Writing, Branding, Content Creation by Caleb Olayiwola - HTML preview

Table of Contents

 

What is an article and how can you write one 1

 

What does it take to be an excellent writer 5

 

Is it easy to be successful as a writer in Nigeria? 8

 

Basic things to know about content creation 12

 

Relationship Between Content Creation and Branding 14

 

You Need Great Ideas to Create Great Content 16

 

Can Content Creation Help Small Business Grow Big? 19

 

Essential Tools You Need Before You Start Content Creation 23

 

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What is an article and how can you write one?

 

What is an article and what does it take to write one? Does formal education matters? What type of writings can be regarded as articles? All of these questions will be answered. By the time you finish reading, you should have definite answers to these questions.

Let me start from here:

It takes using a pen and a paper to write something down, at least in a fairly modern way, unlike some centuries ago when our forefathers used to carve words on rocks and stones.

Revolution has a way of changing the ways of men and how they do things; the advent of technology is one of the revolution that man has witnessed and that has greatly affected all areas of life.

While pen and paper are gradually becoming a thing of the past (thanks to the booming digital technology), paperless have become the next big word in the modern world.

In a world where information is seen as precious as gold, it is glaring by today’s standard that the easiest way to share one’s opinion about anything is to write about it and post it online.

What is an article?

According to Merriam Webster, “an article is a short piece of writing typically expressing a point of view.” The point of view in this statement means the writer’s opinion on the topic he writes about.

So to speak, we were all taught how to write starting from when we were in kindergarten. Any man that has a formal education can write and pen his idea down.

To express ourselves in a world that is increasingly becoming complex; to share our point of view on global topics that matters, knowing how to write is of great importance.

However, it is one thing to know how to write and it is another completely different thing to know what to write. This is what differentiate a school pupil from a professional journalist.

An article can be about anything, a poet, a news, a press release, a biography, just to mention few.

It varies depending on the topic of discussion and the content.

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Writing an article can be as easy as ABC and it can be as difficult as climbing Mount Everest. What decides how hard or how easy it will be to write any article is the topic of focus – the subject is the deciding factor.

As I said earlier, any man can write articles just as any man could speak. It is one of the ways by which we can communicate and express ourselves verbally without speech.

Formal education does not really matter, although it does help in most cases. As long as you are comfortable writing in a language you understand, and you have the knowledge about the topic you want to write about, you are good to go.

If we are to go by Merriam Webster definition, an article can be as short as a tweet. The word count does not really matter. Of course, this only applies to certain form of content that are mostly personal.

 

“Writing is essential to life; it is the next available option to

express words that cannot be orally spoken.” – Caleb Olayiwola

 

If you take writing as a profession, you will be made to conform to a different level of standard as required, depending on what you are paid to write.

For instance, an article that will be published in a newspaper is expected to be detailed, informative, and explanatory, whereas a breaking news article does not necessarily need to meet this standard.

What do you need to write an article?

To start writing an article, you only need a few things. A pen and a notebook are enough to start with, that is if you don’t mind the ancient (analog) approach. But we are living in the digital age right now, which means, there are better and fancier ways to write.

Nearly all smartphones released nowadays comes preinstalled with a notepad (or note app). This makes it easier and more comfortable to write wherever you are without carrying a pen and a notebook around.

 

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You can write an article on your smartphone using the notepad app that is preinstalled on it. If your device does not have one, there are plenty of note apps in Google Play Store and Apple App Store that you can install.

ColorNote is one of the apps I found particularly useful for many years. I do use it to compose articles that I want to post on my blog. It is light, feature-packed, and it support cloud backup and restore.

 

A writer writing with his pen on a notebook

 

If you are not comfortable using your smartphone to write (like I do), there are other options such as using a laptop or a tablet. The Apple IPad and Samsung Galaxy S (and A) series tablets comes to mind.

If you have a windows laptop, you can install Microsoft Office software and use Microsoft Word or Microsoft OneNote to write your articles.

Chromebook users can use Google Docs, while MacBook users can use Apple Notes. There are third-party software’s you can use as well, such as Goodnotes and Evernote.

Where to post your articles?

You can create a blog and post your articles there.

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You can also post your articles on social network sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn.

You only need to create an account and start posting right away. There are other publishing platforms you can use on the web as well, such as Medium and Quora Spaces. Mind you, you don’t need to post your article online if it is a love letter to your girlfriend 😉

Does formal education matters?

