Creators

Creators like Zak Heath are introducing new narratives for men in beauty

As Pol talks disability inclusion on TikTok, brands like Hilton are backing her work

After investing in educational content, TikTok’s “friendship expert” approaches brands with creative control

Creators and advocates take to social platforms to share their frustrations

Panelists stress that while Black creators drive online culture, they fall behind in opportunity

Data shows that use amongst the Gen X cohort specifically (aged 43 to 58 years old in 2023) is one of the fastest-growing audiences on the platform. The same could be said for Facebook and how many Gen X users use the site today while younger generations have moved on to other platforms.

It’s proven that including influencers in a brand’s marketing strategy equals sales: Statista reports the value of influencer marketing alone is worth over $16 billion, while a study done by the Harvard Business Review found that on average, a 1% increase in influencer marketing spend leads to an average 0.46% increase in engagement.

Big brands come with big-time leverage. That’s an advantage with creator marketing, where large companies can throw hefty budgets at creators with plenty of followers. Take the History Channel, which launched a “Stay Curious” campaign with NeoReach. The result? A campaign with 12.2 million views, growing the History Channel’s TikTok account to 50,000 followers shortly after launch.

Tumblr, a social network with a unique microblogging platform, was unveiled by David Karp in 2007. For anyone who signed up, creating a distinctive space on Tumblr was (and still is) easy, thanks to the platform's user-friendly interface and customizable templates. 

Breaking news: an app with 1.22 billion active users ... is apparently dead.Okay, technically Instagram is still up and running. But there are many who don’t see Instagram as the app of the future. As The Atlantic notes, “everyone’s over Instagram.” 

It’s not always easy to be a woman in today’s creator economy. Sometimes, it can feel a bit…crowded. After all, there are over 200 million creators in the world today, and according to ConvertKit, nearly two-thirds of them are women. It’s easy to look around at all of the creators and believe that all of the “good” niches have been gobbled up by now. Of those creators who have already monetized their business, the numbers go up: about 77% are women. 

In recent weeks, the trending #deinfluencing hashtag garnered millions of views on TikTok. But what is deinfluencing, and do brands need to be worried about it?

You’d be surprised. Influencer marketing isn’t always a strategy for borrowing name recognition from celebrities. Legacy brands have big budgets and decades of goodwill already working for them. 

As more brands aim to gain attention from Gen Z consumers, cosmetic brands are branching out and finally tapping into the appeal and audience of male beauty creators.

Creator marketing can be a big investment for many eCommerce and DTC brands. It often begs the question, “is it worth it?” This new case study series will evaluate different campaigns to give you a better idea of just how successful creator marketing campaigns can be. Let’s kick off the series with an awesome campaign from Hyundai and Culture Brands.

Brands choosing to partner with America’s favorite celebrities is almost a bigger tradition than the Super Bowl itself. In the past, we’ve seen ads from Dolly Parton, Timothée Chalamet, and Will Ferrell. This year, like in previous years, there was no shortage of A-list celebrities placed front and center of the most coveted advertising slots. Celebrities ranged from Serena Williams, Alicia Silverstone, Melissa McCarthy, Bradley Cooper, and John Travolta.

Relationships, whether romantic, platonic, or familial, are essential for any human being to thrive. Even when these relationships are complicated or situational (see: situationships), they allow us to learn new things about ourselves, explore the parts of life outside our comfort zone, and ultimately help us evolve as individuals.

Over the past couple of years, social media users have been explicit in asking for content from brands and creators that’s authentic, diverse, and inclusive. In short, social media users are begging for real.It makes sense why authenticity resonates well with social media users—especially those actively searching for new products. People want to see how products help people who look like themselves and reflect a similar lifestyle.

A look at how creators are making the most of Amazon's influencer program

Combining niche marketing insights with powerful creators has been a boon to marketers. That’s why the creator economy reached over $100 billion in the middle of 2022. And now, 75% of marketers use it to one degree or another.

