Curated content is like the New Yorker article you share with a friend because you just know she’ll love it. In a way, this act of sharing and redistributing content is building your personal brand– after all, you aren’t going to share something that doesn’t align with your lifestyle.

For brands, curated content marketing offers a cost-effective way to share content with audiences and engage with them consistently. It is a way of communicating without adding more ‘noise’– rather, it focuses on highlighting articles that are already out there, and offers a way for brands to add their unique voice to the conversation.

As content marketing becomes a more important part of holistic marketing strategies, companies are relying on curation more and more. It is a common practice in B2B business, but it can–and should– be a part of consumer brand strategies as well. A healthy mix of content might include 25-30% curated content. But unlike B2B content curation (which might pull content from a number of sources), consumer brands should look to their audience to supply content.

User generated content is an important piece of content strategy. It’s no secret that peer recommendations drive purchasing decisions, but Millenials report that the presence of UGC on a brand website significantly influences their trust in the brand and intent to buy. (Bazaarvoice).

But UGC is only as good as the curator, and making the right choices is challenging.

Here are 5 tips to help build your UGC and curation strategy:

• Share content ONLY if it fits the brand voice. By including images of customers wearing logo gear, Tommy Hilfiger’s curated content remains on-brand, but accessible.

• Engage in longer term partnerships with micro-influencers. Sorel uses UGC to identify influencers who already have an affinity for the brand, and then enters longer partnerships with them. By focusing on micro-influencers the content is more authentic.

• Take it Offline. Nordstrom used the hashtag #OOTD for its users to share what they were wearing from the anniversary sale. These images were posted on social media, shared to the Nordstrom website, and incorporated into store display for true omni-channel marketing.

• Use UGC in your email campaigns. Research from First Insight indicates that consumers only open 25% of the emails they receive. Shoppers also feel like 95% of the emails they receive are not relevant to them. Including content from actual users is helpful for consumers. They get the opportunity to see how a product is used in real life, and can very often relate to that use. Pair UGC with email messaging that shows focuses on the lifestyle of the brand, what’s trending, and promoting new releases.

• Capitalize on what users are already doing. Your customers are already posting about your brand on social, so brands might as well leverage those conversations. Re-share user images that are already out there– customers love this kind of recognition and engagement. Then, launch a campaign that encourages and inspires customers to take more photos and share them with you.