Sharing your network's content is about building eminence through curation and distribution.

Because a curator is both filter and distributor, curators need to make sure their filtering is designed with their target audience in mind.

The image below shows a curated collection of IBM-related posts using paper.li, a site that lets you assemble Twitter posts into an easy-to-read newspaper format.

a curated collection of IBM-related posts using paper.li

Benefits of content distribution

Content distribution is one of the most effective ways to create exposure and "buzz" for your area of expertise. The effectiveness of your content distribution is ultimately in the quality of the information you circulate or publish. Distributing content lets you:

Build your reputation The more you distribute useful information, the stronger your credibility becomes.

Increase your exposure The content you circulate gives exposure to your business and your area of expertise.

Build your knowledge The content you share is based upon what you have learned as well as your personal experiences.

Increase your search engine ranking The more that people or businesses that are linked to you through published information, the higher you rank in search results.

Drive content downloads
Any information you circulate online finds its way into different distribution channels. People may share the content with their friends, or a business may find the content relevant and useful enough to display on its site.

Using retweets to share network content Retweeting on Twitter involves copying an original message, pasting it in a new Twitter message, then adding "RT @username" before the message to indicate whom you received the original Twitter message from. "@username" is the Twitter ID of the originator of the message. Here is what a retweet will look like:

Retweeting is a very simple content distribution activity that has many benefits. Consistent and purposeful retweeting lets you:

Build your credibility and social eminence.
Build goodwill with your followers and with the content originator.
Provide your followers with value through quality content.
Build your network and your relationships.
Increase content downloads or site traffic.
Encourage sharing personalized content.

Next: URL shorteners

What you will find in this section

Introduction to sharing network content

Benefits of content distribution

Using retweets to share network content

Resources

Improving Your Ability to Share and Connect Short URL: http://on.fb.me/efTmum

Paper.li Short URL: http://paper.li/

Benefits of URL shortening tools Tip Find an inspiring tweet about a colleague's Celebration of Service activity or an Icon of Progress that they connected to and retweet it with a comment. Did you know? When you "Like" something on Facebook, you make a public connection between your Facebook profile and the content you "Like."