As mentioned earlier, it is not compulsory to have formal education before you can write an article. As long as you are comfortable writing in a language you understand and you know the topic or the subject you want to write about, you are good to go.

However, there are articles that requires certain level of standard, such as magazine and newspaper articles. Some articles may require having formal education – it widely depends on the topic. For instance, it will be difficult for someone without formal education to write articles about technology, softwares, and technical products.

Conclusion

Whatever approach you might take, it takes little to nothing to write, as long as you can use a pen. Just as you are entitled to speak, you are entitled to write about anything, either to yourself, to your family, or to the world at large.

We all have different point of view, likewise different mindset, different background, different upbringing, and different level of understanding, which reflect in our writings. That is why we cannot write the same way or express ourselves the same way, even on the same topic.

Writing comes natural to some people, while some people find it a difficult thing to do. But with time and practice, anyone can be an excellent writer.

 

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What does it take to be an excellent writer?

 

Writing can be fun for those that have venture into the writing business for a long time, but for people that are just getting started, it may turn out to be a very difficult task. Writing is one of the medium by which we can communicate, and in extension, just like speaking, it is one of the ways by which we can express ourselves and our opinions.

It is one of the things we learn to do when we were growing up. From nursery, we were trained how to pen our mind and brain down, first by using pencils, and later by ink. Education is what introduced many people into writing.

It is a necessity to know how to write if we are to learn and to reciprocate what we have learnt down the road of our lives. Frankly speaking, every student is a writer. As long as you can hold a pen and you are able to express yourself in written words, you are a writer. It is as simple as that.

However, like any other institutions, there are level of standard when it comes to writing. You can’t wake up one day and just become a professional writer, it does not happen that way. What differentiate an amateur writer from a professional writer is his ability to tailor words to fully express the intent of the message that is passed across.

 

“If your readers are having difficulty understanding the content

of your message, you’ve failed as a writer.” – Caleb Olayiwola

 

A writer must be able to use the right words that best reflect the purpose of his message. Writing is not about sharing your point of view or your opinion about yourself, or trying to prove a statement is true or false. It is not about trying to force your narration down the throat of your readers.

It has everything to do with your audience, your readers, by bringing them into the same level of understanding and shedding light to the most critical points in your writings.

If your readers can understand your writings as much as you do, it is a success and an accomplishment. If they are able to digest the message you are passing across, you have actualized your goal as a writer.

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What does it take to be an excellent writer? To be an excellent writer, you must be fluent and you must be able to simplify words so much that even the less educated will be able to comprehend your message.

Every writing is a message; a message to someone close or far away, or to a group of people.

The message could be informational or editorial; it could be a commentary, an exposition, a review or an analysis. In whatever shape or form your article is presented, the goal is to get your readers to engage and to understand the content of the message you are passing across to them.

 

Attributes that define a good writer

1. Simplicity

2. Formation

3. Details

4. Fluency

 

These four qualities are of great importance for any writer to be seen as a professional. To excel as a writer, these four things are a must.

Let me explain these one by one:

1. Simplicity

As I said earlier, a writer that wants to excel must be able to break down big words. In other words, he must be able to simplify words. While the target audience really matters, simplicity is the key element to get them to understand your message.

By using simple words and basic grammars that can be easily understood, you’ll be able to pass your message across to wider audience irrespective of their status and their educational standard.

Not all English speakers are native Americans or British – not all English speakers are 100% proficient in understanding the English language.

By making your articles easy to digest using basic grammars, your readers won’t have any problem understanding your writings and its intent irrespective of their age group and locality.

It mainly depends on your target audience.

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If your audience are matured, understandable, and well educated, you don’t need to go soft.

2. Formation

The format, the construct, and the structure of your article matters. Your article headline, the space gap, the proper use of punctuation marks, and how you list the items within the content of your article all affect readability.

To be seen as a professional writer, you must know how to format text within your content properly.

It helps a long way if your readers can easily navigate through your articles without getting lost. Formation is very important as it is what gives shape to the texts within your document.

3. Details

An article that is detailing and explanatory will satisfy an audience more than a short piece any time any day.

As a writer, your aim should be how to clearly explain the topic you are writing about. However, it depends on the topic of focus and the audience you are targeting.

For instant, a short descriptive texts on a product page is enough, but it won’t be enough on a review page.

