How to become a successful content creator for a business

You may have heard the saying “Content is king”, a phrase coined by Bill Gates many years ago.

And it’s even more true now than it was then: in the digital era amid the rise of social media, the power of great content for any business cannot be underestimated.

For any brand, effective content creation is pivotal to building your presence, engagement and reputation within the market. In fact, the digital content creation industry was valued at $16,096.52 million in 2023 and is forecast to grow significantly in coming years.

So, what is a content creator, what do they do and what skills do they possess? Let’s find out.

What is a content creator?

The role of a content creator

At its simplest form, a content creator is exactly that: they create content. While the specifics vary from role to role, whether you’re a freelance creator or working for a large organisation, your role is to entertain, educate, tell stories and raise awareness across a broad range of mediums.

As a content creator, you will use appropriate formats and platforms to develop material that appeals to your target audience to achieve the desired objectives, which can be brand awareness, social media engagement, website traffic or increased revenue, among others.

What types of content creation exist?

Content comes in many shapes and forms, including:

• Written content such as blog articles
• Social media material
• Podcasts
• Video content

Each of these has its place, however, video content has become increasingly prominent with 88% of marketers pointing to video as a crucial component of their marketing strategy.

For this reason, video should be a key skillset of any aspiring content creator. Billy Blue College of Design’s 3D Design and Animation, and Film and Video courses produces graduates who can create compelling video content. The increasing popularity of video content creation has meant increased demand for our graduates by the industry.

Case in point? Bachelor of 3D Design and Animation alumnus, Alexandre Songeon Senzaki (Alex), who has been working full-time at the Sydney Opera House as a Junior Video Content Creator.

Habits and essential skills for video content creators

To excel in video content creation and boost your employability, you should equip yourself with certain key skills which are core to our 3D Design and Animation courses.

Here are the top five that can set you apart:

1. Creativity

   At the core of creating video content is the ability to think outside the box and unlock your creativity – to be able to spark new ideas that you can ultimately transform into compelling and engaging material. To do so, you’ll need to be constantly looking to the world around you, current trends and the market for sources of inspiration.

2. Storytelling

   It’s great having an idea, but you need to be able to effectively craft it into an intriguing narrative for your audience. Your ability to tell a story and build a connection with the audience will be the difference between a viral video and just another piece of content someone scrolls past on their feed.

3. Video production and editing

   You’ve got the idea, you’ve got the narrative, now it’s about the execution. This is where your technical proficiency, video production and editing skills come in handy. From mastering industry-standard software like Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, Maya, Blender, and more, to understanding the nuances of video editing, the technical skills are absolutely essential for bringing your creative ideas to life.

4. Communication

   Whether you’re working for a company or working as a freelancer, the ability to effectively communicate will be essential. Your role will see you dealing with clients, colleagues and a range of other stakeholders, so your communication and collaboration skills will be crucial in developing content that nails the brief. When studying at Billy Blue, our work-integrated learning subject will give you this practical experience as you complete an internship or industry live brief.

5. Attention to detail

   This skill can ultimately make or break the quality of your content. You’ll need to stay on top of shoot plans, edit endless amounts of footage, integrate sound and effects, and be on top of tiny movements in the zeitgeist – the ability to pay attention to all the little details add up.

The skills that helped Alexandre score a content creation role

Alex agrees on that list of skills, and adds that being creatively adaptable is crucial in a content creator role. On any given day he might find himself executing a wide range of tasks, including video editing, motioning graphics and filming, among others.

“I think the most important skill for creating video content is being able to create engaging narratives even when following the strict limitations of a brief,” he says. “In the case of interviews, for example, you have to condense potentially hours of footage into a few minutes and weave a coherent narrative or series of emotions for the audience to follow. It'd also be unscripted so you need to be creatively flexible.”

Alex mentions that intuitively grasping these aspects is challenging, whereas learning technical skills (also known as hard skills), like using specific software and managing camera equipment, is much easier to learn.