The average attention span is shrinking. In fact, a recent Microsoft study found that our attention span is down to about eight seconds or less. This extends to attention spans while browsing the web. And in the creator economy, those eight seconds are precious currency.There’s no doubt that in recent years, short-form video has either created this trend or capitalized on it. And it’s officially a trend creators can’t afford to ignore. 

Since creator marketing is so successful in the DTC world, it follows that marketers would wonder if the B2B world also lends itself well to success with creator marketing.

Regardless of whether or not fragrance advertising makes sense, they are successful in two notable factors:They get attention, and consumers talk about it. Plus, because celebrities are often the face of legacy perfumes, they offer consumers a point of reference when recalling a brand. It might be daunting for niche or indie brands to go head-to-head with an established brand. But there’s good news: consumers want products that fit their needs individually.

Content creators are worth their weight in gold when the relationship is authentic. And while you might get lucky reaching out to creators who are fans of the brand and willing to provide content for your different marketing channels, there’s a more effective way to get creators on board who will bring the excitement and authenticity you want (and need): getting them to opt-in.

2022 was a successful year for influencer marketers, and things are looking up in 2023 as well. While influencer marketing and creator partnerships will help brands grow and capture more sales, it’s also essential to keep a pulse on marketing, influencer, and industry trends.

It’s known as “algospeak,” and its premise is simple. Some online platforms use algorithms to censor or ban content by seeking out key phrases. Creators find sneaky ways of not saying those phrases while still getting their basic meaning across to their audience. Algorithms becomes Al Gore Rhythms. Dead becomes unalive. Sex becomes seggs. It’s not just a snarky way to avoid TikTok or Twitter dinging your content and sending you to the digital equivalent of a timeout. For some, it’s a necessity. One study examined how “social media work is not just materially concealed, but rendered socially invisible through its lack of … marginal status.” 

Well, TikTok is the “it girl,” right? And if there is anything an “it girl” knows, it’s trends. Brands that ride the wave of the TikTok trends get the most out of the platform and see positive results. Brands that don’t flounder in cyberspace.Lucky for you, I spend a healthy portion of my day researching TikTok trends, so you don’t have to. Here are the top 26 TikTok trends moving into 2023 from A to Z. (Let’s get cute about this…just like TikTok did.)

Since the pandemic, there seems to be a cultural shift in how the world views the overall idea of the full-time job. For many, there were water cooler chats, post-work team-building activities, meetings that really could have been an email, and many minutes spent commuting to and from the office. Now, time is more valuable than ever, and the desire to have a work-life balance, flexibility in schedule and environment, and the space to pursue creative passion projects outside of work is becoming more and more palatable.

This week, BANKNOTES caught up with Dr. Suhail Mohiuddin, who has built a growing dental franchise across the Chicago area, and is bringing in 25% of his new customers through TikTok referrals

While it might seem like pickleball is a come-and-go trend, more akin to cold bucket challenges and “is it real or cake?” videos, pickleball is a trend with staying power. In the world of viral hits and short-lived fads, that’s unique to both sports and TikTok.

TikTok is one of the most powerful tools to build a rapid audience online. Anyone who’s signed up has experienced the initial “boost” that comes with your first couple of posts. TikTok’s algorithm often sets you up for success, hoping to hook you to the platform.But what happens next? You start to find out how competitive TikTok can be. After all, we’re talking about the first non-Facebook app to reach 3 billion global downloads. That’s great news if you’re looking to build an audience. But it’s also a high bar if you’re trying to stand out and build an audience.

It’s not often you come across a dental office with a brand name. Usually, you’ll see “Dr. Mohiuddin Denistry,” “Queen Street Dentistry,” or “Chicago Dental.” There isn’t a lot of creativity, which was the first part of Dr. M’s plan to build a dental brand, not just another clinic. Hence the brand name, Dentologie.

If you want to reach these active Gen Z buyers, it’s essential to understand what messages resonate with them and what kind of content encourages their engagement. For Gen Z, that’s humorous and authentic content.