Your article must be detailed enough to quench the thirst of your readers.

4. Fluency

How you use words in the right places, the eloquence of your written grammar, and how you tailored words to properly reflect the intent of the message within your article, all have impact on how your message will be delivered. A writer must be able to clearly express himself without gapping on words.

It is one of the reasons why most firms prefer to hire native writers to help them develop contents for their online business.

In conclusion, anyone with a formal education can write, but it takes having good skills to become a professional writer. There are levels in this field. One of the best ways by which one can improve his writing skills is to read books constantly.

A good writer is a good reader.

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Is it easy to be successful as a writer in Nigeria?

 

Writing is considered a profession in most part of the world and is one of the things that little children grow up to learn to do. It is a skill that is considered crucial in the educational institutions, which shows how important it is to every life irrespective of age and nationality.

The early form of writing is characterized by different things when compared to the modern way of writing. Today, we have electronics that aim to improve writing through technology, which has become very common in the past few years.

From Apple’s iPad to Samsung Galaxy Tab, these gadgets have helped improve the way of communication through writing by introducing proprietary softwares and peripherals (such as stylus) that make it comfortable to note anything down without hassle. Indeed, technology has greatly changed how we write and how we pen our ideas down.

Writing, as a profession, has become a booming business where a lot of money can be earned just by taking note on various topics and selling it to the highest bidder.

We have different types of writer such as creative writer and technical writer, that does the job in providing reliable information to the public in written form. These set of writer can also be regarded as content creator since they are creating value through writing.

Being a writer is a dignifying job, but what does it mean to average Nigerians?

While there are writers in Nigeria (such as myself) that took writing as a profession, it is gradually becoming hard to come across a Nigerian that completely embrace writing as a mean to survive.

In this part of the world, writing to live is no longer what it used to be. There are various drawbacks that made it hard as a Nigerian to earn a decent living as a writer offline and online.

Some of these drawbacks have a lot to do with having proper education and tools required to make success. Also, there are restrictions in place in most international firms and organizations that made it hard to have good-paying clients outside the country.

I’ll really like to dive into these problems and highlight them one by one, but before I do that, there is one important thing I’ll like to say. Nigeria, the heartbeat of Africa, is one of the top countries in Africa that has the highest ratio of literacy.

The data released by GlobalData shows that 77.62% of Nigerians are literate as at 2021. This means an average Nigerian can read and write. This means an average Nigerian is educated.

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Writing is a skill for educated folks, hence the reason why it can be taken as a profession. However, there are requirements you need to meet before you can be considered a professional writer.

And do have this in mind, the more professional you are the more money you’ll earn.

 

A Nigerian writing a text on his jotter

 

Now, let me take us through some of the limitations that make it really hard to be successful as a writer.

Why it is hard to be successful as a writer in Nigeria

1. Proper Education

2. Ability to Research

3. Pitching Online Platform to Showcase Work

 

Let me explain these one by one:

 

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1. Proper Education

Like I said earlier, having good education is important. You must have extensive knowledge on the topic you want to cover, and that means learning about it. The ability to write articles about various subjects in clarity and in detailed manner comes from proper learning.

Although Nigeria literacy is high, its educational facilities and institutions are not up to standard compared to others around the world. There is also the language barrier – most of its citizens speak in their mother’s tongue.

These all affect the proper use of word to convey a message in its true form, thereby affecting how a writer tailored his writing.

A Nigerian that does not have proper education will find it difficult to make a living through writing.

2. Ability to Research

While having the knowledge about the topic you want to write about is crucial, sometimes, you may need more than you know to be able to accurately pass your message across in your writings.

No man knows everything.

The need for doing a research is unavoidable, especially when you need to present facts and figures to back up your claim. The internet made this easy to do – a quick look into Google Search is enough to provide you the information you seek.

However, over the years, I’ve learnt that most Nigerian writers are poor researchers. They hardly make references in their articles, which can negatively impact how professionals rate their work for pay.

You must be able to prove what you write, and this can only be done by providing references in your articles. This helps improve the trustworthy score of the content, turning your article into a reliable source for others.

3. Pitching Online Platform to Showcase Work

Most Nigerian freelance writers did not set-up online platform, such as personal website, where they can attend to clients, showcase their skills, and monetize their work, like most foreign writers do. Having a personal or a portfolio website can help you get more clients to work for, and to also showcase your best work as a bait to attract more.

