There’s more than one way to build up your personal brand through content.

While most of us immediately think that means our own unique, original content, that’s not your only option.

Now, I’m not advocating that you rip-off someone else’s content as your own — seriously, don’t do that! — but imitation (or, in this case, inspiration) is the finest form of flattery.

And, as it turns out, it’s also a good way to curate content that will help you build up your personal brand.

So what are some of the tactics that you can use to master the art of content curation to build your thought leadership credibility without coming up with loads of unique posts every other day?

How To Curate Content

As a rule of thumb, you shouldn’t be sharing any content without adding context. Anyone can share an article that they read, but to establish yourself as someone who is both in the know and worth engaging with, you need to add context that tells everyone why you’re sharing this particular piece out of the millions at your fingertips.

Try to add 150+ words of context, then pull out some of the key points that you found most interesting or relevant, and always be sure to tag the original author. And when you share, make sure that you add three to five unique hashtags alongside a company branded hashtag if and when relevant.

Once you’ve posted, be sure to encourage conversation by asking people what they thought about the piece and how it relates to what they’re doing or where they’re headed.

Creating Unique Content Using Other Existing Content

Another way that you can repurpose others’ content and give it your own twist is to pull out the key points that speak to you are the most valuable to what you’re trying to get across.

And you don’t have to limit yourself to blogs. This works across blogs, social posts, whitepapers, videos, anything and everything you can and have formulated a sharable opinion on.

Instead of copy/pasting the key points from the original piece, add your own flair by writing your own, reworked version of what the original author had to say.

The same ideas can be talked about a million different ways because those ideas affect each of us differently based on our backgrounds, experiences, industries, positions, etc.

And once you’ve poured your thoughts into the post — which can be as simple as a short, five sentence spiel (don’t feel like you have to over-complicate things) —, be sure to tag the original content creator and add a link to the content that sparked your inspiration in the comments so that interested parties can read it if they’re interested.

Content Engagement

In addition to curating content and sharing on your page, it’s important to reply to all comments on your posts and leave engaging comments on other posts as well.

An engaging comment means at least 1-2 full sentences, aka not just “nice work.”

Another great way to generate engagement?

If someone tags you in a post, turn that into your own post on LinkedIn. This benefits the original author AND you.

People post great content on LinkedIn every day, don’t let it slip through your fingers!

Follow me on LinkedIn for content inspiration and sharing, and for more insider LinkedIn tips and tricks. And if you’re looking for more, be sure to check out the video below and more from the DBTV series, The Sales Funnel:

Be sure to connect with me and Demandbase on LinkedIn!