What's the Difference Between Influencers and Content Creators and How Can They Help Your Brand?
In 2022, terms like "influencer" and "content creator" are often thrown around, so it can be challenging to keep track of what's what. At first glance, these two terms appear almost interchangeable; they're both people who post on social media for money, right? Well, not exactly. Although there is significant overlap between influencers and content creators, some essential differences set these two groups apart. More importantly, if you're a business owner looking to work with digital creators, it's crucial to know the differences between the creator types.
What's the difference?
Content creators can make content for your brand specifically, whereas influencers usually focus on creating content for their own pages. While all influencers are content creators, not all content creators are influencers. Content creators can specialize in many different areas of media, such as photography, videography, copywriting, or animation. Content creators often have their own social media following, but this may not always be the case.
On the other hand, influencers are also content creators by virtue of having their own social media pages that they post on and create content for. However, influencer content is usually based on their personality rather than their unique skillset. The key difference here is that influencers usually make content for themselves and their pages, whereas content creators can produce content for themselves and other brands or businesses. This will likely be the determining factor when figuring out what kind of digital creator you want to work with. Do you want someone to create bespoke content for your brand's social media pages, or do you want your brand featured on someone else's social media page with a large dedicated audience?
Benefits of working with a content creator
Content creators are storytellers. They usually have a particular format for what they produce. You're paying for their visual aesthetic, writing style, or production skills when working with them.
When choosing someone to work with, you should consider whether that person's aesthetic aligns with your own. Do you feel that the content they would create for you would be in harmony with your existing brand? By working with someone who specializes in creating video, audio, or photo content, you can leverage both their skill and style. This is helpful as it allows your brand to receive stylized, new, and engaging content without much work. But it's important to consider whether the content this creator would make for your brand is something you'd actually want to be displayed on your accounts, or rather is it just something you enjoy consuming, but it wouldn't fit your brand.
The best part about working with content creators is that they're usually skilled digital marketers. This allows you some level of reassurance that the content you'll receive will be of high quality -- their business relies on their engaging and memorable deliverables. Similarly, a hired content creator can often add more value to specific marketing campaigns with their storytelling, editing, photography, animation, writing, visual, or creativity skills. These skills can take the quality of your digital content to the next level; it's almost as if you're hiring a unique creative director each time.
Working with a content creator can remove a lot of the stress, and busy work associated with keeping your brand's social media feeds relevant, engaging, and up to date. This article speaks more about creative ways to get content for your business.
Working with Influencers
While influencers come from the same roots as content creators, they don't operate in the same way as those we previously discussed. Working with influencers usually means the deliverables come in the form of your brand being promoted on the influencer's social media page.
If you have an Instagram account, odds are you've most definitely seen these kinds of #sponsored posts before. The thing to remember is that when working with an influencer is that you're paying for their voice, audience, and reach. Influencers have strong relationships with their audiences. People care about what they post. The attention these individuals captivate can be an excellent opportunity for your business as your sponsored posts can get a lot of engagement, visibility, and sales conversions. We speak more about the power of influencer marketing in this article.
Working with influencers can also help you target particular audiences with interests that are relevant to your brand. For example, fashion influencers have an audience likely interested in fashion and design. If you're a brand looking to target people with these interests, it may be an excellent idea to partner with a fashion blogger who can show off your product or service to the people who are most likely to be interested in it.
Both influencers and content creators can offer something unique to your business, but you need to consider your marketing goals before working with either one. Suppose you're looking for someone to primarily create content for your brand that you want to use on your pages. In that case, you should likely work with someone who identifies primarily as a content creator, whether it's a photographer who will take over your Instagram feed, a videographer who's going to make all your TikToks or a copywriter who's going to write your blog posts.
Suppose you want your products seen by a specific audience, associated with a certain lifestyle, or seen by those with a particular interest or passion. In that case, partnering with an influencer might be the better option for you. While the content itself may not always be as stellar as what you'd get from a content creator, you benefit from the significant influence and trust associated with influencers and their audience. It's about choosing to work with whomever you believe will advance your business goals in the way you want.
If you're interested in partnering with Atelier Oluwatosin for content creation, check out our different collaboration opportunities here.