It can be tough to define "content creator", so here's the easiest definition...
This article is content. And by writing it, we're content creators. Content creators, as the name suggests, create content that educates, informs, or inspires across any medium. Blog posts, YouTube videos, Instagram Reels, etc.
Content creators love to share their ideas about information that a particular group of the audience is interested in. Simply put, they are the people who make the internet what it is today.
Read on to find out more about what people engaged in content creation exactly do, what types of creators exist, and what it takes to succeed in this industry as a content creator.
What is a content creator?
Let’s break down these terms into two: “What is content?” and “What is a creator?”
The most applicable definition of content in this context is information made available by a website or other electronic medium as posted by certain individuals. Other skeptics still are unable to accept this simple definition.
The term creator also presents abstract challenges without a lot of nuances to it yet, but neither does the word director. A major difference between a director and a creator is that the former has its place in society and has permeated our understanding of what filmmaking is while the same hasn’t happened yet for creators. Aside from this, a creator actually performs all of the roles a director can.
Professional content creators play the role of a writer, a director, a producer―all these things and more! Let’s imagine the credits shown after a movie and a single person is given the credits for directing, writing, and scoring. Sounds silly right? Yet, that’s actually what creators are doing―they perform all those functions.
Bearing this in mind, we can now proceed to talk about what a content creator actually does.
What does a content creator do?
Digital content makers are responsible for all the audio-visual content you consume on the internet. They plan, produce, and distribute content in order to deliver entertaining or educational material to their target audience on websites or social media.
Content creation can involve writing a blog post like this one. The author can create information that may not exist elsewhere by combining their own thoughts with outside sources such as books, magazines, or other writers' works.
Someone who creates content can be a writer, artist, musician, photographer, and more. And they need to have an endless stream of creative content ideas in order to make an impact on their audience. Many individuals involved in creating content have had great success over the years by doing what they love every day and putting out one piece at a time.
Creating content can also be in the form of photos and videos for use on social media posts for websites like Facebook and Instagram where friends and followers can "like" them right away. The term has been used more frequently since the growth in popularity of social media which has allowed people to share their ideas easily across various social networks.
Types of content creators
In a perfect world, creating high-quality content is what makes a creative content creator the happiest. What sets them apart is their specific niche around which they make their content and the platform they use
Some do YouTube videos or TikTok videos, while some concentrate on engaging content via Instagram posts. Other people focus on tweeting about stuff that their audience loves all the time for virality. There are those in the content creation field focused on building content around keywords that are highly used on popular search engines in order to engage their audience.
No matter what the platform is, they have to do this consistently.
Instagram creators
Instagram creators are people who post media assets on Instagram, where they are usually judged by their audiences based on their content's originality, creativity, quality and overall presentation. A regular Instagram content creator can generate either sponsored posts or user-generated content (UGC).
Such conditions attract many people to create content on Instagram because through paid partnerships, they can receive various monetary or in-kind rewards.
YouTube creators
A YouTube content creator is a person who creates videos on the popular video-sharing platform YouTube. These videos can be in any form including comedy, music, product reviews, or even tutorials.
Anyone can create a YouTube channel and start uploading videos. While the majority of creators on this platform do not get paid directly for making videos, a lot of them make money through advertisements that display before, during, or after a video from their respective sponsors.
TikTok creators
TikTok has emerged as an entertainment platform where young people post and share videos, usually of themselves, while performing songs, dances, skits, and stunts in short videos (up to three minutes).
They can be as young as 13 and their videos range from lip-syncing clips to extreme sports stunts and pranks. Because TikTok has emerged as one of the fastest-growing apps worldwide, many a business have chosen to focus on creators from this platform as part of their content marketing strategy for targeting a younger demographic.
Here's an example of the kind of content creators you'll find on theright.fit:
Qualities of a great content creator
Across the platforms above, there are five qualities that content creators commonly share. They're honest, they're knowledgeable, they're engaging, they're relatable, and they're passionate about what they do. Although these qualities come naturally for some, they can still be developed for those who lack them.
