Do you ever see these influencers go from zero to a million followers and wonder, “How can I do that?” Do you ever crave the rush of arguing with someone online until the wee small hours of the morning? Do you ever think, “I’d like to stay at home and post on social media all day?”
Well, have I got news for you… YOU CAN! Just become a content creator!
What’s a content creator? I’m so glad you asked.
Content creators are why social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube exist. A content creator is responsible for posting education, entertainment, and encouragement to a platform for others to consume.
Anyone can create content; you’ve created content if you’ve ever made a post on social media. What makes content creators different is they are usually paid, trying to be paid, or have a business strategy that hinges on their content creation.
I’ve been a content creator for the past ten years, and as I’ve seen this industry explode, I think back to my early years and the mistakes I made. These are often the same mistakes I see a lot of new content creators make.
That said, I want to help you out. If you are starting as a content creator or have been doing it for a while and aren’t getting the traction you think you deserve, here are three mistakes you might be making.
1: You aren’t being consistent.
You don’t have to post on social media every day, but if your goal is to grow on social media, you’re going to have to post every day.
Social media is a volume game. Meaning? The more you post, the better your chances of growth. This doesn’t mean you get to post junk, you still have to post value to your feeds, but social media requires consistency.
Okay… Cool. But, HOW do you come up with something to post every day?
You need to be obsessed with writing down every thought that pops into your head.
- Did you say something good in a meeting? Write it down.
- Do you have a rebuttal to something you saw on TikTok? Write it down.
- Did you see a quote that inspires you? Write it down.
If you make this a habit in your life, what you’ll quickly learn is coming up with something to say online is as easy as pulling it from your notes.
2: You are copying a bigger player’s strategy
The strategy a bigger player (someone who is succeeding in content creation) has will be different from the strategy you use.
Why? Because you have different priorities.
Let’s say a TikTok influencer is trying to land a massive brand deal to sponsor her content; this would put a lot of her focus and content on growth. The more followers she can amass, the more money she can charge a sponsor. Her strategy will be to create content to appeal to a broader audience and post nine videos a day.
In her case, she’s trying to go from a million to two million, which are some of the strategies needed to make it happen.
However, if you’re trying to go from zero to a thousand, you can’t use those same strategies. Why? Well, for one, a new who is unfocused on its audience will struggle to attract any audience, and two, posting nine times a day will stretch most creators too thin too early.
So, what strategies should you use as a new content creator:
- Focus on finding a niche: a niche is like a target audience; they are the people who you want to create content for and people you know your content will resonate with.
- Focus on creating valuable content: this is content that educates, encourages, or entertains your niche.
- Focus on being consistent: walk before you run, and learn to be consistent by showing up at least once a day before trying to post nine times a day.
When you focus your strategy on who you are and where you’re at on your content creation journey, you will make a bigger impact than if you copy another player’s game.
3: You forget growth takes time.
This one will sting, but it will take longer than you think to get where you want to go.
Remember this: we tend to overestimate what we can do in a day and underestimate what we can do in a year.
If you want to grow as a content creator, you will have to commit to taking the road less traveled, and the road less traveled is the one with the longest walk.
None of the strategies above will work if you aren’t committed to making them work over the next year.
If you want to be a content creator who succeeds, you have to shift your mindset from short plays to the long game.
How can you do this? I use daily affirmations to remind myself to slow down and allow growth to happen in its time. Here are the affirmations I use:
- I’m not stopping until I’m the best I can be.
- There are always opportunities for me to grow.
- I will remember growth takes time.
If you can stay focused on your strategy long enough, then I believe you can avoid the pitfalls and become a successful content creator.
Final Thoughts:
The last note I’ll make is this: if you want to be a content creator, start posting today.
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