Before, making and producing content was a complex process, which required expensive equipment and a huge team involved. Nowadays, anyone with a smartphone can create content that engages a large online audience. People no longer rely on television and mass media to provide them with news and entertainment, but they rather seek information and content from ordinary people that are more relatable. For this reason, the creator economy has expanded significantly. The creator economy refers to a variety of businesses built by independent creators, from vloggers to influencers, who are trying to monetize their creativity, influence and networks. The creator economy also includes platforms and tools that support creators in their work. Even though the creator economy was just established a decade ago, in 2021 alone it has seen a record $1.3B in funding, and today more than 50 million people worldwide identify as content creators. Content creators grow their audiences by providing valuable and interesting content that fills a specific need – and they make money from that content, often across multiple platforms or distribution channels. According to a survey, more American adolescents want to be YouTube stars (29%) rather than astronauts (11%), making the creator economy the fastest-growing category of small businesses. Since currently, many brands are investing more social media budgets into partnerships with content creators, we wanted to explore how these collaborations affect content creators’ scale of opportunities.
Content creators are sought by brands for their ability to build an established and loyal audience. By paying content creators to promote certain products and services to their followers, companies are able to humanize their commercial messages, amplify their reach and increase revenue. For example, in 2020, Dunkin’ Donuts partnered with Charle D’Amelio, a famous Tiktok star with a following of 148 million on TikTok. She frequently posted videos of her drinking “The Charli” signature drink and eating donuts. Due to this collaboration, the number of individuals downloading the Dunkin’ app increased by 57%, and the well-known donut chain sold hundreds of thousands of drinks. Even giant brands like Google realized the importance of these partnerships. Designer Mr. Kate showcased Google Lens during a renovation; and “van life” YouTuber Jennelle Eliana used her Pixel phone to capture night photography. On the other hand, brand collaborations allowed content creators not just to become experts at content creation, but also to hone their marketing and self-promotion skills. So, a lot of content creators started to use the cumulative experience and knowledge to move to the next wave of their career – co-creating, instead of just promoting.
Co-creation with prominent companies is one of the main ways content creators are establishing their own brands. These collaborations allow content creators to reduce some of the initial risk associated with starting a business on their own. Yet, by launching their own lines or capsule collections under established brands they are still expressing their sense of style and values. In the jewelry, fashion, and beauty industries, this trend is extremely prevalent. Unlike traditional brand promotion where content creators are required to adapt and accommodate to the brand’s values and communication styles, this allows creators to be a part of the creative process and to make strategic decisions. Through partnerships, creators and brands work together to simultaneously promote their brands. This type of collaboration is rewarding both for creators and businesses because it enables them to share ideas, values, and audiences. The partnership between the sustainable fashion brand Cam & Line and the ethical blogger “Iznowgood” (real name Céline) is an example of a successful co-creation strategy. Together, the brand and the micro-influencer came up with a sustainable and responsible outfit that reflected their shared values and in the process were dedicated to increasing engagement through transparency, participation, and inclusion. Successful creator-business relationships give both sides the chance to produce content that appeals to their respective audiences and establishes them as legitimate organizations.
In some cases, content creators are launching their own businesses oftentimes even competing with companies that they previously worked with. One of the first bloggers to realize the importance of her voice and influence was Chiara Ferragni. She is a Milanese fashion blogger who started a blog called The Blond Salad in 2009. Soon she had become one of the most famous and successful influencer entrepreneurs, launching the Chiara Ferragni Collection. She has expanded her business and inspired other influencers, bloggers, and content creators to start their entrepreneurial journey. Similarly, the D’Amelio family, famed for having more than 200 million followers combined on TikTok, recently announced the opening of D’Amelio Brands, a business that would capitalize on the family’s background in consumer marketing to develop its own brands. One of the reasons that content creators like Chiara Ferragni and the D’Amelio family decided to start their own businesses was because by promoting other brands they lost some of the trust that they established with their followers. Given that the trust of their audience is the main tool for content creators, they would not so easily give it away by only promoting someone else’s products or services. Therefore, by starting their own products, content creators were really able to directly monetize and leverage the audience that they amassed.
For many people, creating content still seems like a silly hobby, but the reality is that content creators earn a lot of money from their connections with their followers. What originally started as ordinary people sharing their knowledge, talents, and experiences turned into a powerful profession that enabled a lot of people to earn a living. Even though not every content creator is an entrepreneur, a significant number of creators have found a way to leverage their online presence to turn their passions into profitable businesses. Just like traditional entrepreneurs, content entrepreneurs bring many benefits to the economy and stimulate further economic growth.
References
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Dejo, J. (2022, September 20). How an empowered creator economy is challenging marketers. Marketing Dive. https://www.marketingdive.com/news/how-an-empowered-creator-economy-is-challenging-marketers/632044/
Kambhampaty, A. & Creswell, J. (2021, December 8). The era of the celebrity meal. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/08/style/celebrity-fast-food-partnerships.html
Lunden, I. (2022, January 27). Domestika raises $110M on a $1.3B valuation to expand its learning community for creative types. TechCrunch+. shorturl.at/bruEK
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