What can Content Creators do at a time like this?

It's true. We cannot go outside to create new content. But, that is only 20% of the job.

I recently had a chat with a recruiter who asked me this question. She wanted to know how me or any other videographers, photographers, copywriters, content creators, digital media producers are useful at a time like this. In my opinion, and I think many will agree after reading this article, there has never been a better time to make use of our talents.

According to Marr (2020), businesses have to be more reliant on their digital strategy if they want to survive the tough times ahead. Adapting to the current situation requires opening new channels and strategies on web and social media where new relationships can be made and fostered. This is where we come in.

Post-production and repurposing existing content

Before Covid-19 took over our lives, my job role involved going out, filming certain people and locations, and put the footage together into a video so that the organization can use it for promotional purposes. The outcomes varied from increasing CTR (Click-Through-Ratio) to simply creating awareness. In this process, filming only took 20% of the entire process while scripting, editing, formatting, and publishing took the rest. You may think that without filming, none of the other tasks make sense. But, going out and filming is necessary ONLY if we cannot find existing footage for the video. Chances are that you may already have some footage of your business in a folder somewhere and they can always be repurposed. Also, there are millions of hours of stock footage out there, and it's very likely that we already have access to what you are looking for.

Here's an example below.

The above video was created for RMIT University to promote it as a great place to work. This video is also hosted on the RMIT Careers page. It was repurposed with existing b-roll footage that was readily available.

Clear guidance on how to create material ourselves

But what about interviews? So many video content that has been trending online isn't necessarily recorded with professional equipment. They have simply used their mobile phones to record themselves and that has worked just fine. We already have the device that we need in our hands; the mobile phone. What was missing was the clear guidance. Creators like me have the capacity to run workshops for the employees on how to create content themselves and we can run learning programs on behalf of a business. The guidance is what we as professionals in our trade can provide at a time like this.

Animations

Next, animations work just fine too. Some of the most engaging educational videos on YouTube are animations created with software such as Adobe After Effects, Character Animator, Animate, and Apple Motion. Here is an animated video I've created in the past.

The above video was created to be displayed at the opening of the Federation Square screen in Melbourne.

Publishing and getting through to the right audience

A digital strategy is a puzzle and the production is only ONE piece of it. Can content creators also help you get through to the right audience and influence purchasing behavior? Absolutely! I have been creating content for six years and I've identified many market segments all around the world and the type of content that they consume. At Employer Branding at RMIT, my content contributed to 210k+ site visits within just six months and 63% of the total recruitments were female talent, which was a big win for the organization.

Also, read about one of my very recent success stories in the article below.

https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/how-i-got-20k-followers-3-million-impressions-week-chali-weerakkody/

Also here are bunch of other things I can do!

Although I've only spoken about videos which are my specialty, the above is true for others as well. If you are thinking of ways to create 'noise' in a digital world where almost everyone is stuck at home and online right now, you just have to tell us why you are important. We will take care of the rest.

References

• Marr, B. (2020, March 26). Why Companies Turn To Digital Marketing To Survive COVID-19. Retrieved May 02, 2020, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2020/03/20/why-companies-turn-to-digital-marketing-to-survive-covid-19/