When Hiring Content Creators

We all know by now that content marketing has become the top way to generate more leads, keep reader’s attention, improve loyalty and trust. The list goes on and on. Actually, a stat by demand metric research shows that 86% of businesses use B2C content marketing. As they should, it costs 62% less and the benefits are great (as mentioned above). This being said, there are a lot of content creators out there now so how do you know which one(s) to choose for your brand and its campaigns? There are a lot of things that you should look out for but we’ll list those that we feel are the most important.

1.     Drive. Hiring a content creator is no different than hiring anyone else on your team. You want someone with good work ethic. You want someone who’s excited about creating content. They will be good storytellers to create emotional content.

2.     Expertise. Are they experts in their field? If so, they can help your brand by creating the content that is best to engage your consumers.  

3.     Alignment. This one is very important. You want a content creator who aligns with your brand mission. You want their personality, values, and ethics to be similar to that of your brand. This will ensure a smooth collaboration.

4.     Good communication skills. This one goes without saying really. You definitely want a creator you can easily communicate with. Are they personable? Do they have a positive mindset? If they’re not friendly and easy to talk to it’s probably not going to work out. You want someone that you can easily communicate your ideas with and are comfortable speaking with.

5.     Metrics. What do their metrics look like? What’s their engagement? How consistent are they posting?

6.     Unique & authentic style. A unique creator style will always attract audiences. You want someone who’s going to demand attention with their uniqueness. That being said, they must be an authentic personality. People will see right through it if they’re not. You want someone who will be able to bridge that gap of trust with your consumers. Their more likely to trust the recommendations of someone who is a “regular Joe” if their an personality is genuine.

We hope that this list of traits will help you find the best content creators for your brand. We’ve worked with so many different types of creators over the years. Some were fantastic and others, well, let’s just say we probably won’t work with them anytime soon. All the amazing creators we’ve worked with have had every single one of these characteristics listed above. It’s crucial in order to have a successful and fruitful relationship that will excel your brand’s success as a team. We can find the perfect creators to help you craft your brands message. Ask us how!

What’s Is It Like Working in the Found Content Space

We love our employees! Each of their unique skillsets and personalities bring something special to the table for each project we do. Working in found content can be a tricky place at times but the rewards it reaps are high, especially since we have the best team available in our field. What better way to explain what it’s like to work in found content than interviewing one of our very own employees? For personal privacy purposes, the name of individual(s) interviewed will be left out due to their allowance to work on other projects. Although we sadly regret not being able to praise their name to the mountain tops, we completely understand that this is their preference and we respect that.  

1.     What is your favorite part of the job?

Obtaining the rights to the videos or Buying the content because you get to connect with the content owners. I enjoy the chase and the challenge. I also like the creative part of discovery/curation to find that diamond in the rough for their vision.

2.     What was your favorite project you’ve worked on and why?

My favorite project was the Oreo Stay Playful campaign because the content was so fun and all the creators were so excited to be a part of the campaign. The campaign was also shown in Times Square, which was very cool.

3.     What do you love most about your job here with us?

Overall with the job I love the people that I work with since we are a boutique agency. I love working with our family and bouncing ideas off of each other. Each of us has our own expertise that they can add.

4.     What is your biggest challenge when sourcing content and/or working on a project?

The biggest challenge would probably be working with the super remote video owners or trying to track down the international content that we work with. Some people are just off the grid and very difficult to reach, especially if they don’t have a large social media presence. On the flip side of that, it’s also very hard to find the correct owner of a video that’s gone very viral.

5.     What do you enjoy being able to work fully remote?

Definitely the flexibly and just being able to be home with my family, while still focusing on work.

6.     What do believe about this allows you to work efficiently and still remain connected to others within the company/company culture?

I would say the amount of time that I get back from not having to commute to and from work. If I need to log on earlier, especially with the different time zones we work with all over the world. The hours allow me to work completely efficient at home and not be tied to an office.

7.     Are there any aspects of the team culture that you would change or improve?

We’re all so spread out so I would love to be able to meet up in person but we do stay pretty connected and I do really like the culture.

8.     What led you to work in this field?

My degree is in entertainment marketing and advertising. I studied this in college and got my Bachelors. I worked in television production for a couple of years and I just sort of fell into this through that.

9.     Describe a favorite work memory from Locomotive.

I would say, not sure if it’s a favorite but after we just did the Duracell campaign, this client had their hearts set on a certain video. We did not think it was going to happen and in the 12th hour we were able to make a deal with the video owner. It was so stressful but when it finally came through I was so relieved. I see that commercial everywhere now. Ofdsn Sunday night football and other content creators have even seen that commercial. It was such a gratifying.

10.  Is there an area of working in found content that you think you can improve and/or when working on projects?

Well, the industry is kind of like the wild, wild west still and video owners can sometimes be very skeptical. Content creators can think that agencies like us might be a scam because what we do is still so new, but when they actually look up our company, they see that we’re a 5-star agency with lots of great reviews from creators that have worked with us in the past.

We love hearing what our employee(s) have to say about working in the found content space. We hope it was enlightening for you all as well. If you’re curious about tapping into the power of UGC strategies, contact us today.