4 things you need to know about creator economy and how it affects influencer marketing

Creator economy | A economia dos criadores através do marketing de influenciadores | Bold Creators Club, a principal agência influente do Brasil

In today’s world, the marketing landscape is changing. Influencer marketing is not just about celebrities anymore. The creator economy has shifted into a new era of influencers who are creators, and they’re all over social media.

This blog post will explore how to get started with influencer marketing in this new era and why marketers need to know about influencers now more than ever before.

creator economy
source: Mathieu Stern

Influencers are now focusing on creating content that matters to them and building up real relationships with their audience. They want to create content that their audience will love – not only be the face of products or brands.

What is the creator economy?

The creator economy is booming as these influencers get more opportunities to create content on platforms like YouTube and Instagram. 

The creator economy isn’t a new idea, but it is gaining momentum as the world of work becomes more fragmented, location-independent, and distributed.

We’re seeing an increasing number of people who make their living by sharing ideas online or through other creative pursuits. This shift in how we work has implications for brands too – marketers need to understand this trend if they want to stay relevant in today’s marketplace.

creator economy
source: Sincerely Media

With this rise in creator culture, brands are finding new ways to collaborate with them. Influencer marketing shifts more into the creator economy because it’s not about using a famous face anymore – it’s about leveraging an authentic voice that can authentically represent your product or service.

There are a number of platforms where people can share their talents, skills, and passions with the world through content such as videos, tutorials, or written works. 

They get paid for this work which creates an economy that is solely driven by creators themselves – they have access to these platforms from anywhere in the world so long as there’s an internet connection available.

Influencer average earnings
Influencers’ average earnings from partnerships with a brand 2019-2020

The shift from attention-based economy to a creator economy

Content creators are now leveraging the platforms’ audiences more than ever, as their dependence on the platform’s audience has decreased. 

With a gradual shift from an attention-based economy to one that favours content creators over the various social media giants such as Facebook and Instagram, we can observe how this change affected micro-entrepreneurship: with fewer barriers in place for bloggers or aspiring influencers alike to get started without spending tons of money upfront (in order not only by followers but also generate interest).

With rising numbers of people creating quality videos across YouTube channels and vlogging about random things they do each day via Snapchat stories, it is no surprise that these video creation tools have made monetization easier by allowing anyone who wants to be successful online.

Influencer average earnings
source: Thomas William

The content economy makes it possible for creators to earn a living without being tied down by bosses, companies, or labels. Musicians can showcase their music on websites like YouTube, artists have Etsy and gamers can livestream from platforms such as Twitch.

The current state of the creator economy

With the rapid growth of social media and entrepreneurial ventures, many people have found new ways to grow their following. This has created a whole new economy that is filled with creators, consumers, and audiences.

Though it’s hard to quantify exactly what this ecosystem looks like financially or from an analytics standpoint in terms of dollars earned; there are still some conclusions one can draw about how participants benefit monetarily from specific platforms that acknowledge payments for content creation such as YouTube partners earning money by running ads on videos they upload onto their channels.

Influencer average earnings
Worldwide advertising revenues of YouTube as of 4th quarter 2020 | Statista 2021

One thing that’s certain, however: this new way of interacting with audiences has left everyone benefiting from more opportunities than ever before: 

  • creators because they get their products seen by people who love them;
  • consumers because they can find just about anything they want on demand at their fingertips.

How do creators benefit from the growth of the creator economy?

With all the avenues for unique content and engagement, creators have stepped up their games. From livestreams to fan engagements online courses, there’s something out there that will suit your needs!

Fred Vasquez influencer Bold Creators Club
Fred Vasquez engages millions of people on his gaming channel

Creators are always looking for new ways to engage with fans – from live-streaming platforms like Twitch or YouTube Live so they can interact in real-time with viewers as well as providing coursework on how best you should address a particular topic or issue through video lectures. And leading the way is Patreon which has been increasingly popular among YouTubers who want more control over what type of material gets made next based on audience feedback.

Other avenues for content creators are:

  • Blogs;
  • eBooks;
  • Podcasts;
  • Online Courses;
  • Webinars.

With all these different types of content, come three different ways from which influencers can profit from their content.

Advertisement

Content is monetized in several ways, but Google AdSense is one viable option. This way the content creator can benefit from their readership and online platforms like Facebook or Google get some revenue too; splitting profits with creators for driving traffic to publishers’ websites through advertising space on these sites.

Influencer average earnings
source: Myrian Jessier

Content creation has always been challenging, not only because it takes time before you see any return-on-investment (ROI), but also because many avenues need exploring when deciding how best to turn created pieces into profit generators.

Two other popular forms of monetization in the digital era are brand sponsorships and affiliate links. Brands offer companies an opportunity to advertise their products, services, or company for a small fee while affiliates allow you to promote certain items with your website’s visitors at no cost.

Influencer average earnings
Average influencer earnings from Instagram account per month | sample size: 960

Donations

Donations are a way to support the creators of your favourite things. Popular donation platforms include Patreon and Ko-fi, but you can find many different ways to give back.

This can be a regular source of income for them depending on what platform is used, but it also discourages others who find this as an unfair arrangement or have other sources of revenue available to them already.

Sales

Merchandise is a great way for creators to monetize their content. Some of the most popular merch being marketed by them includes apparel, e-books, online courses, and artwork which are all available through platforms such as Teespring or Redbubble.

Influencer average earnings
Sample Size: 1,865

Bold Creators Club will help you achieve your goals in a creator economy

Influencer marketing campaigns are not an easy process to go through. There is a lot of analyse that a brand must put before even thinking of final results. An influencer agency can help throughout all the steps of your campaign.

At Bold Creators Club, we specialize in influencer marketing campaigns, especially in Brazil, having demonstrated results that sustain our position in this field. 

If you are planning on expanding your brand to Brazil, the best way is to affiliate with an agency. You can avoid problems like communication, as most Brazilian influencers don’t speak English, legal issues and even social problems, as the country is one of the most multicultural countries in the world. 

Reach us and let’s talk and define the goals and the KPI’s for your influencers marketing campaign.