We asked ChatGPT to summarize the latest influencer marketing trends for BANKNOTES

Well, social media is officially the new word of mouth. Social media allows consumers to share your brand, and it helps you connect with consumers, build trust, and develop a community. And, now there’s a way you can leverage the power of digital word of mouth marketing to also produce more impactful content at a reduced cost. Enter user generated content (UGC).

Think back to the first time you decided to take your creator career seriously. You face a sea of decisions that can feel paralyzing. It’s no surprise then that one question keeps getting brought up when I talk to creators: How do you break through in a sea of distractions, choices and competition?

INFINITI, the luxury division of Nissan, has launched a new creator-powered campaign called Capture INFINITI. According to the agency leading the campaign, INFINITI is looking for ways to differentiate itself within the growing competitive luxury vehicle space, which is why it teamed up with seven creators to launch a one-of-a-kind creator-led campaign. The campaign showcases INFINITI’s QX series. 

The question isn’t whether or not there’s value in hiring creators—even over celebrities—to promote your brand. There is. The question is: what’s the best way to compensate creators so you can secure more mutually-beneficial partnerships and grow your brand?

“It’s a chicken salad.”If this phrase sounds familiar, it’s likely because you’ve heard it used as a trending sound in thousands of videos on TikTok and Instagram over the past several weeks. The entire sound features an exchange between frequent deli goer Nisha Godfrey and owner Wael Herbawi at East 81st Street Deli in Cleveland, Ohio.

Building audiences has always been a lucrative endeavor. It’s the reason why the amount brands spend on influencer marketing keeps rising. Community is powerful on its own, too. Conferences and online memberships are thriving businesses. This begs the question, do all creators need to build community? 

#paid, a multi-channel creator marketing platform that empowers creators to partner with brands and build their businesses, today announced that it has become an official TikTok Marketing Partner. As a badged partner, #paid will bring more great opportunities to their engaged network of content creators and marketers. 

@Colesflow summarizes a hot, new consumer trend in one, short sentence: “I don’t Google anymore—I TikTok. ”While it seems funny at first, stats show TikTok is more than an entertainment and social commerce platform—it’s a search engine. For many consumers, especially younger ones, TikTok is edging out Google as the preferred search engine.

Grin, a popular creator management platform used by DTC brands like SKIMS, Warby Parker, and Allbirds, was dealt a hard blow last month due to Meta’s new API and service guidelines. Most Meta-related features have been wiped from the platform, including Instagram creator search. And that’s barely scratching the surface. The platform removed unauthenticated Instagram creators along with the campaigns and content they’ve made for partner brands in the past. 

As humans, we all need time to develop. We need time to experience new things, make mistakes, and build our own perspectives. Going through this development period helps us make more informed decisions that align better with our skillset. TikTok doesn’t give us time to develop. Post a video today and in 24 hours you can be ‘famous.’ You then go fight a mental battle: Should I keep doing this because of the fame or should I keep doing this because it is fulfilling? 

We all agree that creators should be fairly paid. The time and energy effective creators put into their craft can’t be understated and should be met with equitable compensation.

All creator content isn’t created equal. Consumers don’t want brands to simply throw money around and hire famous faces to promote their products. They want authenticity and content that is synergistic to both the brand and the famous face being used as a spokesperson. 

The popularity of UGC has grown exponentially over the last few years. However, as with all things, there’s an abundance of UGC creators working to connect with brands and provide a service.

Vantana is an artist who abandoned traditional work during the pandemic to focus on his creative digital projects.

Trevor Merchant, also known as @timesaver9000, condenses other people’s often clickbaity or unnecessarily long videos so you won’t have to waste time watching them—hence the username.

If creator content is so effective across social media, should brands be turning to creators for all kinds of high-fidelity content as well? And, is there a benefit to hiring creators directly instead of going the traditional route and hiring an agency? 

Always looking for emerging marketing techniques, operators are backing a new tactic referred to as whitelisting, creator licensing, or creator listing.