1. Honesty
Honesty is the best policy when creating digital content. If you can't be honest about your opinions, experience, and knowledge in your niche then they will see right through you in an instant.
2. Knowledgeable
It's no use to start creating an online presence out of something you don't know anything about. Without the authority, your specific audience probably won't be interested in exactly what you have to say. If you fake it, they'll see right through you.
3. Engaging
Everyone has their own personal preference when it comes to who they enjoy listening to talk about their interests. This also applies to specific contexts such as blogs or product descriptions on Instagram. A reader may find the work of one content writer more engaging and persuasive than the other based on writing style alone.
4. Relatable or authentic
People like to feel like they can relate to you, so it helps if you share the things that made you who you are today. Everyone loves a bit of gossip or hearing about someone else's life experiences, so sharing stories is a great way to open up and become relatable.
5. Passionate
It's always better to be passionate about something as this will make your content much more enjoyable for your audience it which will, in turn, can help you create a loyal fan base. People may disagree with what your opinion is on something but people will never forget how passionately you love it!
How to become a successful content creator
After delving deep into what creators actually do and what they're made of, it is necessary to paint a clear picture that depicts what makes a successful one and what do not.
Content creators are not just ‘YouTubers’ as most people wrongly assume. Content creators aren’t only putting stuff on YouTube anymore. In fact, they create content across other social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter among others to gain a wider audience and following.
Another popular misconception is that they have a dogmatic schedule. Whether it’s a daily or weekly schedule, there’s never been a greater degree of flexibility to compare that which content creators enjoy.
Multitasking is key
Online content developers do not get fed up with what they do. In fact, work their asses off every single day and end up seeing very little financial returns for their efforts especially at the beginning.
This begs the question as to why some creators still keep up at it and not just quit to resume their regular 9 to 5 jobs with a steady paycheck. Well, the answer to that question is that despite the toll that it takes on them physically and mentally, successful content creators know how to multitask.
Say, for instance, you need five hours of video content displayed on YouTube per week. You can probably guess that it's a lot of work, especially for a freelance content creator or someone who just does it on the side.
One of the perks content creation affords such people is that they can compensate for the stress they face by switching up what they’re working on. If they don’t feel like writing briefs for the day, then they can work on their next vlog or even work on a new film script.
Plus the other moving parts...
In addition to being creative, you need to acquire skills in these certain areas to be successful:
- Web content
- Video
- SEO
- Business
It may surprise you to know that content creators actually do more than all we’ve just listed above. A professional creator plays a whole bunch of different roles including, the operational side of their business. They deal with driving organic traffic, improving their metrics, coordinating with partners, pitches, contracts, bookwork, and more. They’re entrepreneurs in their own right so they also need to understand how to run the entire machine.
Those are the different roles that creators play in their own little world and some people don’t seem to understand the complexity of that. They can hardly understand that a YouTube comedian isn’t just someone who makes jokes only and that they also do all those things mentioned above.
Become a content creator now
Although it’s a really long road to travel before you start to see the lines falling in pleasant places for you as a content creator, you’ve got to love what you do as a creator in order to produce content that actually meets the needs of your audience.
“The thousand true fans theory” proposed by popular author Kevin Kelly says that:
“In today’s digital age, any creator really only needs a thousand true fans to build a sustainable living from their job”.
It sounds awesome, and the truth is nobody gets a thousand true fans overnight but, you’ve got to be committed to being a content creator and stick to the goals in order to achieve success.
Looking to choose a content creation partner for your next campaign?
When faced with the decision of choosing a content creator for a new digital marketing strategy, the following are some important factors that you ought to consider.
First, you need to understand what type of content is relevant to your company. This will help you find the right person for the job.
Second, you should consider whether or not this individual will fit in with your team. They will be working closely with you so it's important to build a strong rapport.
Lastly, think about budget constraints and available resources. You should have a rough idea of how much you are willing to spend on the project before hiring anyone.