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Pitching a web platform and setting all up cost little these days – this can sometimes distinguish an amateur from a professional. To become a source of information, you must have a platform where all other sources lead to.

It may take time to set things up, but the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages, which most Nigerian writers don’t think about.

 

Other reasons that impact success:

 

i.) Lack of constant electricity: You need electricity to power your smartphone, laptop, and other gadgets that you use in creating content.

ii.) Inability to afford tools that can help: For instance, Grammarly is a requisite tool for writers, but not everyone can afford it.

iii.) Limited payment option: Getting paid by foreign clients can be breathtaking since there are only few payment gateways that let you receive money outside Nigeria.

 

While these all affect Nigerians that chose writing as their profession, there are still some that are doing fine. It takes courage and determination to work in this career path and to earn something decent from it.

In conclusion, it is not easy to be successful as a writer in Nigeria because of various limitations, some of which I have discussed. However, if you are confident in yourself about it, and you have passion for it, go for it.

 

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Basic things to know about content creation

 

If you are looking forward to creating your first content online, in written form or in graphical form, there are basic things you need to know as a beginner. First of all, you need to learn to pay attention to details.

What this means is that you must be very familiar with the subject or the topic, depending on what you are creating. Paying attention to details will help a long way in making it easy and convenient for you to express the object or the content in its true form, thereby giving your audience the perspective of the product you are writing about.

For example, let’s say you have just bought a new laptop, and after using it for a while you want to share your experience with the device on your personal blog. To be able to share your experience with the device, and for your audience to understand what you are sharing with them, you need to know the technicalities and the terminologies that best explain the device in its purest form.

Also, you need to know about its peripherals as well as its technical specs. This is what is called paying attention to details. You must be familiar with the product and have knowledge about it before you can create something about it that your audience will understand.

Content Creation is not just about trying to push your narrative or view on a specific subject to your audience, No. You must be able to let them feel the light and the importance of what you are sharing with them.

This can only be done by having complete knowledge about the topic, the product, or the content, so that you can be able to express yourself (your view and scope) in a way that your audience can comprehend.

Secondly, before you begin, you need to ask yourself, what am I getting from this? You need to set a goal and work towards achieving it while creating your content. The truth is, anyone can create a content nowadays, but it takes good skill to earn from it.

There is plethora of tools that can help develop and manage your content online, but the thing is, you must have something you want to accomplish while using them because most of them are not free. These are the questions you need to ask yourself before you start: why am I doing this? What do I want to accomplish? How will this benefit my audience?

You can’t just wake up in the morning and decide to create a video or make a blog post without having something you want to accomplish with it.

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Yes, most of us do it as a hobby when we first started, but then, we realize that there are much more we can achieve by putting our time into it.

Content Creation can be in any form like blogs, videos, photos, infographics, e-books, memes, white papers etc. It takes different level of skills to create any of these.

This lead us to the third thing you need to know before you start your content creation career, which is, you need to improve your skills from time to time. The world is constantly evolving; there are no permanent state to what you can know and to what you can learn.

For instance, YouTube occasionally update its platform to introduce features that will benefit its creators using the site. Some features require that creators change how they develop their videos so as to meet YouTube latest standard. To do this, they need to upgrade their skills.

Likewise, most of the tools that are used in creating different form of content are occasionally updated for new features to be added. To conform to the latest standard, you need to improve your skill.

Lastly, take your time. Don’t be in hurry to create that amazing content that you so much aspire to develop. This will ensure that you do not make mistakes during the process. We all know how irritating an article filled with misspellings and grammatical error can be.

You have all the time in the world to create something worthy of attention – you don’t have to be in hurry.

 

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Relationship Between Content Creation and Branding

 

Content Creation is all about creating value by using any form of digital media to attract audience and to inform them about your product, service, or offering.

The world we live today rely heavily on digital promotion for any business to succeed. With over two billion people posting contents online every day, it is indeed hard to stand out from the crowd. While the situation keeps getting worst as more people move online daily and competition gets stiffer, success is still very much achievable on the web.

By using the right tactics and employing the best strategies, one can navigate the trouble waters to achieve one’s goal.

On the other hand, Branding have helped a lot of businesses stay afloat amidst the rising global financial crisis. Although it can take a while for a name to become a recognizable brand, the efforts invested can yield the reward of a lifetime.

