Why Everyone Should Create On Social Media
There are 8 billion people alive in the world today. Over 5 billion of them are on social media. The average daily use time for social media is over 2 hours per person.
Each and every one of these people has their own interests and their own unique side of content that they interact with. Only 1% of the total users actively create content though. 9% of people engage slightly with comments and the occasional private post, and 90% of people on social media are participant lurkers who don’t contribute content to the platforms.
This means that there are now millions of creators consistently making content, but the market of social media isn’t ’saturated’. Anyone can gain a following centered around their interests and personality in 2024. I’ll even take it a step further.
If you are committed to:
a) Posting consistently
b) Aiming to improve with each post.
Then you WILL build a following on social media, irrespective of all other variables.
It may take a long time. It will certainly take a lot of effort. But if you are willing to put yourself out there again, again, and again, you will get better. You will learn the skills and techniques you need to succeed on social media. Just as millions of creators have done before you.
The skills that you learn creating on social media apply to the rest of your life. Soft skills such as:
Holding attention; How to make content engaging enough that even the short attention spans of today will stick around. This is the skill that is most important to success on social media, and it requires every other skill listed below for it to really work well.
Writing; Every good idea is first expressed in writing before being made into a video, reel, or carousel. Being able to write well does not mean being able to write fancy essays like you might have learned in school, because people don’t talk that way. Good writing is clear, direct, and with simple enough language that a 5th grader can read it (the average reading level in the US is 5th grade). Writing will help you create short-form content, but it also opens doors to help you share ideas in long-form content such as a newsletter or YouTube channel. Not to mention the value it can bring you when it comes to copywriting, marketing, DMs, and sales.
You will also learn more technical skills as you go about making content for a period of time. These skills are what enable you to turn your brilliant idea into pieces of content people actually want to watch. Technical skills such as:
Videography
Video Editing
Scripting
Graphic Design
Animations
If you are turning your social media into a personal brand (which you should) then you will also likely find yourself learning:
Website design (no coding required in 2024)
Email marketing
E-commerce
Product design
Course Creation
Influencer Marketing
And more depending on what path you create.
What you are really doing as you go about this process is learning one way that you can provide value to other people. Whether your content is informative or funny, in some way or another you are entertaining people, and providing value. It is hard though, because you can’t directly trade your hours for a paycheck. You won’t receive a salary. You are learning how to turn what lies in your head, the ideas and creativity there, into value. Once you learn how to do that well enough; you will be able to make your own paycheck.
It also feels better to create some of the time, instead of consuming all of the time. You experience social media differently. You notice when a video stands out, and you search to find out what about it you can mimic in your own content. You have a reason to write down your ideas and a constant lens through which you can look at the world.
Social media is your digital public resume. It is something you can show off and be proud of when you meet somebody new. Social media gives you a path to freedom in your life by making content around the things you want to do. Social media can help you build connections with others. It will help you get jobs, travel to cool places, and take on cool projects; all while developing skills that are transferable to any job that works with people and/or the internet (which is all of them).
That is all for this week's edition. I hope it was helpful!
Sincerely,
The Creator Club