Welcome to Content Inc. Everyone is creating content on social media -- doctors, industrialists, CEOs, politicians, architects, writers, bloggers, journalists, designers and even models… The new age of content entrepreneurs is reshaping the creative space!
Nona Walia
It’s the world of ideas and content. Everyone is a content creator. Are you a content ‘conventional’ or ‘unconventional’? The creative economy does not admire stereotypes. It does not admire duplicates. It admires simplicity and originality. In a world where everyone is creating content -- be a ‘content unconventional’. This is also the time to be vary of hitting the ‘peak content theory’ which means, content is everywhere and people are turning away from bad content. This is true in the world of television, print, online and social media. That media moghul despite his mega success is creating content for his social media; the top pandemic virologist is tweeting tediously from the ICU every hour; the hotshot politician is tweeting from his political rally.
The social media is overwhelmed with content. There’s so much content that much of it seems like clutter. How then do you create content that’s polished and suave, that becomes a game changer. The phrase content entrepreneurship was introduced by Joe Pulizzi, everyone is creating content, some as a side hustle, that directly or indirectly influences their business. A content entrepreneur creates and distributes a blog, podcast, or video series for their audience to generate revenue, directly or indirectly. Here’s how you can be a dynamic gamechanger:
Bring passion to your content: Your passion is critical to your content. If you are passionate about what you say and do, it will reflect in your content. Your sense of passion and purpose will help you create content that resonates and stands out.
Flexibility: Free yourself from rigidity and stereotypes. Keep your content fresh. Keep your content free from constraints; find ways that may be unconventional. Keep an eye for blazing new trends and trails. See things from the other side. The world is full of conventionals, find your voice. Test your assumptions. Its experimentation: Some experiments will work; many others will fail. There’s also more content acceptance. BBC’s digital culture journalist Sophia Smith Galer created the podumentary: The TikTok Election, she spoke at Reuters School of Journalism about the rise of journo-influencers, and shared insights on how to use TikTok as a tool in journalism. The Washington Post has one of the most successful accounts for any news organisations on Tik Tok. Be flexible when creating content with new technology.
Documenting Content: From a verbal world, we have moved to a world where documenting/writing/journaling/blogging has more depth and meaning. Documenting is action. You are building your content. You are bringing purpose to your content. You could be podcasting, blogging or Youtubing, but the written content still creates huge impact.
Technology triggered the creative economy: Content is easy to publish with today’s technology. The old world of publishing was complex. Today, technology gives you the platform to create and publish your content. Utilize it. Smartphones changed the method of content management.
Find your content tilt point: The content tilt is an area of no competition on the web that gives you a chance to break through the noise and be relevant. The term was coined by Joe Pulizzi, it allows you to fight with good content and stay relevant. You have to learn to tilt your content to make it relevant, different and unconventional. Make it eye-catching. Keep tilting your content.
(Nona Walia is a successful journalist and writer. She’s the author of The Art of Mental Toughness: Survival Lessons from the Pandemic. A motivational expert, she is passionate about helping people live their lives in the best possible way. A wellness warrior and a wellness blogger, Walia has done certified online course on Science of Well-Being from the Yale University. She runs a Wellness Channel on YouTube. She has worked with The Times of India for 24 years as a Senior Assistant Editor and is also the acclaimed writer of many articles for Thrive Global.)