Musings on ‘Content Creation’
Hello all! It’s been a while since I wrote a blog post but I was feeling introspective and wanted to get some thoughts out on paper (or in this case a text box) 😅. Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about content creation. If you don’t know already - my sister Kaylee and I co-host SisterCodes - a podcast and YouTube channel where we talk about our journeys + careers as women in tech. Shameless promo to go subscribe to both 😉. We started with the podcast in mid-August 2020 and we’ve recorded + published over 30 episodes - one every week. Then in December 2020, we decided to start a YouTube channel too! YouTube has been something we’ve both been interested in for a while and honestly we’ve had so much fun learning how to film and edit videos. But suddenly we were juggling releasing one podcast episode PLUS one YouTube video every week and it became a little overwhelming. It’s hard enough to create content once a week and it was even harder to come up with two engaging episodes/videos on top of our 9-5’s.
Firstly, you might be thinking ‘what the heck is “content creation”’ and - fair. It’s such a broad term and it can mean anything from taking pictures + writing captions for Instagram to editing + publishing a full YouTube video. I think people often underestimate just how long ‘content creation’ takes and why it’s so difficult to do. In the beginning when you’re starting your Instagram, YouTube channel, podcast, etc. you’ll probably have a long list of topics you want to talk about. You’ll write them all down and just start making content from those ideas! But as the days, weeks, months go on - your topic list will start dwindling. And this is why content creation is so challenging - it’s right there in the name - creation. You have to constantly be thinking of new topics that you’re excited to talk about but also that other people are excited to read/watch/listen to. For SisterCodes, we try to involve our ‘audience’ as much as possible using polls on IG to see what videos you see next - and asking for DMs with feedback on what podcast episodes you found most interesting. But it’s difficult to gauge what YouTube videos will do well and which won’t. Sometimes I’ll be so excited to post a video and it flops - and other times I’m less excited and it does really well!
Part of this is just the learning process and I know that as Kaylee and I keep making content we’ll hit our stride and find what content you all are most interested in! But part of this is also the infamous ‘algorithms’ that are used on Instagram, YouTube, etc. that promote some people’s content above others sometimes for reasons unknown. We’ve talked a lot about the Instagram algorithm here on our YouTube channel: Why We’re Breaking Up With Instagram and throughout our podcast. But no matter the reason - whether people just aren’t as interested in a video, the algorithm pushes it down, or maybe a combo of both - it’s disheartening when content you thought was very meaningful and interesting has low engagement. So much time, effort, and planning goes into content creation and it’s disappointing when you don’t see the results you were expecting.
On to the second point - how much time it truly takes to create content! I think some people see Instagram as something really easy in terms of content creation. What people think is you snap a photo, write a quick caption and post. However, that’s not at all the case. In fact, I would say Instagram is one of the hardest sites to grow a following because of all the different factors that go into a post. Instagram pushes: photos with people in them (e.g. plain text instead of a photo of yourself won’t do as well), photos with hashtags in the caption (but not repeat ones - then you’re shadowbanned), Reels, and photos with captions that are long enough that people have to click ‘read more’. You have to ensure your content checks those boxes and then write out long captions, take enough photos that you can pre-plan posts, and then make sure you post at the right time to get optimal engagement. And even if you do everything right the post might not do well! (Why? ask the algorithm I guess 😅) And it takes years (yep, years!) to build up a genuine community that isn’t full of spam bots. YouTube videos are difficult too - but in a different way. I didn’t realize how much time editing truly takes and I don’t think anyone will until you actually sit down and edit a YouTube video 😅. Filming also takes a while - and if it’s a complex video (e.g. morning routine, what I do in a week, etc.) you can’t just sit down and film it all in one go. You have to record multiple clips over a day, week, or even longer. Like I said, Kaylee and I have truly been having so much fun learning to edit YouTube videos but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a ton of work! 😅
In the end, I think it’s important to remember the purpose. Why are you making this content? What do you hope to achieve? What are your goals for your YouTube channel / podcast / Instagram? For me, it’s always been about promoting + encouraging women in tech. When I went to University, I didn’t see anyone who looked like me in Computer Science achieving the things I dreamt about. So, I started my Instagram to share my journey as an Asian-American woman in tech. Representation matters. And it really is inspiring seeing people who look like you achieve great things! I was so inspired by other women in tech in the IG community graduating, getting amazing jobs, and honestly thriving in tech. I’m very proud of what I’ve accomplished - I have a full-time job as a Mobile Software Engineer, graduated with a BSc in Computer Science (with Honours!), and am Founder of Women in Computer Science at St Andrews. If sharing my story, experiences, and advice can inspire one woman out there to join tech or encourage her to stay in tech despite challenges she faces - it’s all worth it.
So although content creation comes with its challenges - it means so much to us whenever we get a lovely comment on a video or a DM saying you really enjoyed our podcast episode. Which brings me to one final note - please support content creators! There are so many free ways to do this - you can share a post on IG you found really insightful, comment on a video, or subscribe to their channel (😉). I guess these musings on ‘content creation’ ended up in a plea to support content creators 😅 but I stand by it! I hope you enjoyed this blog post - let me know in the comments if you related to any of this and what stage of content creation you’re in (early stage excitement, middle stage scrambling for new ideas, or late stage (hitting a stride I hope?). Signing off for now - hope yall have a good week! 😊
