How creatives will succeed through 2024.
As long as you’re crafting something that could be perceived as art, you’re a creative. In everything you produce, remember to focus on your unique flavour of creativity, tell stories in the way only you can, and remember to add value to everything you produce.
First, let’s start with a recap of the last post.
I believe marketing agencies, specifically social media marketing agencies, are dead or dying because growth strategies based on mechanical aspects of social media growth don’t work anymore.
The decades-old premise that marketing agencies are built on — where you develop a social media growth template and apply it to all your customers —is out because the content space is oversaturated. Creativity and storytelling are The only things that manage to cut through the clutter these days.
So where does that leave us creatives?
Well… It’s a tricky question to answer.
Firstly, by my definition, anyone who actively makes use of a creative skill is a creative. That means influencers, designers, musicians, writers, and everyone in between count.
As long as you’re crafting something that could be perceived as art, you’re a creative.
The differentiating factor is that there are those of us who sit behind the scenes and those right on the frontlines.
The behind-the-scenes guys are us, the ghostwriters, social media designers, etc.… basically, we write, design and produce on behalf of the client via the agencies we work for.
On the other hand, the frontlines are the independent creatives. The guys who’ve invested in growing their own brands and have dedicated audiences of their own - also known as: Influencer.
Now, as far as where we belong in 2024, here’s my prediction:
I think that 2024 belongs to the front liners.
With social media marketing agencies under pressure this year, I feel that many agencies aren’t going to be looking to hire a lot of us behind-the-scenes guys. Instead, I think they will try to connect and partner with the influencers to leverage their existing audiences.
That said, I also know that brands, businesses and influencers are keenly aware of or waking up to the fact that they don’t need the agency middleman nearly as much as they think they do.
I think the influencer landscape will shift to something reminiscent of a comedian-led evening show - where the comedian presents the content and media, etc., but has a team of writers and creatives working directly with them.
With all that, I believe we’ve got 2 choices for the year ahead:
- Get in there early. Find an influencer or influencers you’d like to work with and build yourself a reputation there. Or,
- Become the influencer. Find your niche, double down on whatever skills you have that can help you and get cracking.
In either case, we have to upskill, reskill, or learn a new skill that complements and amplifies our existing talents. The main objective is to be an independent contractor and a thought leader in whatever niche we choose.
Something I feel is super important to remember, which I struggle to overcome, is that there’s nothing new under the sun. Everything that comes into existence is a variation or combination of something already existing.
Whatever you’re thinking of doing, go for it! You’ll find your audience.
In everything you produce, remember to focus on your unique flavour of creativity, tell stories in the way only you can, and remember to add value to everything you produce.
But that's just my 2 cents. Subscribe and let me know your thoughts.
