There is no doubt about it, we live in the era of digital content creation. If you look around you, people are constantly making or creating some piece of content, either for personal or public consumption – from the lady beside you in the taxi taking a selfie to send to her family WhatsApp group, to your neighbour’s son and his friend doing a video for TikTok.
We are constantly exposed to content today, whether we actively seek it or not. So long as you have a smartphone or are in close proximity to someone who has one, you can see, hear, or participate in content.
And while technology has gifted us with a tool that connects the entire world in one place like nothing before it has, some have used it like a man using a rock to peel a banana. Many others have found the current information technology and the internet to be a source of principal or alternative revenue. For others, it has given them the means to express their creativity in ways they could not have if we were living in, say, 2005. I am thinking particularly here of people like. The Ikorodu Bois in Nigeria, who parody Nigerian celebrities in the most ingenious and creative way through parody videos, have since moved on to re-create Hollywood blockbuster trailers.
Their creative work has led to nods from people like famed Hollywood director Zack Snyder, actor Chris Hemsworth, and even Netflix. In fact, the streaming company sent them expensive filming equipment, including a Mac computer, lighting equipment, gimbals, and other gear.
There is a lot happening on social media and the internet, and if you are considering creating content for any reason (especially to make money), the list below will be helpful. Based on my experience writing for PoiseSocial since 2017 and my many interactions with other content creators, I have put together these six rules to help you jump-start your content creation journey.
START FROM A PLACE OF FUN:
You must have heard many times that you should follow your passion, or that you should turn your passion into a job. As true as that is, it can be frustrating because it can take time to bear fruit. When we talk about content, we talk mostly about creativity. I am a firm believer that creativity and the best it can birth come best from a place of fun. Creativity comes mostly from the inner child within us. As children, we invented games when we lacked toys. I once seized my cousin’s toy cars, and the next thing he did was pick up the plastic cover of a laundry basket and pretend it was a steering wheel as he “drove” around the house, mimicking the sound of a car engine with his mouth.
Children learn best via play. This is why singing and dancing games are an important part of nursery school education. As we grow older, we have less time for fun, and we cherish the few moments when we can. Starting your content journey from a place of enjoyment gives you an extra drive and advantage over sheer passion alone. Passion is great, but passionate fun is even greater as it puts you at your creative best.
LOOK FOR THE WHY:
The number of abandoned blog pages, YouTube accounts, and Facebook pages is startling. The thing is, a lot of people get into the digital content ecosystem because they are hopping on a trend. People want to be called ‘blogger’ or ‘content creator’. They do not do so because they have a strong motivation or a rooted drive. Ask yourself WHY you want to do what it is that you want to do. We talk a lot about consistency in content creation, and in my experience, consistency is largely driven by the WHY.
For my part, my WHY is the desire to talk about the many things that go through my head. I had wanted to write about the things I write about here for the longest time. I have always been passionate about music, entertainment, and marketing. I had many conversations with friends that I thought might benefit a larger audience. As soon as the opportunity arose, I hopped on it and have been ever since.
FOCUS ON THE CORE PRODUCT:
Steve Martin, the actor, is famous for the phrase that purports that in order to achieve success, you have to “be so good that they can’t ignore you.” Most people try to be pretty when starting content. They want the best site, branding, equipment, and studio. As much as that is good for the eyes, what people care about is the value that you bring to them. What is your product at its core? It is what people tap into and what keeps them coming back.
On December 20th, 2020, we published an article on our Facebook page about Diane Audrey Ngako and her podcast, “Si Maman M’avait Dit.” Diane started her podcast by recording her conversations with guests on her iPhone. She would edit these on her laptop, add artwork, and upload them. The sound quality was not the greatest, but the content itself was so good that although the first episode of the first season was launched on March 3rd, 2020, the entire season of 12 episodes had gotten 104,000 listens by February 22nd, 2021 – almost a year later.
Focus on your core product/offering first. Everything else that comes after is mostly window dressing. People are first attracted to the value you offer, not to how you package it. It is why you see people parking their cars to eat achu in the least beautiful of places.
IMPACT OVER CONSISTENCY:
Do not undermine consistency. In the competitive social media content market, consistency is essential. If you operate in a crowded space and produce content at the same level as many others, you risk being overlooked. Consistency also gives you drive: If, for example, you chose to produce and publish a piece of content every Wednesday, that commitment pushed you to be consistent with your audience, who expect that from you.
But the thing is, consistency can sometimes get in the way of quality. It is a slippery slope to try to be consistent for consistency’s sake. Sometimes, you may be operating in a space where content ideas do not come easily, and you end up producing subpar work. My advice is to go for impact. Again, consistency is good but (and I am beginning to sound like a Born-Again pastor) impactful consistency is even better. If you can only create something that will leave your audience in awe and in a way they will not forget, only once a month, then go for it. Don’t force yourself, in the name of consistency, to be doing something that will leave your audience with a bland taste in their mouth.
FIND YOUR NICHE:
As much as everyone wants a mass-market product that everyone likes and buys, the reality is that the digital ecosystem no longer works that way. We have seen how giants of the internet, like Yahoo and AOL, which once had almost a monopoly on the news space, have fallen terribly. Major news agencies like the NY Times are having to compete with small, obscure individuals who run their own media companies from their bedrooms and challenge their reporting.
In the beauty blogging ecosystem, it is particularly tight, and anyone who wants to get into that market will have to “tie their belt.” But the good news is that the more market fragmentation, the more niches. And the more there are niches, the more you can find a core fanbase. I believe in something called ‘The 1.000 core fans’. It’s about building an audience large enough to ride or die with you. These 1.000 people are individuals who can fund your operation when you need them to.
Find a niche, and serve it excellently, and you will be rewarded.
BE RELATABLE AND AUTHENTIC:
Be your true self. Avoid gimmicks. Use examples and speak to your target audience about things they know and about what they and you identify with. Use local examples and whatnot. Make your writing or your presentation as familiar as possible.
PROMOTE YOURSELF:
Content is 20% production and 80% promotion. If you do not promote your work, only a few people will see it. Your presence on any social media platform should be about promoting your work. Even if you are not directly promoting a piece of content you just did, write and talk about things that pertain directly to what you do. Use Twitter in particular; it is a great place for promoting your work.
If you do YouTube interviews, in the week after dropping the episode, upload 50secs to 60secs clips on social media (Facebook, Instagram stories, WhatsApp stories, etc) and encourage your interviewees to do the same. It may seem like you are being pompous, but it is better for people to think of you as pompous than not to promote your content.
