It is no secret that independent content creators are currently experiencing huge success. Thanks to opportunities offered by social media and Web 3.0, there has been a steady rise in the content creator economy, along with an upward trend of internet users who prefer doing business with their favourite content creators, as opposed to a large corporation.
The lines between the content creator economy and entrepreneurship are blurred. This rising economy can be described as a type of business that is run by content creators who monetise their audience through paid partnerships, ad revenue and product sales.
Statistics from a survey conducted by NeoReach indicate that Instagram takes the lead as the most favoured monetisation tool for creators, followed by TikTok and YouTube. The Economist finds that American social media users will spend on average $67 dollars a year on transactions through TikTok versus $200 dollars a year through Instagram.
Millions of amateur content creators
Not only have we seen a rise globally when it comes to content creators, but most importantly we have also seen it be hugely beneficial to the African continent. The world is getting smaller due to an increase in access to the internet and new technology. According to a study conducted by Influencer Marketing Hub, 46.7 million people considered themselves amateur content creators, while two million considered themselves professional creators.
With the recent developments in AI technologies, it is only natural to wonder how they will impact this fairly new work stream. Content creators now have a number of AI tools at their disposal that can assist them with idea generation, content creation and text optimisation.
However, the question still remains whether these AI tools can still teach the same skills that experienced industry leaders can, and whether AI can truly replace the human connection offered by the dialogue between creators and followers.
AI learning curve
Recently the Red and Yellow Creative School of Business announced their exclusive partnership with Meta Africa to launch Instagram Creators x Brand Academy nano courses. The courses allow students to learn directly from industry heavy hitters like Thomas Finetto, Meta global head of creative development; Aviv Weil, executive creative advisor, WeilCo; and Liliane Assaf, Meta product marketing manager.
In each course, Meta experts pass along the unique knowledge they’ve learnt over the course of their careers – information sharing that can’t be found through AI tools.
“The bottom line is that we can’t expect AI technologies to completely replace traditional learning and skills sharing. I would like to think that one of the perks of being human is that we don’t lack creativity. AI tools might improve your productivity and efficiency, but they cannot comprehend human psychology and certainly, for a content creator, this is very important. So it is important to develop the skills and knowledge that allow you to create authentic and compelling content from a human perspective,” says Elizabeth Lee Ming, head of marketing at Red and Yellow Creative School of Business.
There’s no doubt that AI will reshape the content creator economy and change how influencers create content and consumers consume it.
“The rise of the content creator is a megatrend that I can get behind. There will almost always be a demand for new creators wanting to enter the industry as there will never be a cap for diverse content. In the South African content creator landscape, we have also seen that the majority of South African female content creators dominate the beauty, fashion and lifestyle sectors, for example,” Ming adds. “This is something that we should celebrate as we are seeing an increase in the appreciation for female voices.”
The Instagram Creators x Brands Academy nano courses are available for free, exclusively to prospective Red & Yellow. To access them, simply enrol in any participating Red & Yellow online short course, online qualification, or full-time or part-time programmes.
Red & Yellow Creative School of Business is a CHE-accredited private higher education institution headquartered in Cape Town, South Africa. It is an established cornerstone of the South African marketing, advertising, design and business industries, teaching its students to think creatively and equipping them with the critical commercial and 4IR skills that they need to thrive in a digital world.
