allWomen Talk: Nikole Hyndman on Content Creation
Storytelling is as old as language itself. From the Rosetta Stone tablet to TikTok, the medium in which content is consumed is constantly adapting, who knows how we will be sharing information in 10, 50, or 100 years from now.
Where there is content, there is also a business trying to sell its product.
As the world of information gets smaller with access to localised entertainment from around the world, we chat to Nikole Hyndman, Projects Coordinator at Vera Content a Madrid-based multilingual content creation agency to ask her:
- What is a content agency❓
- What does it take to cut through the noise and create audience-centric content❓
- How can you access content creation as a job opportunity❓
Content agencies and how they support businesses
No matter what sector they are from, businesses need to be able to communicate to their customers at the right time and in the right language.
From education to energy, tech services to tourism, each company will have a unique set of requirements as to how they create content, and each industry has its own set of vocabulary, and many have their own marketing departments but just don’t have the in-house bandwidth to take on each project, and so, they outsource to companies like Vera.
A trifle of content: what are the layers?
The clients Nikole works with require different types of content that formulate the whole project and require specialists in each.
First, and foremost, before any content is created, it’s about finding out who the target audience is:
- Where do they consume content❓
- How do they consume content❓
- How do they want to be spoken to❓
- What is the key message that needs to be conveyed❓
Once this has been established, each project may have all or elements of the following services:
Translation & Transcreation — taking content created in one language for a market, and making it meaningful and understandable in another language and market. Content agencies can:
- Specialise in specific language combinations. For example, Vera Content specialises in creating content for the European market, with fast turnaround services in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, German and Dutch.
- Use Computer-Assisted-Translation (CAT) — these are the tools and file types of the trade
Copywriting & Editing — Creating content for a specific target market for publicity. Content creation agencies:
- Adhere to a client style guide, or style guides can be created by the agency upon request.
- Provide tone recommendations: consistency of messaging across all media.
Social Media & Community Management — (increasingly needed more) Content creation agencies:
- Can manage Social Media in different markets for an organisation.
- Ensure that the client’s voice is represented across all of the languages, geographies, and cultures
Video — Transcribing for subtitles and localising content. This doesn’t always mean directly translating a sentence, but making it understood for that culture. A joke in one country, may not work in another, especially if it’s based on wordplay.
Infographics — Turning written copy into a visual medium. For example, making statistics digestible using graphical elements.
Content Strategy Support — Taking the knowledge of a specific market and advising the client with their messaging and content strategy.
What makes successful content?
In addition to the below, Nikole believes that the content should be authentic, inclusive, and accessible.
✅ It expresses the intended message, otherwise, what’s the point?
✅ It’s engaging and needs to be written in a way that people connect with it.
✅ It speaks to the target in the way that they want to be spoken to
✅ It’s free of errors and written well
✅ It incorporates SEO (but never at the expense of quality)
Future of Content: Are the bots really coming to take our jobs
According to Nikole; yes and no.
Yes they are coming, but no, they aren’t going to take our jobs, BUT content creators will have to learn to work with them. AI already plays a huge role in translation, and can eventually free us up to work on the creative element of content creation, focusing on the quality and authenticity of the message, while AI focuses on processes and groundwork.
Creators need to be vigilant but not fear the future.
What is needed is an eye out for how the algorithms are being created.
Inclusive Content
Examining our own existing bias and listening to educators, and thought leaders from marginalised groups and communities when creating any content is extremelty important. As a society we are at a beautiful point in history where there has been a shift in human beings are able to express their truths, are being listened to, and policies are being changed to support them, rather than being silenced, dictated to, and oppressed to follow the status quo.
What AI produces is a reflection of who we are as a society, so the more vigilant we are in creating content now that is inclusive, the better the content will be that is presented to us by AI.
What makes a star content creator?
“These characteristics are based on the freelance collaborators that I work with that I have a strong relationship with…and these are what I think are essential building blocks for anyone who is interested in this industry,” says Nikole.
🧠 An inquisitive mind 🧠
- A keen interest in research — a content creator is constantly working with new themes, industries, and jargon. A good content creator immerses themselves in the universe of the subject matter.
- An interest in exploring a variety of fields — don’t pigeonhole yourself into one industry or type of client — take the opportunity of writing on a variety of topics.
📋 Good organisation 📋
- Essentially, you have deadlines to meet, and these can be cut short by the client often. Good organisation means that if need be, your team can scale up and add more resources to a project to get it done quicker. The more organised you are, the more effective this process will be.
- Commitment to continued learning — as mentioned above, content creation is always adapting and changing form.
🗣️ A passion for language and communication 🗣️
- For translators, being a lifelong language learner is essential to the work. Much like a sprinter, who would run and train every day, perhaps also try swimming for another to build strength in other areas, a translator might try to learn a new language just to open their minds to a whole other culture. In Nikole’s experience:
“Working in content has transformed a passion for language and communication into a professional vocation”
How can I get into content creation? Translate Cat memes into Catalan! 😸
Maybe that example is a little too specific, but it’s true that getting a niche can really help you to be the go-to person for creating content. Perhaps you studied law, and could write marketing docs for a legal tech startup.
According to Nikole, there’s no such thing as a typical background for a career in content creation:
“My career in content started almost by accident. I wasn’t actively looking for opportunities in the industry specifically, but I knew that I wanted to work in an environment that allowed me to develop my language and communication skills.
Now I realize that this desire is what leads so many of us to the content industry.”
There are many ways to get started—and it’s not as though you need expensive equipment to begin if you already have access to a computer or even a smartphone.
Interning
Consider contacting a content or marketing agency, an internal company's marketing department, or another writer you admire to see if they have any openings or projects you can assist them on. Perhaps they need help in conducting some research.
Build your portfolio
Yes, it does feel like every job needs a portfolio these days, but the good aspect about content creation, especially if it’s written or translation, is that you can take a subject and just open your laptop, mobile or tablet and get started. What are you interested in? Write about it. Seen a movie recently? Write about it? Seen an article you enjoyed? Translate it (if you have the skills)
Freelance: Work wherever you are
The beauty of content creation when it comes to writing and translation is that it really lends itself to nomad living. There are many companies online looking for freelance writers, all it takes is a quick search and you can sign up to work on projects.
Full-time entry-level positions
You might find jobs to start with, in social media community management or research. Keep searching on job sites for jobs with words such as ‘Writer’ ‘Copywriter’ ‘Translator’ and ‘Content’.
Network and Research
Connect with companies you admire. Connect with content professionals and creators you admire. Share your content in communities and create an opportunity for yourself. Ask for feedback on something that you have written. If there’s not a community for what you are looking to create, then, create one!
Whatever it is, the world needs content created by a diverse pool of people, to truly reflect the people inside it, not the loudest voices only.
🦸♀️ What will you create? 🦸
Click here to check out the original allWomen talk with Nikole.
🎓allWomen Academy has recently launched its brand new part-time Content Design and UX Writing course!
About Hazel Watts:
Hazel Watts is a content creator …🤣 well actually, she is. Her background is in producing and directing brand video content for tech companies large and small and across the world 🎬. She now uses her storytelling experience in supporting the user’s experience in tech products as a UX Content Specialist. She lives in Barcelona, is an avid film consumer, Peloton rider, and loves to spend time on her balcony in the sun with her plant babies.🌿