Meet eight creators and influencers carving their own path in the creator economy. From beauty and lifestyle content to activism and entrepreneurship, these Latinx creators are making their mark and doing it for the culture… or por la cultura.

Leo González has caught the attention of public figures like George Lopez and Will Smith with his POV-style comedy videos and has amassed more than 2.5 million followers on TikTok and over half a million on Instagram.

In today’s digital age, the term “creator” has been taken hostage by those with a critical mass of followers and who make money exclusively from growing an audience.But the reality is that being a creator doesn’t mean you have to have hundreds of thousands of TikTok followers, and being an influencer doesn’t mean you’re qualified to ‘create.’

Metaverse focussed company TerraZero today announced a partnership with tech, gaming and AI media and event company VentureBeat, the tech that will see the two build a Metaverse event center and corporate showcase environment in Decentraland.

Imagine waking up each morning knowing that you’re going to have a full-course meal prepared for you and all you have to do is walk into your kitchen. Honestly, even the nation’s most popular meal delivery services could never. From lobster and waffles to classic, soul food this dynamic sister duo is creating content and meals so good that even the world’s top chefs would be impressed. Gordon Ramsay, I’m talking about you. 

While beauty, fashion, and lifestyle brands dominate TikTok, more “traditional” (see also: un-sexy) brands can also use the social platform to share educational and entertaining content. 

Traditionally, people have sought answers to these big questions from spiritual gurus, religious leaders, palm readers, prophets, books, community groups (sometimes cults), nature, psychedelics, and other physical sources.But, with the advent of the Internet, the growth of the Creator Economy, and the rise of TikTok as a source of information, spiritual enlightenment is innovating right along with popular technology.

Consumers are 71% more likely to buy products after seeing positive reviews on their social networks, so if creator marketing isn’t in your marketing strategy for Black Friday-Cyber Monday (BFCM)–it should be. 

While her gaming skills are on point and it’s a riot to watch her play, Alisha Ether's fun personality is what makes me continue to avidly consume her content. She’s conversational, warm, and absolutely hilarious.

While the creator-led economy opens the door for individuals to make more money than they made in traditional roles, the answer isn’t black in white in regard to how much any influencers are actually making (male or female). @MsYoungProfess, founder of F*** You Pay Me (FYPM) created FYPM in response to this problem. The organization’s mission is to bring more transparency, accountability, and fairness to the influencer industry, and to make sure influencers get paid what they’re worth.

Prior to becoming a full-time creator, Anthony Gomes was navigating his professional career as a financial analyst at an information services firm. As was the case for many creators-in-the-making, the pandemic was the catalyst that pushed him to leave his nine-to-five and pursue content creation full-time. 

The mental health decline of content creators and influencers is exacerbated by the fact that they cannot simply “unplug” like the average social media user. When things get to be too much, there are still brand deals and business expectations. Content creation and influencer marketing are viable careers—so, why aren’t there the same realistic mental health resources being provided to these professionals?

To those thinking no one is putting out authentic UGC anymore, YETI says hold my very, very, very cold beer.Over the past couple of months YETI—known for their line of coolers, bags and a host of other outdoor products aimed at keeping your drinks and food cold—has put out several Instagram stories featuring products that have been through the ringer.

Authenticity works. And, based on the popularity of the latest social media app, BeReal, people want even more. Here’s a closer look at what BeReal is, why it’s growing, and how brands are sneaking onto the platform.

The rising tide of the creator economy will benefit DTC brands as well as they adapt to the changing landscape and leverage the growing influence of creators. Brands need not view the boom in influencer-led brands as competition but rather as an exciting white space. 

You’ve heard all the success stories of content creators turned business owners. Chris Grayson is one such success story. He started his career as a content creator in the gaming industry, and his success led him to start InfluencerMade, a hub with the resources aspiring creators need to experience success.

TikTok's Gay Bestie, Luke Franchina, talks about his content strategy, how he found his unique voice and offers his advice to fellow creators.

