Painful Truth: Content Creation is a Value-add Skill, not a New Career

Earlier today I got a call from an old friend. She got into some not-so-small business last year and now wants to get even more serious with it. She has a small marketing team that needs to learn to take pictures and videos on site, sit on a laptop, or at times straight on the phone, make simple graphics and post mara hio hio. They are marketers, note, but they have to learn content creation and social media management.

Kizungumkuti right there.

(1) Achaneni na these big cameras please. They have a crazy learning curve, are expensive and tiring to the mind. Just use your phones. Most of the work needed today, phones can do. It doesn't have to be Google Pixel, or iPhone 14-15, or S22. Nope. A phone that costs you 30-40k, will mostly not disappoint. Leave the cameras to professionals and interested hobbyists and enthusiasts..

Here is a Canon R3 mirrorless camera, costing close to Ksh700,000 in Nairobi. These cameras have a steep learning curve. If you are not ready for that, learn to use your phone instead.

(2) Achia Adobe Creative Suite, Professionals. If your comms or field work or reportage roles needs regular graphic design tasks, learn Canva and their cousins. Adobe has a serious mind-numbing learning curve too. Canva is easy, collaborative and quick. Capcut video editor is easy too, with hundreds of templates and pre-set effects. Unless you have the energy of a Landrover to traverse the deep forest that is Adobe Creative Suite software, wachana nayo tu.

Most Adobe apps have some serious mind-numbing learning curves.

(3) Study the theory behind creative work. One of the things I must teach in my programs is the theory behind art and creativity. There are plenty of tried and tested rules and guidelines in creative work. So do not just dive into video editing without knowing what FPS or SD/HD/UHD exactly is. Although essentially we do not ‘teach creativity’ >> The rules of the game still apply. You are not the first... Composition in photography is key, a balance in aesthetics and function is paramount in graphic design. If people read creative copy and miss the message, you have missed the point. If you have good video but bad audio-it’s a fail. If you have followers online but no conversion-another fail.

With one of my students at the Nairobi Railway Museum. One of the things I must teach in my programs is the theory behind art and creativity.

It is obvious that the skill to take JUST GOOD pictures, design a smart simple poster or newsletter, create a sensible infographic, do a catchy 60-sec reel, write an engaging blog and such other skills are now a necessary evil. But do it right, and light.