What Is a Digital Creator and How to Become One?

With how fast social media is growing in this digital world, you've most likely run into digital creators. They are all over the internet and are experts on social media.

Digital content creators are great at pushing products to their audience, which is why more businesses are turning to them.

But what is a digital creator? Is it easy to become one? What materials do you need to start? Follow along to find out this - and more.

What Is a Digital Creator?

A digital creator, also known as a content creator, is an individual who creates and publishes content online to reach a larger audience. They use social media platforms like YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram.

Digital creators also develop a brand and audience, boosting content for their particular niche through digital marketing and other content strategies. They build community through this content, earning the trust of sometimes millions of people online.

So, what does the content they produce look like? This really varies from creator to creator. These social media-savvy people create high-quality content using text, video, voice, and more.

The biggest appeal of becoming a digital creator is the many monetization possibilities, but we'll dive deeper into this later on.

Are Digital Creators and Influencers the Same Thing?

If you use social media, you know there are a few inescapable terms; one of these is influencer. While it's easy to confuse an influencer with a digital independent creator, they aren't the same thing, although many of their traits and benefits coincide.

While a digital creator specifically creates engaging content in a niche to grow and connect with their audience, an influencer's whole goal is to influence a target audience to buy products or services. This is why they commonly receive brand sponsorships and boost brand awareness.

Influencers also use their digital platforms to influence and create digital trends. The purposes behind an influencer and a content creator are different.

Digital creators and influencers make money in similar ways. A common way is through influencer marketing which is when creators post content for their loyal following to earn ad revenue.

The Benefits of Becoming a Digital Creator

Now that we know more about digital content creation, what about the benefits? There are so many benefits to creating content online. We've listed just a few below.

Location Freedom

With so many people wanting to work remotely, who wouldn't want to be a content creator? Making a living as a content creator provides a lot of flexibility, especially with your location.

When creating content online, you usually don't have to worry about being stuck in one place. This, of course, depends on your niche.

If you create digital content revolving around a particular theme park, you probably need to stick to the area. However, if your niche is broad, like sewing, you can sew from anywhere!

Monetization

One of the best benefits of content creation is the many, many ways you can earn money. They really are endless.

With time, patience, quality content, and a little bit of luck, you can make money through ad revenue on videos and blogs, memberships, sponsorships, merchandise sales, promoting products, and brand partnerships.

Each social media website has its own content creator monetization program. For instance, TikTok pays digital creators a specific amount depending on their views through the Creator Rewards Program. Facebook allows you to monetize through views with their Facebook Content Monetization beta program.

Content creators are all about branding. They have inside jokes and phrases only viewers know. These phrases are often printed onto merchandise and sold to their community and loyal followers.

For memberships, digital creators have the option of creating tiers with specific benefits. YouTube and Patreon are popular options.

Creative Outlet

Usually, content creation stems from a passion or hobby. Long before content creators grow large enough to make money on their content, they upload and post solely to stretch their creative muscles.

Content creators use popular platforms to better themselves and practice hobbies and skills. Many creators use content creation for creative expression, seeing the money as a bonus.

Flexibility

Not only do you get to be creative, monetize your passions, and work from just about anywhere, but as a content creator, you gain flexibility.

While this will differ from person to person, many digital creators work less than 20 hours a week on their content, leaving them with a lot of time and energy for other things.

According to Linktree, 7 in 10 creators spend 10 hours or less creating content per week, and less than 10% spend 40 hours or more.

Data and Source

Limitless Opportunities for Growth

As a digital creator, you are practically your own boss. The sky is the limit.

There are so many ways to scale up and grow, especially when building a brand from scratch. When you start with zero followers, really, all you have is room to go up.

The opportunities to grow and scale your content creation brands are unlimited. You can partner with other creators, publish courses to help others succeed, and find multiple ways to monetize.

What Skills Do You Need To Become a Successful Digital Content Creator?

Successful digital creators don't just grow their accounts and brands through luck. They often learn valuable soft and hard skills to boost engagement and views. You'll want to work on these skills before becoming a digital creator.

Networking

Content creation is not as lonely as you'd think. A big reason many digital creators thrive is because of who they know. Networking can not only help you gain connections within your niche and industry but also resources. You never know who you'll meet or what they know.

Accountability 

Accountability is a soft skill that is often forgotten, but it is one of the more important ones. When working in content creation, no one is there to tell you to post, research, or create valuable content. It's all on you.

Your target audience wants consistency and trust. How can they trust a brand that doesn't post on a schedule? If you say to your audience that you are going to post every Monday, then you need to hold yourself accountable for this.

Of course, we are all human. Missing a posting day or two is okay as long as you communicate.

Communication

Communication is a lot more important than you'd think in the world of content creation. You don't just need to learn how to communicate when you can't post, but also how to engage with your audience.

It isn't enough to just post a video or blog and leave it alone. If someone comments, you'll want to respond to boost engagement and also build community. Reading comments can also help you understand viewer feedback.

SEO and Analytics 

Did you know SEO plays a part in content creation as well? A successful digital creator knows how to research relevant keywords and use SEO within their content.

SEO is just part of the equation. Really, a skill you should know as a digital creator is how to read and use analytics to boost your posts and engagement.

You can track analytics on your own or use whatever system the social media website already provides. The analysts often tell you the bounce rate of your content and when most viewers stopped watching.

Research

You can't just rely on your creative brain when it comes to content creation. While it's good to produce unique and engaging ideas, you'll also need to know how to research.

While researching, pay special and close attention to current trends. What sounds or keywords are trending? Is there a trending dance or video style you can implement within your niche?

Writing

Writing is also an important skill. Almost all social media posts require writing. While you can leave your caption blank, it isn't recommended.

