Podcast: Why you should become a content creator at Zooma

I took over hosting duties for this week's episode, which is something I'll have to get used to because Alexander will soon be on parental leave. That means Zooma is looking for a replacement - to find out more about this role, I spoke to Alex about what his work week looks like, the best part of his job, and the qualities a Zooma content creator should have. Enjoy!

Alex's job naturally involves a lot of content creation. Still, there's also plenty of other things - experimentation and testing are a big part of what we do, so Alex spends much time finding best practices for content creation that we can then apply to our customers. I learned a lot more about what Alex does in his role during our discussion, and hopefully, you will, too - whether you're looking for a job or not.

If this episode piqued your interest and you think the role sounds right for you (or someone you know), then apply! You can do so here on zooma.se or over on our LinkedIn page.

As usual, all the links to listen to this episode on your favourite podcast platform are below. You can also watch the video version of this episode here or on our YouTube channel.

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Transcription

Doug Bolton: [00:00:00] So welcome, Alex.

Alexander Evjenth: [00:00:02] Thank you.

DB: [00:00:02] How does it feel to be on the wrong side of the microphone?

AE: [00:00:08] It feels good! I'm confident with you replacing me as a host.

DB: [00:00:15] Good, that's nice to hear. And tell us where you are at the moment because I'm sure our listeners would love to hear.

AE: [00:00:22] Yeah, right now I'm in San Sebastian in Spain, and I've been here for about four weeks already and will be here for five more weeks. So a little bit more than two months working from Spain, which is really nice. It's a great opportunity to do that.

DB: [00:00:44] And how's it going to be in another country, because most of us are still here in Sweden?

AE: [00:00:49] Yeah, that goes well. I mean, the biggest difference is that you're required to wear a face mask if you're in a store or something. But that was, yes, a difference for the first days. And now it's standard. You think about it all the time, and you have your mask with you all the time. But otherwise, it's the same, the same working days, the same kind of tasks and at the same kind of meetings as I would have at home. So it's not much of a difference, actually.

DB: [00:01:32] Well, the reason that I'm saying welcome to you is because soon I will be replacing you, and that is the topic of today's episode because you're not going to be here for very much longer. And now it sounds like you have some kind of disease or something, but it's not like that. You're going to be on parental leave.

AE: [00:01:54] Yeah, exactly.

DB: [00:01:55] When does that start again?

AE: [00:01:56] That starts from the beginning of December. Yeah, and will be ongoing until May. So about six months.

DB: [00:02:07] Exactly. And for that reason, Zooma is looking for someone to take over from you while you're away.

AE: [00:02:14] Exactly.

DB: [00:02:14] So, you know, obviously, you're the person who's going to be replaced fairly soon, so you know, for people who are listening who may be thinking of applying or even better know someone who they think should apply, who they want to recommend or something, what does your role look like now if you gave a kind of elevator pitch kind of thing?

AE: [00:02:36] Yeah, right now I'm working with probably five or six different clients and creating knowledge content for each of them. And the role as a content creator at Zooma, it entails that you on a daily basis create content in all different forms, mostly text, but also by illustrating data and recording podcasts like this. So we're very keen on, you know, talking about the content we create not only copywriters, you're a content creator. So yeah, that's what, like on a high level, what it is exactly.

DB: [00:03:23] And you mentioned the difference, you know, you're not just a copywriter, and I suppose a copywriter has to have knowledge of what they're writing about, but certainly in your position, you need to, you know, I imagine over the time you've worked at Zooma, you've picked up an understanding of the customers and the products are quite a high level, right? You know, you kind of need to become an expert in the solutions and the products of the customers that you work for.

AE: [00:03:48] Yeah, that's true. You don't need to become the expert, you just really need to learn how to extract the knowledge from the experts working at the client's side. So what we do when we create content is often that we do keyword research, so we can give a direction of what type of content we want to create for our customers. And then we do a lot of research on those topics, but also that includes interviewing experts at the client's company. It's really about extracting different angles on different topics and turning that into content, and that content should be guiding for their customers.

DB: [00:04:43] Great. And I was just looking in the description of the role that we have up on zooma.se, and it says in this role, you will create content, you know, you'll work with our customers and so on that you mentioned. But everyone at Zooma talks a lot about best practices, experimenting to create best practices. And how does that kind of look for you in your job?