An element of curiosity is essential as a content creator. This is not a skill that Alex highlighted, but is something that is clear in the way he talks. While focusing on his studies when he was a student at Billy Blue, he took all the opportunities that came his way and worked on his personal projects on the side.

“You need to apply what you learn to your own work, whether it's a long-term project or not,” Alex added.

A prime example of how Alex put all the these skills into action? While studying his Bachelor of 3D Design and Animation, Alex chose to do an elective called Live Action Production to try out something different. In this subject, he had to create a short interview documentary, which he called Hope, Healing and Sunflowers. You can watch the interview below (make sure to grab a tissue).

“It was an incredibly rewarding experience as it allowed me to share a more intimate story of Olena Vigovska, a Ukrainian painter and my former art teacher,” he says. “This ended up getting me recommended for the video content creator role at the Sydney Opera House. It's quite a pivot from my previous work but I couldn't pass up the opportunity.”

Steps to becoming a content creator

Curious about how to begin your journey as a content creator? Start with these steps.

Develop your creativity

Start with a creative mindset and constantly feed your creativity. Always be thinking of ideas and practice turning them into content that gets attention. Stay driven to continually innovate and engage audiences.

Build relevant skills

Consider pursuing relevant courses to gain skills. Billy Blue offers diploma and bachelor-level courses that will equip you with necessary soft and hard skills, as well as experience in the industry. If you are interested in following Alex’s steps, find out more about 3D Design and Animation.

Alternatively, you can study Film and Video, which will provide you with a variety of essential skills and knowledge involved in film production. You will learn how to develop story concepts and bring them to life, which as Alex mentioned, is big part of the content creator role.

Practice leads to improvement

By consistently creating content, you’ll refine skills and gain experience. Use this practice to explore different styles and find your unique voice.

“You need to work on personal projects outside of your studies," says Alex. "You'll have a few portfolio works from uni projects but you need to apply what you learn to your own work... This is how I got an artist/animator role at SMASH! Sydney Manga and Anime Show which I still do on the side.”

Stay current with trends

Keep up to date with industry trends and popular content. Learn from successful examples to enhance your own content strategy.

Network and learn

Connect with professionals in the industry through networking events, online platforms and opportunities for work-integrated learning. Stay curious and open-minded, learning from others' experiences and feedback. Use these opportunities to build a portfolio, showcasing your best work and demonstrating your skills to potential employers.

What does a video content creator do?

Every day can be different as a content creator. Alex tells us that on a day-to-day basis he works editing video content for social media, ads and internal content, which is usually short content. Most of his time is spent editing videos in Premiere Pro and After Effects. Generally, he works on editing ads promoting shows and events to encourage people to visit the Sydney Opera House.

Occasionally, he works on documentary and interview-style videos, which is his favourite thing to work on. These longer pieces of content can take a few days or weeks to complete, while most only take a few hours.

“I even get to film and co-direct projects from time to time, which is always fun (and a bit stressful too),” Alex commented.

When a video content creator receives a brief for a new task, they are typically provided with the necessary footage and assets. They then create a first draft and present it to their creative senior for feedback and revisions. The creator continues to refine the video, incorporating feedback until their senior is satisfied with the result.

This process can take just one iteration or multiple rounds, depending on the video's length and complexity. Once the senior approves, the video is sent to the requesting department for further feedback or final approval. As video content creators often juggle multiple tasks, they will work on other projects while awaiting feedback on their current ones.

As a video content creator, you need to work efficiently so the tasks don’t pile up (which can happen very quickly). Alex tells us that thankfully, he works surrounded by professionals and that he is a part of a great team.

“Thankfully, my creative seniors, copywriters and other colleagues are all wonderful and we work efficiently to make sure the workload stays under control,” he says.

Alex tells us that the work culture is also wonderful, and his team is incredibly friendly. On sunny days, he often has lunch in front of the Museum of Contemporary Art with his colleagues.

“It's still a surreal feeling looking at the Sydney Opera House and knowing that I work there” he says.

Want to see some of Alex's work? Watch his latest showreel below.