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Hiring a Content Creator: Job Description, Pay, & More

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You’ve heard it over and over: content is king. But where does that content come from?

A company may need to hire a content creator for many different reasons. While content creators are typically considered in a marketing capacity, they bring value to companies in various ways. They can create internal documentation, instruction manuals, recruitment materials, and so much more.

There are many different types of content creators. Wouldn’t it be great if you could hire a graphic designer who is also a stellar copywriter? Of course! But it’s difficult to find one person who is able to execute many different types of content. While you might be able to hire a general content creator, normally you’ll need to hire specific roles.

Types of Content Creators

Foundationally, there are several different types of content creators, and depending on your business, you must decide which is right for you. There are five main types of content:

  • Written: Content writers and copywriters are generally in charge of writing materials such as blogs, eBooks, emails, newsletters, website copy, and more.
  • Video: Video content creators will generally make promotional or instructional videos, as well as any and all social media video content. This includes YouTube videos, TikToks, Instagram Reels, and more. Creating video content can include everything from storyboarding to video-editing.
  • Photo: Those who specialize in photography will often oversee company headshots, some social media content, website photos, and photo editing.
  • Social: Managing your social media channels is a big job these days, so a social media content creator will often produce short videos, write short-form content, and do other work to grow followers on your accounts. They often do this in tandem with the other types of content creators listed here.
  • Graphic design: Graphic designers work on visual elements for both web and print, creating anything from logos to YouTube thumbnails.

Within these five types of content, there can be multiple specific content creators, depending on if you need a generalist or a specialist. Look at video, for example. A small marketing department might have a single person handling video. On the other hand, a marketing agency might have an entire video department with on-screen talent, videographers, video-editors, and more.

Another point to consider is that different content creators often work together to meet business objectives. For example, a social media manager might put together a social media campaign with blog posts written by a copywriter, original photos taken and edited by a photographer, and branded graphics created by a graphic designer.

Keep all of this in mind when hiring a content creator.

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3 Tips to Hire a Content Creator

If you’re looking to hire a content creator, you need to know what kind of creator to hire and how they will meet business needs. Working through these three steps will help you hire the right content creator for your team.

Define Your Goals

With that in mind, the first step to hiring a content creator is to define your goals.

Here are some of the major reasons why your business might need to hire content creators.

  • Increase brand awareness through a more robust online presence.
  • Bring in more leads through outreach.
  • Increase revenue through the addition of new customers.
  • Better support customers with better service, education, and documentation.
  • Interact with your audience through social media channels.

To determine which of these categories you fall under, ask and answer the following questions:

  • What are our business goals?
  • Do people know we exist?
  • Is our website easy to find?
  • Do we need more leads?
  • Are we looking to increase our revenue?
  • Can we improve our customer experience?
  • Who is our audience?
  • How do they find us?
  • How do we want them to find us?
  • What do they need from us?
  • What problems are they trying to solve?
  • What do we want to produce?
  • Are we looking to create visual marketing materials?
  • Do we need to grow our social media following?
  • Is our website in need of a facelift?
  • Does our blog need to be updated more regularly?
  • Do we need support for a single project, or do we have ongoing creative work that needs to be completed?

These questions will help you determine what type of content creator you need.

For example, if you want to publish regular articles on your blog that help you increase your brand awareness through search engine optimization (SEO), you need to look for a content writer who is skilled in content strategy.

Set a Budget

Your budget determines additional details about your content creator. Their level of expertise, part-time or full-time status, temporary or permanent.

For smaller budgets, you can expect a more entry-level content creator. For larger budgets, you can more easily find seasoned and highly skilled content creators. Just as is the case with most things in life, you get what you pay for. However, you can still find talented entry-level professionals. And don’t underestimate the value of on-the-job training. Less experience doesn’t necessarily mean poorer quality work.

You don’t have to hire for skills if your budget is on the lower end. You can hire for attitude. A willingness to learn and grow is priceless.

With a smaller budget, you can also choose to hire a content creator part-time. Another option is to work with a staffing agency for augmented staffing solutions. Of course, a staffing firm like Insight Global can help you with direct hires too!

Create Your Job Description

By this point, you should have a good idea of what type of content creator to hire.

The job descriptions for each of these will be wildly different because they have vastly different functions. The best way to tackle this is to be very specific about the duties you need the content creator to perform.

Be careful not to ask too much of people. It may be tempting to write a job description for a writer who is also a graphic designer, a skilled photographer, and a social media manager. Sadly, it will be harder to find someone that checks all those boxes. Be prepared to hire for multiple roles if your goals are more ambitious.

Check out our detailed guide to writing a job description!

After all of this, if you aren’t sure which type of content creator you need, consider hiring a content strategist. This person will review all of your existing content and outline a strategy that will help you achieve your goals. They will also let you know what types of supporting roles will help you best achieve those goals.

Hire a Content Creator with Insight Global

If all of this seems a little too much, Insight Global can help. Work with us to define the kind of content creator you need to hire, and then we’ll vet the candidates for you. Contact Insight Global today!