AE: [00:05:05] Yeah, exactly. So we're working with this approach that we should test everything on ourselves in order to find the best practice and what actually works in online and digital, and then apply the things that worked on our clients. So, for example, this podcast was an experiment. From the beginning, we wanted to know how many listeners we could get and learn about all the editing tools and how to record, and so on. So that's a good example of an initiative that then this person would maybe come up with and try out. And then if it works, that's what you're going to do for the customers. And the podcast is one example, and it could be creating different types of articles, different types of illustrations and so on. Yes, and that's a really fun part of the job that you can come up with, ideas you can read about, you know, a best practice from another company in an article and then get inspired and turn that into trying it at Zooma and then apply it to customers if it works.

DB: [00:06:28] And I saw also in the ad, you know, we list some of the skills that this person should have, and it's the standard stuff. You know, it would be good if they could use some of the Adobe tools like Photoshop, Audition, maybe Premiere. You know, that's knowledge that's good to have. And maybe you should know how to use HubSpot as well. You know, potentially it might be good to have a bit of background there, but aside from those like more practical skills like, you know, knowing how to do X, Y or Z, what do you think the most important qualities are for a content creator at Zooma?

AE: [00:07:08] First of all, I think you should be confident that you are able to write about industry-specific content, and even if you are not an expert in the field, you should be confident you can easily extract the knowledge from other people and turn that into content. And then you need to have the ability to ask the right questions. And I think you get that when if you have some experience in creating content, it's helpful because then you know what kind of answers you need, what kind of inputs you need in order to create a content piece, for example.

DB: [00:07:51] So what kind of background do you think that kind of person should have? You know, it kind of sounds a bit like being a journalist or something like that. But you know, it's at the same time very different. What's your background?

AE: [00:08:05] My background, I studied, I have a bachelor's in economics and then I worked as an online marketer, like a junior role after my graduation for like half a year, an internship. Then I went into sales at a recruitment company in Stockholm. I worked there for about two years then. I have always been interested in copywriting and so on. So I joined a small agency in Gothenburg and worked there for about one and a half years before I started at Zooma as a part-time content creator and part-time project manager, and that's my career background and so on. I don't think that the background itself has helped me that much in growing as a content creator. I think it's just the interest of different niche interests. So, for example, you know, like we work with a lot of B2B companies and very like specific components, or like parts of a supply chain, for example, and companies might have products that you never heard about or that you didn't know existed before you heard about them. And if you're interested in how those products or solutions work, then it's so much easier to create the content around it.

DB: [00:09:50] I mean, you know, you create an awful lot of content, so it makes sense that you have to find it interesting, you know, to delve into these strange, niche topics that you don't usually hear about in everyday life. Otherwise, you'll just go crazy, I suppose.

AE: [00:10:08] Yeah, exactly.

DB: [00:10:11] Finally, the fun question - what do you think is the best part of your job? You know, something that someone who sees this ad and you could give them, you know, this one moment just makes it all worth it, or something like that, you know?

AE: [00:10:24] Yeah, I can divide that into different categories. Like the best thing about working at Zooma is that you work at an employer who really, you know, believes in you and supports you in whatever you want to do, so to speak. It's really about like personal development and, yeah, growing in your role the way you want, kind of I feel like, yeah, it's a pretty unique place to be at, in that sense. It's really about, you know, feeling joyful at work. And it's not just words, it's actually true. Do you agree with that?

DB: [00:11:14] Yeah, yeah. I agree with you. I agree with you. And I mean, you know, obviously, this is a podcast so people can't see. But you know, in the video episode, you can just about see Anders standing behind you there with a gun pointing at you.

AE: [00:11:26] Yeah, exactly. And the best thing then, that's the best thing with like working at Zooma, the best thing with the role is that you learn a lot like you learn things you never would have learned otherwise, like about products and solutions, about industries. I feel that it's a very interesting job to create content, because you're so lucky to sit and do research and read a lot of different articles and interview experts in the field. And yeah, that's my personal reflection.

DB: [00:12:14] Good. Well, you've sold it to me, I would say. I think we'll round off. But if people want to take Alex's job, then they can go in and apply. If you just go to zooma.se, and then up in the menu, there's a page called 'I look for a job', there we have all the stuff about working at Zooma and also links to the open positions and an application form. And also on our LinkedIn page, I believe you can go in and apply there. Wonderful.

AE: [00:12:43] Yeah, great.

DB: [00:12:43] How do you think I did Alex, as the host?

AE: [00:12:46] You did good. I feel confident that it's going to be good episodes between December and May.

DB: [00:12:54] Good, wonderful. Well, thank you very much for today.

AE: [00:12:58] Thank you, Doug.