Three Ways to Continue Your Content Creation Strategies During Chaos
Large photoshoots – cancelled. Influencer strategies – paused. Marketing Budgets – cut.
It’s no secret that the recent pandemic and political unrest has brought about tons of changes to our world. However, for social media marketers, content must still be produced, and followers engaged with – just in a new way. While this may cause fear in many, it actually has had the opposite effect on me. Shaking things up allows us to rethink our current strategies and implement small improvements.
Take the example of a recent photoshoot I worked on for a well-known sneaker brand. The shoot, which normally would’ve been shot at a large studio in NYC, flying out at least 20 team members from all over the world – was shot in Miami (where the photographer lived) with a team of 4: myself, the photographer and 2 models. After getting past the initial stress of the amount of jobs I needed to cover, I realized how truly liberating it was to work with a bare bones team. Not only did this keep costs relatively low, but we were able to get truly creative at the need of being ‘scrappy’. Playing stylist, makeup artist, location scout, and prop stylist proved to be a fun challenge after all, and I was extremely happy with the way it all turned out.
That being said, here are my 3 tips for continuing your content creation during times of chaos.
1. Don’t be afraid to get creative!
In my recent shoot, I played at least 10 different roles. We ended up using props we found on the street and I ran over to Goodwill mid-shoot to pull some additional looks. In a normal setting, this would have stressed me out. I’m an avid planner as most content marketers are and I like everything to be buttoned up. During times of chaos, we just need to accept that having everything buttoned up may not be possible. How can we stay creative and push past those fears? Don’t limit yourself. Accept that you’ll be doing things in a nontraditional way and have fun with it. It might just turn out better than you can imagine.
2. Utilize new ways to produce content.
In the Vogue series ‘Postcards from Home’, Gigi & Bella Hadid shared a few photos from their homes in isolation that they styled and produced themselves. Although we can’t all call up global supermodels and kindly ask them to send us over some photos – we can call on some content creation experts to do the heavy lifting for us. Many influencers and content creators have set up full studios or shoot spaces in their own homes to provide additional value. By sending them products to shoot with, you can create a long-lasting influencer relationship and receive new and unique content all at once.
3. Build your own studio space.
These days, setting up your own studio space is as easy as ordering the essentials and watching a couple tutorials. Whether you’re aiming for product photography or lifestyle imagery, there are tons of online resources to get you started. From lighting to backdrops, most things can be ordered on Amazon for a quick arrival or better yet, purchased from a small local business in your city. Shopify and Squarespace are some of the websites that feature How To Video’s on all things related to photography but there are many others! Find the outlet that speaks to you most and hit the ground running. Don’t let the idea of ‘perfection’ hold you back when in reality, most consumers love to see what’s real.
All in all, we have plenty of options for how to keep things moving during times of chaos. The most important decision to make, however, is will you allow yourself to be overwhelmed by the fear of it all or learn to embrace and thrive in a new normal?
Brooke Milo
Founder, NGNG Agency