3 tips on using Facebook to curate content fast

By Dorien Morin-van Dam

Entrepreneurs are always busy!

Sometimes time just gets away from you; the phone rings all morning and you canÂt get anything done. A client calls with an important question and you canÂt put off answering it. Your car breaks down and needs a tow, delaying you and your long list of tasks. A family member needs you, now and off you go.

As a busy entrepreneur, even the best laid plans and to-do lists get sidetracked by unexpected events. ThereÂs no one else but you to address the problems and nothing you can do about it but go with the flow and regroup when you can.

On any given Monday morning, I get back to my desk after a weekend away from my computer and find social media emergencies and tasks that need my undivided attention. Lucky for me, I have a social media plan and a content calendar for myself as well as for all of my clients, so I donÂt often have to post ÂfastÂ and unexpectedly.

Do you have a social media plan? Do you have a content calendar? If you donÂt have either, find a social media consultant to help you create a social media plan and a content calendar to put in place ASAP!

Of course, there are times I am on the go, busy, forget to get my content calendar updated and I need something to postÂnow. What to do? DonÂt panic! This is what I doÂ

I go to Facebook to find content quickly!

Here are three ways I use Facebook to find content to curate, fast!

1. Interest Lists

I have many interest lists I curate content from. Are you familiar with interest lists? If not, start here: Everything you need to know about Facebook Interest Lists

I follow a lot of people and I have liked a lot of pages. To be able to find what I am looking for, I have created lists of pages, people and news outlets all of who are relevant to my business and my clientsÂ industries. To find content fast, all I have to do is go to those lists on my profile and look at what everyone is talking about! From there, itÂs an easy share to my profile, or a few (extra) clicks to share it to one of my pages. I recommend you subscribe to pages as well as create your own.

2. Trending Topics

This is a great way to get content out, quickly! Simply go to your personal profile and look on the top right side of your newsfeed. YouÂll see Âtrending topicsÂ. Click on the topic that would best fit your industry (there is a blue, clickable link for each topic) which will generate a feed of articles related to that trending topic. Pick whichever one you like and share!

3. Hashtag Search

If you are looking for a specific topic, try searching Facebook for related articles by using a hashtag. I admin several pages for which I use this approach and using hashtags is a great way to find news content on Facebook. For example, for a plumbers page, try #plumbing or #plumbingtip, for a golf community, you could try searching #golf and find out the latest news. Make sure to try several hashtags, sometimes it takes a while to find the right one. DonÂt forget to also use hashtags on your own posts when sharing your own content, so others who use this approach can find and share your content, too!

I know there are many other ways to find, share and curate content form Facebook. What is your favorite content curation tip?

Author’s Bio: Dorien Morin-van Dam is owner and social media marketer at More In Media, a social media consultancy in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Dorien provides social media consulting, management, training and education; she is passionate about teaching social media to small business owners. She services clients all over the USA and has worked in many different industries as well as with several NPO’s. In her spare time, Dorien manages four kids, three dogs and a husband. She runs marathons and loves to bake, travel and read.

Photo Credit: LoÃ¯c Lagarde via Compfight cc