Title IX has created many opportunities for women on and off the field. Fifty years after it’s been passed into law, there are still areas where equality is lacking. However, progress is being made.

Instagram and TikTok are doing anything they can to attract creators. Anything, that is, except the one thing that would create a fair value exchange between platform and creator: partial ownership of the platform company. 

2022 will be a big year for back-to-school shopping, and brands will continue to fight for consumers' attention. If creator marketing isn’t part of your back-to-school marketing strategy, this year would be a great time to incorporate it. Set clear campaign goals, partner with creators that align with your goals and brand, and plan your launch!

Here are the top soccer creators you need keep your eyes on leading up to and during the upcoming World Cup

A group of leading marketers, designers and creators have come together in support of making creative careers more accessible to young people and underrepresented communities.Announced at Cannes Lions last week, the new nonprofit has been named The Creative Ladder and is being led by Ryan Reynolds (yes, that one), Dionna Dorsey Calloway, and David Griner.

Kevin Ferguson comes to life upon a question about an old, stodgy business school term. “Is there a first-mover advantage for some?” the YouTube exec repeats. “Potentially.” Forgive him for being coy. Ferguson is the director of global operations and partnerships for Shorts, the 60-seconds-or-less short-form video platform YouTube first launched in 2020 as a direct answer to TikTok and Instagram Reels, which had staked long-standing leads in the space.

A look at the future of renting land in the metaverse and how brands can activate opportunities across Decentraland and elsewhere.

BuzzFeed Canada today announced a new, ongoing collaboration with #paid, an award-winning creator marketing platform. The partnership will allow BuzzFeed and its portfolio of brands, including Tasty, to offer clients access to the largest on-platform network of creators as cast members for BuzzFeed’s content

Consumers don’t want brands to simply dump money and hire famous faces to promote their products—they’re becoming more marketing-savvy every day and don’t like being sold to. They want meaningful partnerships that they can believe in. And when brand collaborations with celebs and macro-influencers easily come off as inauthentic and lazy, it’s difficult for consumers to move forward.

What used to be a meme-able clash between generations is now having serious repercussions on working conditions and labor rights for career social media creators. While some people think it’s easy to pick up a camera and “make something go viral”, professional creators have lived the umpteen hours it takes to brainstorm, create, edit, and post content people love enough to share.

Brands who want to make the most of their creator campaigns quickly learn that like other tactics, creator assets aren’t simply something you post once and forget. There are endless opportunities when it comes to the distribution of creator content, allowing you to optimize your time and effort on every campaign. Integrating creator content into all aspects of your digital marketing and advertising programs is a surefire way to develop trust and educate your customers across various channels.

Sports entities are being forced to make their games more engaging, using eSports codes, gamification strategies, pushing daily fantasy, interactive experiences, and sports betting. Simply put, Gen Z doesn’t want to just sit back and watch traditional sports broadcasts. Alternative broadcasts allow viewers to essentially watch a live podcast with the game playing on the screen at the same time.

Podcast creation is on the rise and there’s no indication it will slow down anytime soon. Over the last handful of years, podcasts have picked up in popularity for a few reasons:

We already know creators have influence over niche communities on single platforms. On YouTube, 22,000 creators have reached the one million followers threshold. On Instagram, 500,000 have achieved 100,000 followers or more.But once you’ve reached the summits of creator success on your platform, where’s the space to grow? If you feel tapped out by the possibilities present in your current community or current platform, it can be difficult to explain trends like this:

From being seen as just one more social media channel to becoming an important part of every successful brand’s marketing playbook—TikTok has revolutionized social media marketing. By the end of 2022, TikTok’s ad revenue is expected to triple, and they’re projected to own 20% of the social media market share, according to CNBC.

QYOU launched a viral multi-phased campaign for “Sing 2.” It was a smashing success. The campaign drove 26.4 million views, 2.2 million engagements, and a 9% engagement rate on posts featuring key characters, music, and messaging.

