Kaitlyn Hammond — June 17, 2019 — June 17, 2019
Tumisu / Pixabay
Content creators are extremely valuable because they are the link that connects your business to your target audience. Content is anything that can be used to describe your company, such as text, website content, email marketing, blogs, press releases, videos, and images. This helps people understand what your company is all about, learn about your products and services, initiatives, beliefs, etc.
When you have made the decision to bring on a content creator, your first thought should be what type of person would be a good fit for this position. Content is subjective, and, as such, there’s really no “test” you can give to a prospective candidate that you can give to a bookkeeper or a computer engineer, for example. However, there are certain traits that top-notch content creators possess; looking for a person with these traits will help you make a smarter hiring decision.
Teamwork
Content is typically a team effort, and the most relevant and engaging content usually involves cross-collaboration between different departments. As such, the best content creator will have teamwork abilities so that they can work with marketing, advertising, PR, accounting and sales to get the most comprehensive vision of the company and the goals that the content should set out to achieve.
This type of individual should be able to ask the right questions and actively listen to the answers. They should respect the fact that various people may have competing ideas or objectives, and work together to come up with a similar direction. Finally, they should be open to making changes to the content based on feedback from others.
Creativity
Content truly relies on creativity and being open-minded and innovative in order to construct a memorable customer experience. It’s advantageous to review the portfolio of any employee you are considering hiring to view their past projects and gauge how creative they are.
Ask about the person’s creative process, and what they use as inspiration for their work. What do they do if they have writer’s block? How do they make sure their work is unique and distinct from the competition?
The answers to these questions will give you more insight about the candidate’s preferred working style and if they would be a good fit for your team.
Communication Skills
Excellent communication skills are a must when it comes to content creation, and include oral, written and interpersonal abilities. Creativity is only one step of the puzzle, but being able to express those ideas to the right audience, formulate thoughts and create a finished product is the most important step.
This is a great topic to ask about when you are checking the employee’s references, as communication skills can easily be judged by former colleagues and employers. Ask about how the person got along with others, how they resolved conflict and how well they were able to evaluate the knowledge and receptiveness of the target audience when creating content.
Drive
There is a lot that goes into creating the best content, such as:
- Researching the latest trends in the industry
- Keeping up with the competition
- Interviewing experts
- Finding the best images
- Learning the needs of the customer
- Understanding audience preferences
- Experimenting to see what works better
These qualities are truly up to the individual to learn and implement, and, as such, the right candidate should be driven, self-motivated and results-oriented. You want the person who makes it their mission to create top notch content, and will stop at nothing to get there.
The most experienced and qualified content creators do not come cheap, and you will have to make a competitive offer to bring them on your team. However, don’t let this stop you from hiring the right employee, as they will surely bring a great return on your investment. Instead, consider getting a small business loan to offset this cost.
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