Creating content for social media may seem relatively easy. After all, most of us are doing it: we’re posting new pics on Instagram, writing insightful posts on Facebook, or getting in arguments with strangers on Twitter. Hey, if you get (un)lucky at some point you may even hit the sweet spot with some particularly edgy meme and become an overnight viral sensation!
However, creating the kind of content that is consistently popular and attracts viewers and followers on a day to day basis? This requires skills, knowledge, and a keen sense of the social media landscape. This requires experience. This requires a creator.
Whether your goal is to build your brand’s presence on social media or to kickstart a particular marketing campaign, there’s no better way to do it than in a partnership with an established creator. But how to find the right collaborator in what seems to be an oversaturated market and not waste your time and money? Well, let’s find out! But first…
What exactly is a social media content creator?
“Isn’t it just a slightly more respectable name for an influencer?”, you might ask.
Yes, it’s true that in some contexts the two can be interchangeable, but it is slightly more nuanced than that. The word influencer has transactional connotations due to an immediate assumption that the person who is described that way leverages their large numbers of followers to monetize their social media accounts either directly or through sponsorship deals.
Creators aren’t just popular social media personalities with multitudes of loyal fans using their influence to promote a product or a service. In essence, they are entrepreneurs. Being a social media creator means that on top of making your content, you are also managing your personal brand, writing, editing, producing, doing community management, outreach, and audience engagement. And when you’re partnering with a creator, you’re getting the whole package. It’s incredibly cost-effective and alleviates a lot of headaches as long as you and your partner are on the same page. But before you do that, you check a few items off the to-do list.
- Determine the type of content you require.
A crucial first step that will make identifying the creator you’re looking for so much easier. A brilliant videographer may not be the best choice to write a detailed blog post, while an excellent and thoughtful writer shouldn’t probably waste time by trying to launch a viral TikTok challenge. But if you have your campaign goals clearly outlined, you’ll know what type of content is likely to be the best to serve them and it’s probably going to fall in one or more of the following categories:
- Video: vertical videos, TikToks and Instagram stories, unpacking videos, explainers, event coverage.
- Photo: photos of a product, an event, website photos.
- Written: articles, blog posts, e-books, various copies.
- Graphic design: logos, infographics, website graphics, banners.
Some creators specialize in one or two types of content, some are more versatile. Have a clear picture of what you’d expect the final result to be and be able to communicate it to your future partner. But don’t forget that it’s a creative process, so remain open to suggestions.
Determining the type of content will also help you to decide which platform would be best to publish it on.
Deciding on a platform: what are some of the best social media apps for content creators?
The conversation about the best app for online social media content creators should always come with a tiny asterisk of *best at the moment. The social media landscape is constantly evolving. New projects and startups rise to fight for a place in users’ hearts (and for a timeslot in our daily routines) every year. Quite a few succeed, but the past 15 years have seen its share of fallen giants too. Platforms like Myspace and Vine come to mind, but even the mighty Facebook, arguably the most prominent social media of the early 21st century, doesn’t seem like an invincible behemoth anymore.
Both social media content creators (who need to be able to see the next big thing if they want to stay relevant) and advertisers (who need to identify those platforms that will give them the best opportunity to reach their target audiences) have to learn to navigate the currents and trends of social media. Let’s take a quick look at some of the most prominent social media platforms of today and see what’s their main differences are.
- YouTube
This popular video sharing platform was created in 2005, but it became such a permanent fixture of our everyday lives that it’s hard to imagine a world without it. The Google subsidiary is the place to go whether you want to look for a quick explanation video of how to make bread at home, see a trailer for the biggest upcoming summer blockbuster, or just relax and watch some pandas sneezing. It’s also a place where creativity thrives – in fact, the term “creator”, in its social media-related meaning, originated on YouTube. From thoughtful video essays to light comedic videos and entertaining web-series – there’s something for everyone on YouTube. This magnificent choice of creators of all kinds and varieties paired with the vast reach and powerful targeting capabilities of the platform is what makes it so great both for advertisers and creators looking to monetize their content. YouTube should be your go-to social media for publishing such content as an unpacking video or, perhaps, an in-depth review of one of your products.
Instagram is one of the heavy-weights of the social media platform game. It’s a photo and video sharing social network owned by Facebook with over a billion users and thus a huge audience in virtually every niche! The very nature of the content on the platform inspires a lot of creativity from its users and the rise of influencer marketing is often associated with this platform first and foremost. Many brands do very well on Instagram, but especially those in the areas of fashion, food, and travel. Naturally, Instagram is the perfect place to show off photographs of your product or short video stories that involve your brand. In the meantime, check out Instagram statistics which are essential for your marketing campaigns.
- TikTok
TikTok may be the new kid on the social media block, but it’s making huge waves already. In just a couple of years, it went from a relatively obscure teenager-oriented video platform to an astonishing global phenomenon. TikTok allows users to create 3 to 60-second videos that tend to be mostly lip-sync or comedy and this doesn’t seem particularly groundbreaking at a first glance, does it? However, as it turns out the recipe for TikTok’s massive success is the beautiful simplicity of combining an accessible and diverse video editing toolkit with an easy-to-consume digestible format. The platform had its share of home-grown celebrities with millions of followers and was challenging big brands to change the way they think about advertising even before the 2020 lockdowns, but creators and users flocked to TikTok to produce and enjoy the bite-sized, fun and relatable homemade content that is perfect for these uneasy times. The offbeat youthful energy of TikTok is what makes it a fantastic proving ground for unorthodox marketing, like challenges or even lip-syncing videos.
- Determine your budget.
Now that you know the type of content you’re looking for and have some idea which platform would be the best for it, your next step should be outlining the budget for the partnership. Keep in mind that there are many factors affecting the creators’ prices such as the size of the project, the type of content (certain varieties of content require much more time and resources than others), the experience and skills of your potential partner. And while budget constraint can be an issue for any business, remember that mediocre pay will likely result in mediocre work.
How and where to find social media content creators?
Alright, everything is set. You have your goals. You know what type of content you need. The appropriate budget was allocated. Seems like there’s just one step left.
“Well, that’s an easy one. You just go to any social media from the list above and take your pick, they are literally everywhere around you!”
Would that it were so simple.
When you’re looking for an online social media content creator you are looking for a trusted partner first and foremost. Not just a hired gun, but someone who shares your values and ethics, who has an appreciation for your product and who could potentially become your brand ambassador. You can, of course, post a job on your website or search through the social media creators in your niche manually, one by one. But a much simpler and efficient solution would be to go to a social media creator marketplace, like Insense.
It’s a platform that can put you in touch with over 35,000 experienced creators who produce content for all kinds of platforms, including, but not limited to the Big Three above. Your Insense dashboard becomes your convenient social media marketing command center – you can search for the creators in your niche using the system of hashtags and filters, communicate via the in-built chat, provide immediate feedback, and even run the ads using the integration with Facebook Ads system, all from the same place. On Insense even a single person can efficiently run and optimize large scale multi-platform campaigns with dozens of creators, saving you both time and money.
Check out the website for more details or set up a free demo call to learn how Insense can build a portfolio of branded content for your business.
