In a world of content, the good writer rules

By Shilpa Bhatia

Are you a person with a flair for creative expression? Do you tend to think out of the box and enjoy expressing through creative content?

If you answered in the affirmative, then you should explore this field.

India has an increasing number of active internet users (574 million in 2019) and with a plethora of start-ups and new businesses around, the field of creative content has shaped up into a viable career option.

A recent report mentioned that two out of three Indians who have smartphones are on some kind of social media platform. With social media gaining momentum, creative content is integral to increasing the appeal for any product or service.

Any communication published on social media needs to be crafted to appeal to a particular target group and good creative content helps build traffic, interaction and engagement with the potential customers.

Companies look for creative content professionals with a passion for creative writing, good research skills and a solid grasp of the nuances of a language.

Those who can articulate their thoughts without being vague, conduct adequate research before writing and have an in-depth understanding of a particular industry are likely to succeed in this field.

While there is no specific educational qualification necessary to become a creative content professional, a degree in Journalism, English Literature or Mass Communication lays a strong foundation.

There are also various kinds of creative content professionals — subject matter experts, social media writers, bloggers and brand journalists.

Subject matter experts, with in-depth understanding of a particular domain, are in great demand today.

A brand journalist writes content related to a brand or product and normally works with magazines, newspapers, advertising agencies, publication houses, production houses etc.

For a web content writer, content is primarily focused on the company, its products or service, case studies and so on. As a freelancer, the work can be diverse and may range from social media platform engagement to technical content development. A social media writer has to plan, create and post content related to products or services.

Most of the social media writers also manage the social media pages along with driving engagement.

Like any other profession, the field of creative content has its own advantages and challenges. In most scenarios, there is flexibility, ease of working from home, demand across industries, good perks and pay packages.

At the same time, content writing may become monotonous on a day-to-day basis. Also, there are stringent deadlines and a lot of research involved.

In a nutshell, creative content is an interesting space which is in huge demand and is expected to grow in leaps and bounds especially with the advent of digitisation and immense momentum in social media.

(The writer is the director, marketing and sales, of a digital marketing company in Pune)