In today's competitive and dynamic marketplace, businesses are constantly seeking new ways to increase their reach and revenue. The rise of the creator economy has presented an opportunity for brands to partner with influencers and other content creators to engage with their target audience authentically.
Whether you're looking to improve organic channel traffic, conversion rates, or reach, collaborating with creators can help take your business to the next level. So, let's explore how you can utilize creators to amplify and grow your audience and subscriber base.
Uh … What Is a Content Creator?
A content creator is an individual who creates content. The type of content they create varies but can include videos, photos, graphics, blog posts, podcasts, and other informational resources. This content is published across various channels such as YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter, TikTok, their website, and more.
Content creators are experts in content creation and promotion, as their work revolves entirely around engaging their active followers with content.
As mid-range tech and startup companies continue to prioritize organic growth, content creators have become a valuable asset for boosting reach, engagement, and conversions.
Content Creator vs. Influencer
We’ve all seen Instagram selfies from insanely attractive influencers who just happen to be casually promoting a product half naked. We’re not here to debate whether those marketing tactics provide a fruitful ROI, but we can assure you that the value of content creators stretches far beyond pretty selfies.
When it comes down to content creator vs. influencer, what is the difference?
Influencers are social media personalities who share posts about their life, influencing their followers to buy the products and/or services they use along the way.
Content creators are often experts in a particular niche or industry and are trusted by their community of followers for their authenticity and expertise. This trust has made content creators an ideal partner for businesses looking to expand their reach and tap into new audiences.
Of course there is overlap between the two — influencers create content, and content creators influence their loyal viewers. There is still value in influencer marketing, but the content creator feels like a natural progression beyond that.
Benefits of Partnering with Creators
Seventy-one percent of U.S. consumers say they want to back authentic brands because they’re relatable. When leveraged properly, content creators can improve your marketing efforts. Some benefits include the following:
- Higher quality content: Creators who specialize in creating engaging content can improve the quality of yours, providing your customers with more value.
- Reach niche audiences: A creator within your niche provides you access to highly targeted consumers who are likely to be interested in your products.
- Increase brand awareness: Creators tend to have very dedicated viewers, offering valuable brand awareness.
- Drive engagement: Not only will a creator understand how to create content tailored to your audience’s preferences, but their authenticity also makes them a trustworthy spokesperson for your brand.
- Cut marketing costs: Paying creators to curate content for your brand can be more cost-effective than traditional marketing efforts.
- Boost SEO: When content creators link back to your website, it can improve your website’s rankings on the search engine results pages (SERPs) and boost organic traffic.
Overall, there are a multitude of positives that creators can provide your marketing strategy. An important element of any marketing is creativity, and content creators flex that muscle daily.
How to Leverage Creators for Your Brand
With 207 million content creators worldwide, there are a few things to keep in mind in seeking the right creator for your brand and partnering with them.
Here are some steps to follow:
1. Define Your Goals
Your objectives will dictate the type of content you create and for what platform. For example, to educate your audience, you could publish industry-specific blog content on LinkedIn. Twitter posts can boost brand awareness, engagement, and traffic.
2. Determine Budget
Keep your budget in mind when seeking out creators for your brand, as creators with more influence will cost more. However, micro-influencers can generate up to 60% more engagement than larger influencers, so don’t count smaller creators out, either.
3. Identify the Right Creators
Find creators whose content aligns with your brand and target personas. Use hashtags to search, and look for online groups centered around your industry. You can even use a platform like minisocial. Be sure their content matches your style, tone, and messaging. Also, consider the size of their audience — the more engaged the audience is, the better.
4. Decide on a Partnership
There are different collaboration types you can consider. Do you want to co-create content to expand reach, create sponsored posts to generate leads, or allow the creator to take over your social accounts for a day or more to increase engagement and gain new subscribers? Remembering your marketing goals will help you decide.
5. Collaborate on Content
No matter the type of content you want to create, be sure to clearly outline expectations and deliverables to ensure that the content aligns with your brand and resonates with their audience.
6. Utilize Their Platform
A fruitful collaboration can stretch beyond the creation alone. You can ask your collaborator to share your content with their followers and include backlinks and calls to action to drive traffic to your website, social media, or landing page.
By knowing what you want to accomplish and spend, you can collaborate appropriately with the right creator and produce the content your brand needs. Directing traffic back to a platform you own (i.e., your website) builds your relationship with this audience without the middleman.
Other Ways to Leverage a Creator’s Power
In addition to co-creating content, sponsored collabs, and creator takeovers, there are other ways to harness a creator’s command.
- Affiliate partnerships: Affiliate partnerships can incentivize creators to promote your products or services beyond the collaboration. This mutually beneficial partnership can generate additional revenue for both parties.
- Brand ambassadors: Identify creators who genuinely love your brand, represent it well, and provide great value. An ongoing relationship with a creator means they can advocate for your brand in the long term.
- Product testimonials: A creator could provide an honest review of your product, encouraging their viewers to try it out, building awareness and trust in the process.
- Giveaways and contests: A creator can host a contest or giveaway in which one of their followers wins a prize from your brand, increasing awareness and traffic.
- Event collaborations: You can even harness a creator’s expertise by collaborating on webinars, workshops, or live streams to establish thought leadership and increase engagement.
In fact, big brands are already doing it. Leading CRM platform Salesforce partnered with creator and marketing guru Gary Vaynerchuk for an interview, expanding their reach and enhancing credibility with their audience.
Get Creative with It (Beyond the Collab)
Creativity fuels not just content creation but your marketing strategy as well. There are a few ways you can harness your creative power even after the collaboration ends.
First, expand your reach by repurposing your content for different channels. Before getting started on the next piece of content, establish how you plan to maximize the effectiveness of the current project.
Key takeaways from your blog post could be highlighted in social media posts — or your blog post could be expanded into a podcast episode. Video content can be transformed into gifs and memes for emails.
When it comes to repurposing content, the options are vast, so always keep your marketing goals in mind when deciding how you’ll repurpose yours and for what channel(s).
Get Creative Today
In the digital era, content is increasingly important in amplifying your reach and growing your subscribers. Partnering with the right content creators can improve your content, boost awareness, generate leads, drive traffic, and increase engagement.
Now it’s your turn to get creative with your content, within your collaborations with creators, and with your overall marketing strategy.
You could collaborate with copywriters on blog posts. You could team up with a YouTuber in your niche for educational video content or product reviews. If you’d like to play the role of content creator yourself, you can even harness a tool like Creator Mode on LinkedIn to amplify your reach and grow your subscribers among your professional network.
When it comes to content today, the possibilities to grow your reach and audience are limitless — especially when utilizing the power of content creators.