Instead, you should utilize hashtags and SEO-backed keywords in your captions. How do you do this, though, without writing skills?

This is especially important if your online content involves video creation or blogs. Although you can wing a video and just speak from your heart, it's good to at least have a general script or written ideas.

Video Editing

Although not all content creation involves video, a big portion does. Short, engaging videos on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and even Snapchat do wonders. YouTube videos are especially popular. They are one of the most engaging forms of media for most users.

While you can simply hire a video editor, this is costly. On average, a video editor charges $50–$150 an hour. This is not cheap, especially for newer content creators.

How To Become a Digital Creator

So, how do you become a digital content creator? Now that you know what a digital content creator is and the skills necessary to succeed, let's dive into the 7 steps on how to start.

Step 1: Find Your Niche

The first step can't be skipped. Arguably, it's one of the most important steps to consider. Before you start planning or posting engaging content or even creating your brand and username, you'll need to identify your niche.

What exactly are you passionate about? What is the general niche you want to explore? This step requires a lot of brainstorming and looking at what other creators do.

Content niches in social media vary a lot. Some of the most popular ones include lifestyle, music, beauty, photography, and fitness. But even within these niches, there are more, smaller niches.

For instance, not all beauty content is the same. While one content creator can focus on alternative looks with big makeup, another can delve into the 'clean girl aesthetic.’

How popular a niche is also going to depend on your country and social media platform. For instance, in Romania, the most popular niche on social media is lifestyle at 19.54%. However, when looking at Instagram alone, traveling is the most profitable niche.

Source and Data

Step 2: Research Strategies and Plans

Once you've picked your overall niche, you're going to want to dive deeper into it. Get more specific. What strategies are you going to use? What kind of content do you want to produce?

Spend time both brainstorming and researching this step. You'll want to know if you're going to start by posting just videos or blogs. Many content creators also produce podcasts, making that an option as well.

You'll also want to know your content schedule - or at least a general idea of one. Will you be posting once a week? Or just once a month?

Step 3: Gather Equipment and The Right Materials

The next step in becoming a content creator is gathering the right materials. This step is flexible, depending on your niche, content type, and finances.

Plenty of successful content creators begin small, without buying a lot of fancy equipment or decorations for backdrops.

Still, a few things you may want to gather before starting your content creation journey are:

• Notebooks and paper

• Pens and pencils

• Microphone (for clear audio)

• Camera/phone camera

• Tripod

• Lighting

• Video-editing software

• Proofreading software

• Laptop/Computer

• Social media accounts

Step 4: Choose Your Platforms

This step connects with researching and finding your niche. By the time you make it to this step, you likely have an idea of which site you want to use to launch your personal brand.

Although you can stick to one social media website, it's always best to diversify with multiple platforms. This way, you not only increase potential income streams but also save yourself from putting all of your eggs in one basket.

Social media sites don't last forever. One example of this is Vine. So many fellow content creators began on Vine only for the social media app to go away permanently. While many were able to switch to other platforms like Instagram and YouTube, not all were able to build their audience back up.

So, which social media websites are best? This depends completely on your preferences; however, the more popular ones include X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

There are a lot of facts to consider when choosing the right platform, including your target audience. What age group are you targeting?

Facebook is more popular among older social media users, typically 65 or older. To target a younger audience, Instagram and TikTok are more popular.

Still, YouTube remains one of the most popular social media sites for all ages.

Step 5: Brainstorm Content Ideas

Once you have your platform and niche, you can dive back into researching and brainstorming, but this time, on content ideas.

During this step, search engines and creator insights on social media websites will be your best friend.

The first thing you should do is see what top creators in your niche are doing. What trends are they following? What lighting do they use? Is there a song many include in the background?

Social media, though, is tricky. Growing your personal brand is more than just hitting all the trends. You also need to stand out amongst the many others doing similar content.

Step 6: Post and Engage

Step 6, the almost last step, is to start creating, posting, and engaging. As soon as you have your content ideas and your account, start posting. What are you waiting for?

Building a personal brand and an engaging and open digital space doesn't happen overnight. It gets easier with each YouTube video, photo, and blog you post.

Apart from posting the content, you'll need to engage. Include a call to action in your caption or video. This can be a simple question to get your viewers engaging with your content.

The more people who engage with your content, the further the video gets pushed out.

Step 7: Review Analytics and Make Changes as Needed

Last but not least, you need to track data and make changes to your content creation marketing strategy as needed. How do you know when something works if you aren't tracking the numbers?

You can either use a third-party analytics system or the data compiled by each social media website.

The data you should pay attention to are views, new followers/subscribers, comments, and your bounce rate. It also doesn't hurt to focus on when a viewer stops watching. This way, you can make changes to your content so it is more engaging and interesting. Data can show you your overall audience engagement.

Tools to Aid a Digital Creator’s Journey

Are you a video-focused content creator on a mission to build an online community of like-minded people based around your niche? 

Tools like Swarm that focus on creating video-centric communities can aid that mission. Swarm is one of the first online community platforms that is video-first. 

This means features like live videos for community members, automatic transcripts for videos and video messages, the ability to send private video messages to each community member to answer questions, and video threads.

Tapping into video helps bridge the virtual gap between you and your community members as a digital creator with the mission to create a community.

This can go hand in hand with tools like Notion (for note taking), Descript (a video editing tool that goes hand in hand with tools like Swarm that focus on video-first communication), and Pixlr (a photo editing tool).

Wrapping It Up

All in all, there are many reasons why becoming a digital creator is worth it. Not only do you get financial freedom and flexibility, but you also stretch your creative muscles. Who wouldn't want to do what they love every day while getting paid?

The best part is, that you don't have to create content and push it out alone. You can use a community-building platform like Swarm for all of your video-making needs.