Demonstrating Value Beyond a Follower Count
Let’s talk a little bit about the numbers game. Content creators are constantly chasing higher follower or subscriber counts, often because they believe that this will make them more attractive to brands they want to work with. Others may be looking to their follower count as a source of pride and self-validation. It is likely that so much emphasis is put on follow and sub counts because they are the only immediately visible metric that brands and viewers can see on a channel without doing deeper research. While follower or sub counts do matter and are generally an indicator of influence, they never fully demonstrate the value that a content creator can provide for a brand.
The thing is, follower counts can be manipulated or misleading. For example, creators could pay for (fake) followers or (legitimately) run giveaways where participants can follow a channel as a way to enter a contest. Both of these approaches would leave a creator with a bloated follower count with negligible boosts in engagement or views. These new followers are nothing more than a number on a profile at this point. In another scenario, a creator could have built up a massive following years ago but no longer earns the same sort of positive metrics as they did at their peak. These are just a few instances of follower and subscriber counts not conveying the true value a creator may be able to deliver for a brand.
Now, this isn’t to say that brands don’t care about follower counts — many definitely do. However, savvy brands will do their homework before entering into a deal with creators. What brands are really looking for when considering creators to work with is who can deliver a positive return on their investment (ROI). We recommend that brands identify at least ten creators with the top-level metrics that they are looking for — and then review as much of their content as possible to determine if they may be a good fit for their campaign.
So, what matters more than your follower or subscriber count? Here are some metrics and considerations that creators can tout to help show the value that they bring to the table:
- Average Concurrent Viewership (CCV) / Impressions: For streamers, the average concurrent viewership is a strong measure of the influence that they have on a platform. This shows how many viewers are typically watching a streamer live. Combine this with data on monthly impressions and you can get a decent estimate of how many people a streamer is consistently reaching with their content.
- Engagement: The amount of interactions a creator is receiving can reflect how deep a relationship they have with their audience. This could include chat messages (for streams), comments, likes, and shares (for YouTube and social media platforms). When high interactions are frequently taking place, it’s a fair assumption that the creator has an influential voice within their community.
- Watch time: For both streams and YouTube, the amount of time watched is very important. This shows the creator’s ability to capture the attention of their audience — which brands can leverage to get their own visibility.
- Average percentage viewed: On YouTube, a highly insightful metric is Average Percentage Viewed. This again is a great indicator of a creator’s ability to hold their audience’s attention consistently — which is an important factor if a brand wants to run mid-roll ads/segments on a channel.
- Marketability: Something that may be a bit more difficult to directly measure is how marketable a creator is. However, as a creator gains experience working with brands, they can directly reference what brands they have worked with in the past and what some notable results they achieved in previous campaigns. This demonstrates credibility and professionalism.
- Niche and content style: Some creators who have a deep knowledge or affinity for a brand, industry, or content style may be able to present their authenticity as a real selling point. The right fit from a content perspective can be a factor (even if other metrics are not remarkable) because they will likely have a laser-targeted audience that will inherently be interested in the brand’s campaign.
- Creativity: If creators can demonstrate creativity and an ability to think outside the box, brands will know that the creator will be able to produce engaging content around any directive that’s thrown their way. More and more, creators are given more flexibility to bring promotions to life in their own unique way, so being able to take a creative approach can be a big differentiator.
- Cross-platform presence: Creators can clearly benefit by building their presence on multiple platforms and social media channels. Not only does this give brands more options for where to promote their campaign, it gives creators more opportunities to be considered for campaigns on different platforms.
- Momentum and Growth: Perhaps a creator isn’t fully established on a platform, but they are seeing dramatic growth. It benefits brands to build relationships with promising creators while they are on their way up, and partnering with them while there is a swell of energy and excitement behind them can have a substantial impact.
While creators may not check all of these boxes, they should lead with their best qualities when negotiating deals with a brand. Brands on the other hand need to think beyond standard follower and view metrics to fully understand the potential value of working with a specific creator.
On the InfluencerStuff platform, creators are able to customize personal profiles and quickly create RFPs based on their key data and content sources. The creator can send these RFPs directly to brands looking for creators to partner with. As an agency, we also do our best to help the creators we represent grow and elevate their content so they can be considered for higher-tier opportunities as they progress in their careers.
As the influencer industry continues to evolve, expectations for creators may continue to increase. This is why understanding strengths and being able to convey one’s value will continue to be essential for all professional creators moving forward.
Oh, and make sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to stay up-to-date as we advance from finding solutions to building solutions, you don’t want to miss this.