Branding has a lot to do with sticking with a name and putting everything you do, everything you build, and everything you sell under it.

It is more like an umbrella that serve as a cover for everything you aim to do on the web and in physical life. A good branded name does not fade with time; no, it does not. You may ask, what is the relationship between content creation and branding? The thing is, most of the content you see on the web are directly or indirectly connected to a brand.

 

“The relationship between content creation and branding has

much to do with intent, which is promotion.” – Caleb Olayiwola

 

A brand name can be a personal name, a company name, a birth name, a pet name, just to mention few.

Irrespective of what the name is, a name is branded as long as the name is used to promote one thing or the other.

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In this age, any person can create a digital content. We have smartphones that made it easier for an average joe to do that. Not all contents are created for the purpose of promoting one thing or the other; some are merely created to educate, to pass an information, to enlighten, or just for the fun of it.

We have memes and stickers spread all over the internet just for the fun of it. However, when it comes to business, any content that align with a specific name, product, or service, is a branded content.

For instance, I can a design a banner and put my name on it. But without inserting any actionable words and a call to action button, it cannot be categorized as a branded content. The easiest way to identify a branded content is to look for a call to action word or button within the content.

Popular words usually used are “Contact Us”, “Call Us”, “Learn More”, “Book Now”, “Get Help”, “Let’s Help”, “Get in Touch”, “Message Us”, and many more.

The call to action word can also be a link in a document or blog post, a mention in a tweet, or a phone number written at the bottom of a card. In one word, any random content you come across on the internet that does not have any actionable word or a call to action word is not a branded content.

Most businesses use content creation to propagate the growth of their business and to increase their brand visibility online. A well-balanced campaign on multiple social media platforms generate leads for these businesses, which in turn result to increase in their revenue.

When a content is used to promote a name, a product, or a service, then such content becomes a branded content.

In summary

 Not all contents on the web are branded

 Most branded content has actionable words

 Most branded content has a call-to-action button

 A brand name can be a personal name, a company name, or a pet name

In conclusion, content creation is about creating digital content (or media) and posting it online, while branding is about choosing a name and using the name to promote one thing or another.

It’s a mix bag actually, because in most instances, one cannot do without the other.

Every brand is a content.

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You Need Great Ideas to Create Great Content

 

Creating a good content that will be admired by online audience can be breathtaking and time consuming. These days, it takes a lot of time and energy to create something rare, realistic, and valuable because the internet is littered with contents posted by people all over the world.

To stand out, you need to look within and think out-of-the-box. It is no longer an easy thing to create something that will inspire generations to come as it was some decades ago.

The internet has grown big and is growing bigger; it has become the marketplace of the world where varieties of things can be done and achieve from the comfort of one’s home.

How do you compete with endless number of people that are using the web and social media every day to do one thing or another? How will you stand out? The truth is, you need to be creative and unique if you want to be noticed.

 

Awesome content written with a marker on a jotter

 

To be creative required not only skills but to have adequate knowledge about what you intend to create. Creativity is the pathway to success when it comes to content creation – you need to think and look deep to bring something unique out for the world to see.

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I was in my room thinking about what to write (before I wrote this article) when it came to my mind to write about what I was thinking about. I needed an idea about what to write but I got lost. After vigorous thought that took more than an hour, an idea came, which is what resulted to what you are presently reading.

I wanted to write an article because it has been a while since I’ve published a book. I needed an idea about what to write.

It is not every time you have inspiration to create something. It is not every time you are motivated to do something.

Sometimes, you need an idea to ignite your aspiration. I desired to get something done but I got lost about how to go about it. I held a phone in my hand and I was just looking at it not knowing what to write in my notepad.

It is a well-known fact that all great achievement started with an idea. Skill is essential, knowledge is essential, but sometimes these are not enough to make a difference. Sure, they do help in most cases, but there are times you will be devoid of thought and you need to get something done.

Skills and knowledge won’t help in such situations because you won’t know where to start. Most of the content you read, view, and interact with every day on the web were born out of ideas.

Experienced digital creators are not left out in this whole thing. We learn to improve ourselves each day because the world demand more from us every day.

To meet people’s expectation, you must have something that is substantial enough to quench their thirst. As I said earlier, it is good to have skills, but skills are never enough.

 

“A great idea can make a whole lot of difference in how you start,

how you build, and how you end your content.” – Caleb Olayiwola

 

An artist tool is as good as his sight. Sight, intelligence, and experience are of importance in creating good amazing contents, but you also need ideas. You need to be creative – only ideas can help you attain that.

