Getting Started with Content Creation

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery ;]

Who’s doing what I want to do?

It's essential to study and understand the "competition" in the field that you’re making content for. By doing this, you're not only gaining insight into their strategies and methodologies but also opening potential avenues for future collaboration and mutual growth, especially if you’re within the same niche.

While it's okay to draw inspiration from others, it's indispensable to remember to refrain from copying them directly. Incorporate your unique perspective and creativity into your content. This will not only make your work stand out but also add a personal touch, making it more authentic and engaging.

What platform best fits what I’m trying to do?

Tiktok

TikTok is a social media platform that's rapidly gaining popularity known for its broad and somewhat superficial audience. This platform is characterized by its wide range of users, who are typically young and interested in short, engaging content. As a result, the content tends to be more surface-level in nature, focusing more on entertainment and less on deep, thought-provoking concepts.

I personally don’t have a TikTok account as of today just because I can’t bring myself to justify putting my content in front of that kind of audience. This is just my personal preference, which is subject to change.

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YouTube

YouTube, as a platform, allows for the hosting of more lengthy and detailed content, encouraging deeper engagement from viewers. This in-depth user engagement, in turn, offers a greater potential for earning as there are more monetization opportunities. However, one of the challenges of YouTube is that it may be harder to gain traction, especially for new content creators. Due to the sheer volume of content on the platform, standing out and building a substantial viewer base can take considerable time and effort. However, if you utilize the right strategies, it can be very much worth it.

Instagram

Instagram is the ideal platform if your content strategy revolves around lifestyle themes, personal branding, and potential business partnerships. It's essentially a digital scrapbook where you can share images and short videos, making it a great place to present your brand visually.

This social media platform is particularly useful for educators who are looking to establish a brand identity and connect with their audience on a more personal level. With a strong emphasis on visual content, Instagram allows you to share snippets of your daily life, behind-the-scenes looks at your content creation process, or teasers for upcoming educational material.

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LinkedIn

LinkedIn, as a platform, maintains a strictly professional atmosphere - even though some might try to make it feel more personal like Facebook. PLEASE KEEP IT PROFESSIONAL. It is a digital space where individuals from various industries can showcase their professional accomplishments, connect with colleagues, and engage in meaningful discussions about their fields of interest.

As an educator, LinkedIn can be an invaluable tool for reaching out to a wide range of professionals who might be interested in your content. The platform offers a unique opportunity to share in-depth, high-quality educational material that can help professionals in various fields to enhance their skills and knowledge.

Additionally, LinkedIn's professional setting encourages discussions and interactions that are more focused and constructive. As an educator, you can leverage these interactions to gain insights into your audience's needs, gather feedback on your content, and foster a community of learners who are genuinely interested in your area of expertise.

Content Creation Equipment

Before embarking on any creative endeavor, it is crucial to ensure that you are equipped with the right tools. Like Abraham Lincoln said, "Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe." In content creation, your tools are your axe. It's crucial to invest time in understanding and mastering your tools to ensure quality output.

In the context of content creation, this could range from a high-end camera to sophisticated editing software. It is these tools that would aid you in creating content that not only appeals to your audience but also leaves a lasting impression due to its high quality.

One aspect that often gets overlooked, but I personally believe to be of paramount importance, is audio quality. Starting with a primary focus on ensuring high-quality audio can significantly enhance the overall impact of your content. It is the clarity of the sound that can draw your audience in and make them feel as if they are part of the narrative.

I personally sometimes struggle with this when I make a high-quality video, but my cheap mic pops or is not loud enough or takes a lot of noice. This is my personal prompt to myself to get a better mic ;)

Once you have mastered the art of delivering clear and high-quality audio, you can proceed to scale other aspects of your content creation process, thereby gradually enhancing the overall quality of your work.

Essentially, you can use your iPhone as a recording device to capture footage. However, it's crucial not to compromise on your audio quality. While the iPhone can produce impressive video quality, good audio is equally important for engaging content. Investing in a quality microphone significantly enhances your production's overall quality.

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Experimenting With Content

It's important to take some time to experiment with a variety of styles, trying out different techniques, tones, and formats until you discover what truly resonates with your target audience. Once you've identified the style that best engages your audience and effectively communicates your message, commit to it.

However, even when you've settled on a style, remember to keep things fresh and interesting. Inject your individual creativity and innovation into your work, ensuring that while your style remains consistent, your content never becomes predictable or boring.

Building a Funnel

Earlier, this article provided a detailed analysis of each social media platform's unique attributes, audience demographics, and strategies to optimize content accordingly. With this understanding, we can now strategize how to leverage these platforms to enhance visibility and traffic for our primary content platform.

For me, YouTube is my primary content platform. So I’ll use a platform like Instagram, which is heavy on visual content and influencer culture; LinkedIn, for professional networking and B2B opportunities; and Twitter, for real-time updates, thought pieces and trending topics. All of these can then effectively direct traffic to my primary content platform, YouTube.

So, I tailor my content to each platform's user base and then funnel the users back to my main platform, significantly increasing my overall reach and engagement.

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Repurposing Content

Another strategy that can be highly beneficial in extending the reach of your content is to consider repurposing it for different platforms. As a matter of fact, with a lot recent AI developments, there are a ton of apps now that can basically automate this process. And by just repurposing your longer videos, you are able to disseminate your message across different channels and target groups effectively.

This method is not only cost-effective but also time-saving, as it eliminates the need to create entirely new content from scratch. Instead, you can maximize the potential of your existing content and ensure that it reaches a wider audience, thereby enhancing your visibility and impact.

For instance, I could repurpose my long-form YouTube videos that are 10 to 30 minutes long, or even the podcasts that last over an hour, into:

• 15-60-second Instagram Reels or TikTok videos focusing on the key points or highlights
• 1-minute LinkedIn videos that present a condensed version of the content with a link to the full video
• Tweets or Instagram posts that quote important points or share interesting insights from the content

Protecting Your Content

It's crucial to store all your finalized videos in an organized manner within a cloud-based drive. This ensures that your valuable content is safely stored and protected from any potential data loss scenarios.

Should an issue arise with a platform or your account, or if you wish to repurpose a video, having your videos stored and organized in the cloud allows for easy access and retrieval from any location at any time. This adds an extra layer of convenience to your workflow and safety to your creative work.

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Sustainable Content Creation

I personally believe you should begin your content creation process by placing a strong emphasis on quality. I maintain a high standard for myself in everything, not just content creation. So I believe that It's crucial to ensure your work meets high standards and provides value to your audience, especially on platforms like YouTube and Instagram with a more visually engaged audience.

Once you've established a workflow that consistently produces top-tier content, then you can start to think about increasing your output. Remember, it's not just about creating more but creating content that resonates and provides meaningful insights or education to your audience.

Maintaining Your audience

“Things change, people change, feelings change too”. Sir Drake Champagne Papi

Staying Connected

Email Lists

Social media platforms are unpredictable and volatile. This volatility can result in unexpected changes that could potentially impact your ability to reach and engage with your audience. With this in mind, a more reliable and direct way of maintaining consistent contact with your audience is through building an email list.

People don’t tend to change their emails often and unless you are a spammer or threat actor, then email platforms don’t have any major reason to ban you. So, an email list allows you the opportunity to directly reach out to your followers, sharing updates, news, and any other relevant information.

Online Community

Aside from an email list, another effective way to keep your audience engaged is to build a community on platforms like Discord or Telegram or even WhatsApp. These platform allows for real-time interaction and conversation among members, which can help foster a sense of community and engagement.

That’s it! All the best with your content creation journey.

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Day, Cyberwox

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