Creators, and the content they produce, are taking over social media feeds—with around seven in 10 US consumers saying they follow at least one of these personalities online. Creators are directly supporting the social commerce marketplace, creating viral trends, and contributing to the time consumers spend watching user-generated videos on social platforms.
However, most creators make less than US$50,000 per year and many are actively looking to diversify their sources of revenue. Currently, creators report that more than half of their revenue comes from brand partnerships, with smaller shares of their income coming from follower contributions. Notably, they don’t receive much revenue from the platforms, despite established “creator funds” on some traditional social media services.
Enter the independent creator. These creators are shifting to rely less on traditional social platforms and, instead, are taking their content, communities, brand partnerships—and their incomes—directly to consumers on different platforms and services. Notably, this model also removes a barrier—the social media service and the algorithms they rely on—between the creator and their community members, and allows for more control over their content, creativity, partnerships, and livelihood.
For brands themselves, this expanded creator economy model allows them to find creators who truly represent their products and can reach their core, niche audience. However, with so many creators, and so many places to find them, brands may have a hard time tracking down their ideal partner. Traditional social platforms will likely remain the go-to for creators, but they may lose some audiences if creators detach or leave platforms and take their followers with them.
Strategic questions to consider:
- How can social media platforms form better partnerships with creators and leverage their collective knowledge to improve processes, payments, and partnerships for all creators?
- How can brands continue to strategically partner with a diverse and inclusive cohort of creators—across platforms, services, and experiences—given the emergence of this new, decentralized model?
- How can companies that are building game worlds and metaverses attract the next wave of creators?