 

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“How great your idea is will determine how good your content

looks to the world.” – Caleb Olayiwola

 

It is a good habit to have a pen with you at all time to jot down any idea that comes to your mind. This will help to keep you motivated and not depleted. It helps a lot. Remember, a great idea begot great content.

 

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Can Content Creation Help Small Business Grow Big?

 

The digital age brought a lot of changes in how we interact and how we communicate with people that are nearby and that are far away.

It changes how we pitch and set up business model, because business is all about reaching out to people and meeting their needs wherever they are. Content Creation did not start in the 21 st century; it has been in existence far before the internet was made commercial, as far as when The New York Times newspaper were sold for five cents.

Communication is one of the key element that unite people. To effective communicate a business ideal, it is good to first understand the language and the landscape of the targeted area.

The best way to get closer to people, as a business, is to speak the language the people can understand. This means, simplifying and upping your game in how you communicate and introduce your business. How you introduce your business determines how people see your business and the reaction you are likely to get, which will rather result to profit or loss.

We are no longer in the 80’s when all local companies run local TV advert and bid for the front page of the newspapers in order to reach out and gain customers.

Things have greatly changed – for the better, because you can reach out to the farthest place on the planet right from the comfort of your office and sell your product. The world has gone digital! Most of the top successful business in the world are selling digital product i.e. Google.

To meet up with the present need of the people you must first reach out to them. The fastest way to do this is by Content Creation.

Today, nearly every global company are using content creation to propagate the growth of their business offshore, as a small business owner, you too can! Content Creation is no longer optional, it is vital. Every business that wants to be successful need to integrate content creation into their core mandate.

In summary, it’s not something you can opt out of if you want to reach more audience and attract more customers. You may ask, how will content creation help my small business grow? The answer to this question is not farfetched.

There are five important things that content creation will influence to extend the growth of your business.

 

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Five things that content creation will influence

1. Visibility

2. Credibility

3. Brand Awareness

4. Exposure

5. Trust

 

These five things are very important to any business irrespective of what it produce or sell. They are the foundation that hold the pillars on which the success of any company is built on.

Let me explain them one by one:

1. Visibility

For any business to reach its maximum potential, it must be well known and well recognized. People don’t just go around looking for what to buy or what to order, no. They are more likely to buy what they already know.

You can’t just set-up a new business in Lagos and expect people in Ibadan to know about it; it does not work that way. This is where content creation can help.

By creating engaging contents that focus on your brand and posting them all over the internet, you’re more likely to introduce your brand to people across many cities, areas, and beyond, which will help to increase your brand visibility.

People will know about your business when they come across your content online. By engaging with these contents, they will know who you are, where you are, and what you sell.

2. Credibility

While visibility will get you people’s attention, you need credibility to keep them engage. Visibility is never enough – people need to be convinced that you are who you are and what you say.

By continually creating unique contents that draw attention, and by using proper words and authentic information that can be verify, you are influencing the mind of the onlookers to see your product in the same light as they see your content. People don’t need to see your product or use your product before they’ll be convinced that your product is of the best.

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It is what most influentials do on social media.

3. Brand Awareness

As your business visibility increase and its credibility solidify, the name of your business (or brand) will begin to spread like wildfire. At this point, people that come across your product will be more incline to buy it.

Brand awareness across multiple point is every company’s dream – it eases the struggle and the stress involved in making a product sellable.

At this stage, people are already convinced of your product and are ready to buy it.

4. Exposure

Exposure, in this case, simply means popularity. At this point, your business is already famous. People that have engaged with your contents on the internet over the time will be able to identify your brand among many other brands in the market.

By now, you already have lots of fans and followers across the social media space, including on your business social handles.

With your brand gaining the exposure it deserves after months (or years) of online promotion, it will be easy to enter new markets knowing that people there already know about your brand.

5. Trust

Trust comes natural as people patronize and use your product. If it turned out that all the contents (articles, videos etc.) about your brand that are spread all over the internet are true, as your fans are likely to find out, then you’ll earn your customers trust.

One thing about “trust” is that you can’t fake it, you can’t enforce it, and you can’t fool people about it. It is not something you can get within a short period of time. It comes naturally as people begin to use your product over a period of time.

