What is it?
Technology has grown a $100billion dollar industry driven by an estimated 50million creators to monetize their hobbies and interests. The pandemic has accelerated the growth of the industry through more people sitting at home and tuning into the lives and content of creators across Twitch, Tik Tok and Patreon to name a few. These platforms have allowed ordinary people who create extra-ordinary, and sometimes ordinary content to growth their bank accounts exponentially. But there’s more to it than simply creating a few videos and getting a brand endorsement and becoming an “influencer”.
Why is it important?
Creators aren’t only leveraging their large followings to create influencer content for companies, many are redirecting their top fans and followers to their own websites and apps. Some redirecting their audience from the traditional platforms to paywalled platforms such as a Patreon and OnlyFans. All still in efforts to turn like clicks into cash. Creators are increasingly creating their own products and large established audiences, the “who is our customer” question is addressed from the off.
The creator as a business is an ever-emerging part of this fast-growing industry. On the more radical end of the Creator as business we’re seeing these audience leaders leverage their reach through NFT’s and the Metaverse. Specifically, here looking at the likes of Snoop & Gary Vaynerchuk who both launched NFT’s as a means to monetize their following and art.
The definition of a creator is ever expanding as we grow to classify anyone who consistently produces content, art, objects or entertainment. Going well beyond the scope of only influencers, including carpenters who sell jewellery boxes on Etsy or a freelance logo designer on Reddit.
How can brands leverage it?
People are attracted to this creator economy for a few reasons, one of them being that the need in the market may not be serviced or offered by traditional businesses, where the creator has tapped into this. A (excuse the pun) prime example of this is KSI and Logan Paul’s energy hydration drink Prime, marketed as a better tasting healthier Gatorade.
Creators be used to expand on the product offering or building on a brand message and making the brand more relevant. These “influencer” agreements are being redefined into lasting relationships where money is not the only compensation but co-creation and lasting collaborations are added as contractual terms. As the battle for consumer attention rages on, it will be more beneficial for brands to co-create with creators rather than just using their creative talents for throw-way content.