Nicks Experience With Content and Branding
As a college student, some of you may be wondering what gives me the authority to give out information about boosting your profile as an influencer, or what experience do I have? It’s a valid question so in this piece I’ll be explaining a few of the ins and outs I have in the world of boosting your brand/image, and why you should look to learn about them too.
As opposed to many of my peers and colleagues, I didn’t jump into college with an idea of what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I had somewhat of an idea of what I didn’t want to do, but I always (and still do) found it difficult to pinpoint a career choice. This led to me investing more time in certain gen-eds and other electives, where eventually I found myself in the field of technical writing and communication. In an effort to expand my knowledge and understanding of the technical realm, I ended up taking two classes that stand out to me when I look back at some of the more useful classes. Just to be clear, these aren’t even close to my only credentials, just two standouts when I look back on what I’ve learned over the past few years.
The first class I developed a great understanding of was titled ‘content strategy’. The main takeaway I had from this class was a semester-long project that involved me reaching out to a business in an effort to improve their branding strategy. While I wasn’t directly dealing with helping any content creators or influencers, much (if not all) of the information I learned in the class focussed on improving a brand in general. Some of the main takeaways I took from the course involved in-depth analysis pertaining to a brand’s/influencer’s audience, needs, location, goals, and vision. Applying these concepts to a hometown small business helped me see how these concepts can boost a brand’s sales, as well as increase their audience through various promotions and tactics. It gave me a lens into a real world scenario, which is why I continued down this path that I’m on. I’ve even used some of the knowledge I’ve taken from this class to improve my image on social media, as well as some of my peers.
Another class that stood out to me was called ‘foundations of technical communication’. Whereas the content strategy class was more of a specific concept in the world of branding and persona, the foundational class provided me with a plethora of skills in a different way. In this class the primary focus entailed learning about a wide range of skills and information that lay the groundwork for many successful online spaces/services. Some of the main takeaways I had from this course included how to navigate and beneficially software and editing services, search engine optimization, and the importance of images in an online space. In relation to boosting your content, I learned how to use applications such as Photoshop and Canva, which I didn’t believe to have much value in the real world prior to my experience with it. In order to edit and create certain things through these apps, we would use our own images. Learning how to take pictures depending on what you personally want to use them for is a huge underappreciated skill. I knew factors like lighting, positioning, tone, and angle’s were a part of taking ‘good’ photos, but I never anticipated how correctly applying these concepts improves your quality and engagement in association with content.
Overall I took many other classes throughout my time at college which helped me build a background in boosting content, both on the back end and front end. These two classes immensely helped when I started diving into the realm of content creators and influencers, since much of the information I’ve come to learn was built on many of the criteria from these classes. I encourage you to start learning about some of these concepts if you haven’t already. Whether it’s improving your branding, getting comfortable with editing services, or taking pictures that stand out from others, you will be doing yourself a favor by enhancing your visions and getting ahead of the competition.