With content creation, you can draw people’s attention and influence them to buy your product, but you need your product to be good and to be up to standard before you can gain trust.

Round Up:

With constant effort and continuous online campaigns and promotions, content creation can help small businesses to grow within a short period of time. Internet connects the world together; you

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can use the internet to your advantage by utilizing content creation to make your business known across many seas.

As a small business owner, it may be hard to do at first. However, when you begin to see the result, you’ll realize that the benefit far outweighs the strain.

 

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Essential Tools You Need Before You Start

Content Creation

 

We all arrive to a point in our lives where we take decisions about how we want to spend the remaining years ahead of us, to learn, to build a career, to acquire new skills, or to do much more.

There are plenty of options for those that are looking to get their hands dirty career-wise, especially online. If you are one of the people that is looking forward to starting content creation as a job, then you have made a right choice by reading this book.

Content Creation as a career has helped a lot of people in meeting their daily needs and having a functioning business to rely on.

 

Major tools for creating content online

 

It has helped some men to build a solid brand online that earns them good amount of money. The field is wide and the opportunities are numerous if you have the talent and the necessary skills required.

 

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However, skills are not enough. There are some tools you will need in your journey in this career path.

If you are just starting out, you must familiarize yourself with essential tools that will help you build what you aim to create, or that will simplify the process for you.

There are different types of content and each type required different gadgets or tools in making them. For instance, a videographer needs a digital camera to record a video and a software to edit the video to fit what he desires to use it for.

Camera is an essential tool in videography; the better the camera the better the work.

For someone that is starting out to be a YouTube Creator, having a good camera and a good video editing software are essential. You can’t use a cheap camera and expect to make a good YouTube video that will attract audience.

Likewise, for other forms of content, there are essential tools you need to have before you start out.

Below is the list of gadgets you need before you start your content creation career online:

1. Smartphone

This is strongly recommended. First, you need to know that most of the things that you’ll do will require a smartphone. It is a compulsory tool if you want to create content on the go. Today’s phones are very smart and can multitask to get things done quickly within a short period of time.

Moreover, they are compact and can be carry around without stress. There are plenty of things you can do with smartphones, which makes them useful especially for creating content.

They come equipped with most of the things that you will need, such as camera, notepad, sound recorder, photo editor and more. Furthermore, there is a high tendency that most of the proprietary software you’ll use to create content are already made into app that can be install and use on a smartphone.

Having a good smartphone with high specs is a must for anyone that desire to be a content creator.

2. PC (Laptop/Desktop)

Sometimes, there are things that you may not be able to do on a smartphone, which requires using a laptop. For instance, editing an 8k video is a task that can be done on a laptop. For

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graphics and video work, having a laptop or a desktop is important. Unlike smartphone, they have larger display and better processing power needed to do heavy task.

It is a common belief that pictures can best be design and edited on PC. Smartphone screens can be too small to develop some content such as videos, infographics, and pictures. For these tasks, you need a PC.

3. Digital Camera

Having a digital camera (DSLR or Mirrorless) can be of great help if taking pictures will be part of what you do as content creator, such as reviewing hardware products. For this type of work, having a suitable camera is essential.

Nearly 70% of the content that exist online are pictures. The web is filled with them, why? Because a picture taken at the right time says a thousand words. They are best used to portray what cannot be expressed in words.

Taking picture is part of content creation. To do it, you need a good camera. Pictures can be used in blog posts, as memes, as stickers, as gifs, as logos etc.

4. Microphone

Content exist in various forms, part of which is podcast. Microphone is an essential tool if you intend to be a podcaster. Unlike other forms of content that deal with visual, podcasting is mostly about audio recording and audio editing.

Having a standard mic (studio quality) will be beneficial to your profession as a podcaster if you are just starting out. Mic is also an important accessory for Vloggers.

Now that you have known the gadgets you need to kickstart your content creation career, here are some software recommendations that will help simplify your journey in this career path.

 Canva (for graphics designer)

 Grammarly (for writers)

 Anchor (for podcasters)

 Audacity (for podcasters)

 Inshot (for video creators)

 Cyberlink PowerDirector 365 (for video creators)

 Filmora (for video creators)

 Evernote (for writers)

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 Adobe Photoshop (for graphics designer)

 Desygner (for graphics designer)

There are plenty of tools out there that will help you create awesome content that people will

love, but the ones I listed are enough to get you started.

 

THE END

 

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