Here’s what to expect in a career as a social media content creator, and whether it’s the right fit for you.
Choosing a new career is no small decision, and deciding whether to take the plunge into a life of content creation and paid partnerships is no different.
Nowadays it can seem like anyone can be a content creator, even your grandma, but behind the perfectly curated feeds and video transitions, is skill, commitment, and an entrepreneurial drive.
What makes this career so appealing?
You can make a brand of pretty much anything! Whether you’re a food expert, have an eye for fashion, or are a voice-over master, there is space for all forms of content on social media and no official training is required.
What are the benefits of being a content creator?
- Be in charge of your own brand.
- Dictate your own hours.
- No formal education required (though taking courses to sharpen your skills can be highly worth it).
What Skills Does A Content Creator Need?
To be a successful social media content creator, you’ll need to know more than how-to capture a good video.
Here are 10 skills you’ll need in your content creator toolkit:
- Organization and accountability: Being an entrepreneur, and your own boss, means being accountable and staying on track. Planning ahead, managing your schedule, and keeping up with your work have never been more important than when you manage your own brand. Click here for a content creators guide to staying organized.
2. Copywriting: Whether it’s in the form of captions, blog posts, newsletters, or DM’s, being able to write engaging copy is a must.
3. Photography: You don’t need expensive equipment to capture great content, but you do need a good eye and knowledge of the basics like lighting and staging.
4. Videography: Creating a great video doesn’t stop when you turn off the camera. You’ll need to know how to edit entertaining content and become your own sound director.
5. Financial management: Being a content creator means you’re responsible for your own finances. Paid partnerships can be inconsistent, especially when you’re just starting out. To get started, you’ll need to identify your rates by assessing your follower count, reach, and engagement rate. (Psst, luckily we can help with that. Contact us to learn more!)
6. Marketing and sales: Learning to elevator-pitch yourself and your brand is a must, and creating a good media kit will help to promote yourself to brands.
7. Brand Design: You’ll be responsible for every aspect of your brand, from the name, fonts and brand colours, to your brand personality and messaging. You can work with a designer to help elevate your design, but ultimately you are the boss!
8. Research: To be a successful content creator, you’ll need to keep up with trends and best practices (like SEO) to stay relevant.
9. Embrace the face: You are your brand, which means speaking on camera will need to become second nature. If you consider yourself a shy or private person, this may not be the career for you (unless being an awko-taco is part of your brand).
10. Hustle: Successful entrepreneurs and business owners have one thing in common: they hustle! The more you put into it, the more you can get out of it.
Still reading? Love that for you! That means the reality of a career as a social media content creator hasn’t scared you off, and there’s only good news left.
Ambition and commitment are the only two skills you need to get started. The rest, you can learn! While there are tons of paid courses online, there are also many free courses offered by credible platforms like LinkedIn Learning and HubSpot, like this guide to content creation.
Before you run off to create your media kit, remember that like any career, to be good at it is a long-term investment. You probably wouldn’t take up being a mechanic for only two years, and you shouldn’t have that mindset over this career choice either.
So, now that you know what it takes to be a content creator, ask yourself:
- Why do I want to be a content creator?
- How long do I want to be a content creator for / what is my end game?
- What do I want to spread influence about (food, fashion, travel, parenting)?
Growing a business takes time, and being a social media influencer is no different. So follow us @SamuraiMediaOfficial and let us help you grow a little faster with tips and tricks you’ll need to know on your journey.
What Platforms To Best Market Yourself On and Your Brand: (Part 2)
Discover how to reach new audiences with your niche on Pinterest, YouTube, and LinkedIn!
What Platforms to Best Market Yourself on And Your Brand: (Part 1)
Let’s explore how you can make the most of your digital presence and reach your goals.
Decoding The Social Media Puzzle: Where To Post Content
You work hard on creating your content, and to get the best results from it, we want to make sure you are posting it to the social media platform that will have the most success. Find out more to receive all the knowledge!
