Content Creation: AMA Blog #1
Andy Mercedes
Marketing has seen a huge shift in strategy over the last ten years due to the rise of social media. The days of strictly using television commercials and billboard advertisements are long gone with the focus being shifted to promoting in online spaces. As companies continue to evolve, I think it is just as important for us aspiring marketers to do the same. Developing content creation skills is a really good way to stand out and showcase your creativity. Most companies are now looking for the very best in marketing to join their social media teams and help grow their brands through apps like Instagram, X, TikTok, and YouTube just to name a few. In addition, content creation also gives you the ability to promote yourself if you wish to be your own boss and become a social media influencer. We are now living in a time where we have more freedom to decide what career paths suit us best instead of only being restricted to working an office job. I personally took on content creation as a hobby a couple of years ago and it turned out to be a great decision. It helped me express my creativity and discover my potential career path in marketing.
As someone who follows sports closely, I always admired people who could make content around it. I consume a lot of podcasts and informative YouTube channels that give their opinions on the games and players. Although I’d consider myself to be more knowledgeable than the average sports fan, I always doubted that I could make my own content surrounding sports. What really opened my eyes was scrolling through TikTok and seeing all these amazing edits of NBA players who I grew up watching. The editing looked like art and it felt like a way to tell a story without having to be in front of the camera as a start. So one day I put my fears to the side and made my first edit. I managed to garner 780 views on it which was more than I ever expected. The views were cool to see but what really excited me was that I was able to create something of my own and express a part of my personality. It became very clear to me that developing these social media skills would give me more flexibility with the type of jobs I’d want in the future in marketing. I even experimented with a couple of voiceover videos where I would breakdown actual game footage and do more of an informative/educational type of video. Skills like video editing, storytelling, and understanding what content engages viewers are the same skills many brands now look for when hiring marketers to manage their social media presence. My advice here is to not be afraid to start. It is really scary at first to put your own work out there for people to see and judge but in the end it is only a benefit. A skill like editing lets you step behind the curtain in a sense and express yourself without ever having to be the star of the show. Meanwhile, if you do feel like you have a vibrant personality, showcase it and make content that you are passionate about.
What I want anyone who reads this blog to take away is to diversify your portfolio as much as possible. As young adults, we are all entering a job market with endless opportunities that were not present previously. It’s always important to keep learning so that you can figure out what career path is the best fit for you. Marketing gives us the freedom to express ourselves through our ideas and the methods we use to make them come alive. The very reason you are reading this blog is because I took a chance on myself and decided to join AMA so that I can keep expanding my skillset. I’ve always enjoyed writing and this is an amazing way for me to express my voice and figure out if writing long-form content is something I would be interested in pursuing within marketing. As the marketing world around us changes into a more social media focused business, we should adapt accordingly to be the best marketers of tomorrow we can be. - •
