2025 Content Strategy: Or How I Learned to Trust Myself
Shinjuku Station
Creating a content strategy plan is a routine task for many social media content creators. This methodical approach ensures effective planning for a successful campaign. The market for content calendars, planners, and books is substantial, with creators producing resources aimed at helping you generate content more efficiently.
In preparing for (setting) my 2025 goals, I came to the realization that my approach to writing and sharing my work should mirror the way I create my images. I feel it, then I set out to make it. I don’t often follow a set plan, finding mediocre results when I do. My whole creative self is wrapped in pre-visualization. Sometimes, it comes well in advance, and some days, it happens in the moment: this is happening here, this light, that contrast, this background, I want this, yes, this, wait, wait, click. That is my thought process in the simplest form when taking a picture. Things are happening, and I see this as the best final result. With decades of practice, there is no internal dialogue, just the final image in mind.
With an approach to street photography like the one mentioned above, aware of a moment coming and moving to capture it in an instant, how can the approach to writing about that experience be any different? How can sharing those images and words be approached any differently?
The articles I write, the photos I capture, and the videos I produce should originate from the same source, right? Do they need to be masterpieces? Not necessarily. They won't be, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t aim for greatness. By developing a content plan and adhering to it, I can generate quality content. This approach would be efficient and yield a substantial amount, which is essential for increasing clicks. Where do we draw the line between artist and entrepreneur? How much can that boundary blur before I stop creating art and start producing mere content?
Although I wish for the world to appreciate my art, I primarily created it for myself. Additionally, those who take the time to engage with my work may resonate more with the video or writing rather than the image itself. Most viewers will only encounter my artwork through social media—no galleries, no books, and no prints—just scrolling through stories and reels. For many artists, the ideal outcome is simply gaining a following, where people recognize your name and perhaps some of your pieces. In that context, is it more advantageous to focus on producing content quickly or to prioritize quality without compromise?
I consider myself fortunate to possess the experience necessary to consistently capture images that I find compelling. Should I not also endeavour to create equally compelling content to accompany these images?
Responding to these inquiries will constitute my de facto content strategy plan for 2025. If I am indeed an artist, then the sole course of action is to create. There is no consideration for manufacturing.
Update
Assuming my images are good and that a planned content strategy, as opposed to a spontaneous one, will yield more significant results, what are the different criteria for judging a successful year between the two plans?
Planned Content Strategy:
At this stage, consistent growth in the follower base is rewarded by financial incentives. This begets more content for more money.
Spontaneous Content Strategy:
With consistently creative posts, a slight increase in followers is rewarded with strong relationships with amateurs and professionals. More importantly, personal growth and honed artistry skills.
Let’s assume that plan one would work, as it is the most suggested by social media gurus, and I put everything into plan two. Will I survive? Will I be able to make a living as a street photographer? That is the goal. Be great at something you love enough that you can live off it.
