Mandisa Jakavula. Image: Supplied.
By Mandisa Jakavula – Entrepreneur and Creator partner at Red Bull South Africa
Times have changed, and so have the unconventional income avenues available for South Africans to explore – especially in these tough economic times where jobs are scarce.
While previously viewed as a hobby, the South African content creator space and economy has seen a steady rise in recent years - presenting creatives with endless opportunities to build a solid and sustainable business out of it.
Meta - Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram's parent company recently announced it would soon allow South African creators to monetise their content on Instagram - which is testament of the steady growth in the space.
While this growth means more opportunities for South African creative, it also means the business is becoming more and more competitive.
Having been in the content creator business for 3 years, and working with big brands such as Red Bull South Africa, MTV Base, and Bathu, as well as influencer icons such as Jessica Mashaba, and more - I can testify that there is more work in background than the fun and glamour that is enjoyed as an end result – and that’s where the money is!
If you are considering content creation as a career path, here are some tips on how you can win in the space.
While it is great and important to be a multifaceted individual in the creator space, finding your niche sets you apart.
It focuses your efforts – established you as an expert and the go-to for a dedicated audience. This lets your audiences know what you're about and it makes them want to come back to your pages since they know that what you post aligns with what they are looking for at the time. Though there are certainly opportunities to evolve or be multifaceted – having a natural authenticity to your transition or keeping a link to your niche is always best to establish your self as an expert within the space of choice.
Once you have established what you want to be known for, ensure that you choose your partnerships based on that foundation. This goes beyond choosing partnerships that pay the most or offers the biggest exposure, it also includes partnership with brands that align with your values and what you stand for as an individual.
Partnering with brands that share your values, ideas, and goals, will enable you maintain a connection with your audiences in a way that engages them. This way, you are setting yourself up to building a solid community, while ensuring a return on investment for the brands that you partner with.
Content creation is no longer about simply taking a photo or video and posting and hoping for your followers to like and engage. It requires creativity and strategy. It is about going all out to get the best shot and create the best possible content, based on the brief you received.
Consider traits like taking time to read and understand a brief, maintaining professionalism in the way you engage with the brand and present your work, understanding the metrics of the social platforms you leverage such as how algorithms work), as well as delivering quality work within the allocated deadline are key to establishing solid and sustainable brand partnerships.
If you take your craft seriously, so will the brands that partner with you – setting you up for more opportunities.
Brands choose creators that they want to partner with based on their social opinion leadership, which, as eluded above – involves staying true to yourself, which is key to attracting the brands that you want to work with.
Keeping up with the chaos
While the content creator space can be lot of fun – it’s a lot of work and long hours. As such, it is important to prioritise selfcare and planning your time well. This ensures that you always present yourself as your best self and are pleasurable to work with. You could spend a full day where you have to take multiple shots of content – and appear as revitalised as the first. For me - I always ensure that my teams are well briefed and that we understand what schedules are look like so we are prepared - but also planning ahead with food and drinks – and especially love a good chilled energy drink like Red Bull Winter Edition: Pomegranate to keep me going.
At the end of the day, the content creation space, while fun, is not all gilts and glam. As the industry grows, so do the opportunities to land partnerships with some amazing brands, but you have to be willing to put in the work if you want to build lasting relationships and make a good living.
Mandisa Jakavula is an Entrepreneur and Creator partner at Red Bull South Africa.
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