The Creator Economy Takes Off
A billion-dollar sub-market is taking brand marketing to new heights
By Peter Krass
The platform economy has spawned several offspring — and they are taking on lives of their own. Chief among them is the billion-dollar creator economy, businesses built by independent, mostly self-employed creators, including social-media stars, podcast producers, bloggers, video hosts and other ‘influencers’, many of whom have come up with clever ways of monetizing their influential activities. Increasingly, the creator economy also includes traditional companies that serve and sometimes employ these independent marketers.
Both groups rely on digital platforms to connect with their audiences, which can be impressively large. The most-followed user on TikTok, a young man named Khaby Lane, has nearly 162 million fans — more than the entire population of Russia.
Numbers like that attract attention, and the “Navigating the Creator Economy” panel, a first for the MIT Platform Strategy Summit, was laser-focused on these trends. The Summit was held recently at MIT with more than 300 virtual and in-person attendees.
Once an online creator or influencer attracts a big following, they can attract brands.
L’Oreal, Disney, and ESPN are among those that have paid influencers to help marketing campaigns, and in some cases have even hired web personalities outright.
With so many creators and influencers out there, and on so many platforms, brands can be overwhelmed by choice. “You want to set your goals,” advised Lindsey Gamble. “What are your KPIs [key performance indicators]? What are you hoping to accomplish?….Then you can figure out what social media platforms you need to be on…and what type of creators you need to pick.”
B2B Joins In
While a great deal of the action is B2C, a new wave of B2B influencers is rolling in. And they’re using platforms beyond typical business sites like LinkedIn. “There’s so much more,” said Ansley Williams. “One of our top-performing pieces of content was a long-form video, ‘the most interesting man in insurance.’ ”
AI is coming into play, too. Panelist Jordan Yates described an AI application she uses behind the scenes on a Caterpillar-sponsored podcast she hosts, “Energy Pipeline,” to help edit the podcast video. The AI tool has been programmed to detect which person is speaking during the playback. Then it makes sure that person is on screen. “It saves so much time,” Yates said.
That may sound modest given some of the loftier claims made for AI tech, but Heidi Mika said these kinds of shortcuts can help marketers overcome two big challenges: burnout — popular influencers must churn out new content frequently — and a related lack of time for creative brainstorming. Mika said she’s learning to use ChatGPT and other AI tools, hoping to stay current and discover the technology’s possibilities.
“The best advice I’ve been given about AI,” she said, “is that it’s not AI that will take over our jobs, but the people who know how to use it.”
Overall, the creator economy will matter for three types of participants: Brands, the influencers and creators, and platforms. “This doesn’t actually happen,” said moderator Peter Evans, “unless there’s a platform.”
The Creator Economy: By the Numbers
· 50 million: Number of online creators/influencers worldwide
· 2 million: Number who make a living at it
· $100 billion: Current estimated value of the global creator economy
· 40%: Percentage of the total digital marketing spend allocated to influencers
Watch video of the panel discussion on YouTube here.
