2015
A1 Content hub is like super store. U get what u want. Don't Go anywhere, everything is Here #bizheroes
— Manish Pipalwa (@pipalwa) September 15, 2015
Also making it easy for people to find great content! #bizheroes https://t.co/8fPhtvukjs
— Jade Phillips (@lifeofaworkgirl) September 15, 2015
A3: Businesses can gather information about the audience while the audience pays more attention to certain pieces of content. #bizheroes
— Heroic Search (@HeroicSearch) September 15, 2015
A3. The content hub is really a meeting place for business and their consumers. If you open up the hub to UGC, huge win! #BizHeroes
— Carmella Lanni (@vegangirlnerd) September 15, 2015
A3: Content hubs make it easier for #businesses to keep their content strategy in one place, a huge plus when tracking analytics! #bizheroes
— TheAlternativeBoard (@TAB_Boards) September 15, 2015
A3 Content hubs can really establish a business as a centre point of industry knowledge & build a solid reputation #BizHeroes
— Jade Phillips (@lifeofaworkgirl) September 15, 2015
https://twitter.com/hrsanjaynegi/status/643856273646166017?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
A3. Content hub should be the place that can solves your customers problems for the better. #bizheroes
— Cheval John, Social Media Professional (@chevd80) September 15, 2015
Tool time!
This post wouldn’t be complete without a good list of tools you can use to make a nifty Content Hub! So, let’s recap what our #BizHeroes suggested.
And of course, we can’t leave out our favorite (we’re biased!): Paper.li!
I love that you have the option to have a daily or weekly @paper_li hub – keeping it relevant & to date! #bizheroes
— Jade Phillips (@lifeofaworkgirl) September 15, 2015
An excellent way to gather #content @paper_li is way above par! #bizheroes https://t.co/7mLq00xK9z
— The Alchemist Agency (@AlchemistAgency) September 15, 2015
If you want to check out some great examples of Content Hubs created with Paper.li, then head over to this post. Have a content hub? We’d love to see it! Tweet it to us @paper_li or comment it below.
What do you think about Content Hubs? Let us know in the comments!