If you’ve ever felt frustrated with modern gym culture, it may be tempting to imagine a fitness utopia where your appearance doesn’t matter, diets don’t exist, and no one is trying to sell you anything. It may be even more tempting to yearn for a return to pre-social media fitness culture, before the fitspiration feeds and the Gymshark hauls and the “What I Eat in a Day” videos trying to convince you 1,200 calories is enough to sustain an adult woman. But what would we actually find if we scrolled up on the history of American fitness culture? Would it be any more inclusive and welcoming?

From bringing attention to legacy brands and making them cool again (hello, Vaseline) TikTok has been a boon to brands who know how to use the platform and tap into various markets. For Abercrombie & Fitch, that meant leaning into the power of TikTok to build brand awareness in its target market: Gen Z and millennials. For millennials, it might be playing a bit on the nostalgic factor.

The reason: UGC humanizes your brand. There’s a certain level of authenticity it creates that’s hard to replicate in any other format. And this is critical, as there’s a real disconnect between brands and consumers right now. 91% of marketers think they’re creating authentic content on their websites, but only 51% of consumers agree.

With more than one billion users active on the platform each month, TikTok has established itself as one of the top social media platforms for content creators to grow their personal brands and audience. This leaves many creatives with the opportunity to stand out in their own way and create unique content that reaches the oftentimes coveted status of “viral”—content that explodes and reaches audiences on its origin platform and beyond. DaMya Gurley, a queer content creator based in Los Angeles, California, is no stranger to this. Acting since the early age of five, DaMya has utilized her talents to create funny, relatable, and oftentimes viral content on TikTok and now has amassed almost 360 thousand followers on the platform.

The growth of the Creator Economy can be largely (not exclusively) attributed to women and their entrepreneurial efforts.Statista, for example, found that 84% of social media influencers who post sponsored content are women, while only 16% are men. Women represent 48% of all freelancers, while 45.5% are men. And, more women than men started their own businesses from scratch during the pandemic.

While the state of the world, commerce, and marketing is in flux, this remains the same: Successful marketing and advertising is still about finding and connecting with the right audience in meaningful ways.

Short-term influencer partnerships work well as a sandbox to test your foundation: they give you the flexibility to experiment with different creators and platforms, and in time, you’ll start to get a sense of which content (and which creators) stick.

If you’re a TikTok fan, you’ve likely seen awesome ads from creators promoting up-and-coming movies.You may have even participated in some of the viral, movie-related TikTok trends, including the “Voice of Ghostface” sound, the “Big Red Dog” effect on TikTok, or the branded “#GhostYourProblems” effect.

Instagram is officially doubling-down on its product tagging feature, recently announcing it will be rolling out the functionality to all users in the United States, no longer reserving it for just brands.

While brands still often recruit celebrities for big marketing campaigns, superstars aren’t the only—or best—option for building brand credibility anymore.With the advent of social media and the rise in creator fandoms, brands are now turning to creators for endorsements. What’s more, many creators lend greater clout to a brand than big celebrities do.

A month after the new streaming service CNN+ took flight it sputtered back to Earth and ultimately was grounded, with execs announcing its shuttering this past week. Whatever the reason, CNN's lagging social media numbers, particularly on TikTok, when compared to not only competitor networks but its own journalists likely could have served as an indicator that the news giant's digital house isn't in order.

The NFL's Washington Commanders have named social media influencer Katie Feeney the team's first-ever 'Social Media Correspondent.'Feeney's collective Instagram/TikTok audience of 7.6 million people dwarfs that of the Commanders, which sits at about 2.5 million.

Some of the best creators don’t have celebrity status. Do they need it? Not really.

With influencers and creators being a hot commodity, they’re not afraid to spill the tea.

I recently connected with Alec to discuss his entrepreneurial roots and how he started his career in the tech and music industry.

How do these new platforms factor into the creator economy, and, better yet, what does that look like for both creators and brands? Let’s explore.