Influencers Vs Creators. And what is The Creator Economy?

I know what you’re thinking. When did this happen? LOL. us too.

At some point in the last couple of years, through the madness we all experienced, we stopped calling them Influencers and started calling them creators. And we started talking about The Creator Economy.

The reason why people get a little confused when it comes to Influencer Marketing VS the Creator Economy is because of the interchangeability of the words ‘Influencers’ and ‘Creators’. 

And if we go back even further, this all started with bloggers!

So let’s start with the marketing basics. 

Influencer Marketing is a marketing channel that utilizes individuals that have built an audience on a social media platform to promote their brand/products. 

Just like Instagram is a marketing channel, TV is a marketing channel.

A marketing channel is a route to which you communicate with your customers. Influencer Marketing is one marketing channel in an overall marketing strategy. 

By contrast, the Creator Economy refers to the ecosystem around the Influencers/Creators. 

And Influencers/Creators are not just considered personal brand profiles anymore - they are micro businesses. 

And anyone on the planet can decide to start a Creator business.

Due to the absolute explosion of this ecosystem, it’s now not just brands and Influencers/Creators working together; a whole bunch of new companies have been created designed specifically to empower these Creator businesses. 

And is now some 50million+ strong. Made up of content creators, curators, community builders and the tools ​​designed to help them with growth and monetization.

Creator VS Influencer

OK so back to the question at hand. What’s the difference?

Now, as with everything in this industry, there’s no regulation and no actual rules about this. The titles ‘Influencer’ or ‘Creator’ are self appointed. Anyone can call themselves anything they want. This isn’t like getting a job where an employer gives you an official title. 

However, typically:

An Influencer is… typically someone who creates an online profile that centres around their personal brand.

A Creator is… typically someone who creates an online profile that centres around a creative skill of some type, like content creation, photography, video, music, podcasting, painting etc. 

So how did this happen?

Since the beginning of Blogging and Influencer Marketing, individuals have gotten a pretty bad wrap in the media. 

All the way back in early 2000s bloggers started invading the front row of fashion shows which really kicked off the negative coverage of bloggers in fashion media and media more generally. 

It was a signal that media and online journalism was going to change forever. 

Anyone on the planet with an internet connection could now commentate on any topic they pleased. And it turns out that consumers loved it. Consumers were tired of being fed curated brand messages, they craved real and relatable. Which is exactly what bloggers delivered up. 

As the industry evolved and new social media channels popped up it became easier and easier to create a profile online. Then brands clued on to how influential (pun intended) these online profiles were and Influencer Marketing as we know it was born. 

This didn’t stop the negative media. And I’ll be the first to tell you that because we have in industry full of un-professionals, there certainly have been a number of players that have given the industry a bad name.

As a result, Influencers have started moving away from the title ‘Influencer’ and self-identifying as ‘Creator’. And I don’t blame them.

So now, the terms ‘Influencer’ and ‘Creator’ are really interchangeable, even though they were probably once supposed to be more defined. 

When it comes to your own Influencer/Creator strategy.. What do you need to think about?

To be honest, nothing really changes for you as the brand. Other than considering each individual and what they identify as and what they are good at to make sure they are a match for your marketing objectives and brand identity.

If you’re feeling unsure, we’d be happy to share our experience and expertise with you.. Did you know our co-founder Danielle was even a blogger herself back in the day!

We’d love to brainstorm with you any time.

Grab a time in our CEOs diary that suits you!