The 3 Things Content Creators Can Do Right Now
We understand how hard it can sometimes be to stay motivated and remain productive when you are facing the unexpected and don’t know where to start, especially during these crazy times as we fight COVID-19. That’s why our founder Tricia, who is also a content creator herself (@happilyeverstyle) decided to launch a series of IGTV videos sharing tips and insights to fellow influencers.
Last week, the first video was posted, featuring 3 things that we believe content creators can consider doing right now as we embrace the new normal. You can watch the video here on @theonceupon.
In addition to the IGTV video, we decided to share Tricia’s 3 tips here with you on our blog, too.
Read on for more:
1) Keep in touch with brands you’ve worked with in the past. Send an email to see how they’re doing.
Touching base with brands you’ve worked with in the past can help strengthen your relationship with them, especially if you are an ambassador for them or have worked with them multiple times before. Send an email to check in with them! Ask them how they’re doing, what challenges they may be facing right now, and learn more about some of their future plans.
Doing this allows you to better understand how you can assist them, fit into their marketing plans, and perhaps inspire you to create certain types of content. Most importantly, this also allows them to remember you.
“At this time, the focus is not on whether or not they have a budget, it’s about maintaining the relationship because that is more valuable than the pay itself. Being able to feel supported by you will really mean a lot to them,” Tricia said.
“At this time, the focus is not on whether or not they have a budget, it’s about maintaining the relationship because that is more valuable than the pay itself. Being able to feel supported by you will really mean a lot to them.”
2) Rediscover old platforms and learn about new ones.
The world of social media is always changing and evolving. Re-discovering old platforms you may have forgotten about and learning about new ones can inspire you to create content from a different perspective.
Finding ways to repurpose old content for another platform is a great way for you to focus on creating suitable formats of content to cater to a different group of audience. Consider pinning your content from Instagram or from your blog on Pinterest or search for inspirations on Pinterest to create content for your other platforms. Meanwhile, learning about new platforms — even if you decide not to use it later — allows you to stay up to date on trends and understand how viewers engage with different content.
For Earth Day two years ago, for instance, Tricia wrote a blog post on How to Reduce Beauty Waste. And on Earth Day this year, she re-used the same content and turned it into a TikTok video. The process of turning a written piece into a 15-second video challenged Tricia at first but the experience allowed her to think outside her own box and learn about the new platform. It also allows her to focus on practicing making the actual video first before she becomes skilled enough to move on to creating “new” content. But also, knowing that the original blog post performed well on her blog gives her an opportunity to understand whether the same content remains attractive to the audience on TikTok.
3) Acquire new skills or polish old ones to “upgrade” yourself as a content creator.
Use this “down” time to work on yourself. Perhaps you want to improve your writing, better your photography skills or learn how to edit videos; invest time into a skill you’ve been wanting to work on. We believe the process, whatever the outcome, will allow you to be more confident as a content creator and with what you have to offer to your followers.
“As we all get into this new normal, I think people will expect things to be different, so as content creators we need to keep that in mind and evolve with all the changes that will come our way,” Tricia said.
Incorporate new learnings into your daily routine so they can come naturally. Reading for 20 minutes a day, for instance, is one of the best ways to improve your writing. Practice taking self portraits when you can no longer rely on someone taking photos for you is another great example; this also really trains your patience, too! If you want to take things to another level, sign up for online classes and learn from the experts.
Tricia tries out new photography tricks to take different self portraits.
Having said all this, we also want to remind you that it is completely okay to have days when you do nothing but simply rest your body and mind. Taking a break is a great way to come back stronger! Try meditating, journaling or just FaceTiming your loved ones.
Continue to stay safe and healthy, everyone!
XOXO,
The Once Upon Team
“As we all get into this new normal, I think people will expect things to be different so as content creators we need to keep that in mind and evolve with all the changes that will come our way.”