66% of Brands Increased their Spending on Creator Marketing in 2021

The internet, quite simply, changed the future of jobs forever. Today, all professions are being redefined and no one really knows what the future will hold for them because of this. Though there are many who are still worried about being phased out because of automation and artificial intelligence, others are embracing the changes. Content creation is one of the many professions that have become the latest sensation of this decade.

Marketers and brands quickly noticed this flourishing creator economy, investing in creator and influencer marketing. Digital content monetization is here to stay. It’s a way to earn money to pay your bills and support your family. Many options are available to enable content monetization like affiliate links, sponsored posts, and selling products and your knowledge. As long as enough time and effort is put into creating content and generating sources of revenue for creators, you can make a decent living out of it.

The last two years is proof of that. We witnessed a growth in the creator economy, and these statistics are an evidence to that.

The Rising Creator Economy Statistics

According to a report released by CreatorIQ, in 2022 we will see an even more growth in creator-driven marketing initiatives among brand agencies Bay Area than we have seen already. There has been a rapid allocation of funds to power creator-driven marketing initiatives, with 66% of brands saying they spent more on creator-driven strategies in 2021 than in previous years. In addition, 52% also said they expanded their marketing teams to meet this new trend.

While Instagram (especially ‘Stories’) continues to be the most popular social channel for creative campaigns, TikTok has prompted marketers to reconsider how they identify and engage with customers. Approximately 96% of brands and 88% of influencers reported using Instagram Stories regularly, while 46% of brands and 42% of influencers reported using TikTok regularly.

Businesses and influencers will continue to explore and hunt best practices for the growing creator economy landscape as budgets grow. Almost half (48%) of the brands questioned by CreatorIQ reported spending at least $100,000 per year on creator marketing, with 10% spending more than $1 million. With the space’s expansion in recent years, these figures indicate ripe prospects for marketers to leverage influencers’ vast and dedicated followers. Even platforms such as TikTok and the overall social commerce scenario will increase in 2022.

Meanwhile, specialized tactics and venues for influencer marketing are evolving with time. The techniques that once worked are no longer viable for brands seeking to connect with consumers authentically through influencers. The report also revealed that user-generated content (UGC) accounts for 39% of media hours as opposed to the 61% of professionally shot content. This indicates how the creator economy opens doors for new creators whose content might not be what they see as the “typical” model of successful content, a.k.a. really polished and professional looking photos and videos.

Teenagers today stream UGC in a similar fashion that earlier generations watched TV. During the pandemic, the creator economy has evolved into a holistic social media powerhouse that has transformed marketing and business tactics worldwide. Because creators can revolutionize sectors, platforms, and even boardroom talks, clever marketers must understand how the landscape changes and what is driving it to change. No wonder more people are joining this trend and googling “how to make money as content creator.”

Further, platforms like TikTok have compelled sites like Facebook to adapt to changing user patterns and needs. In December, Facebook launched a professional option for profiles in the United States, giving creators additional revenue streams and tools to help them build their audience. They also unveiled Facebook Live integration in the platform’s Stories bar, allowing creators to publish their live streams in Stories to increase discoverability. These new features by Facebook reflected a stronger emphasis on enticing and supporting creators and online influencers who have a large following and significant influence over consumer trends and purchases.

Conclusion

We see the potential in 2022 to have a giant wave of growth in creator-driven marketing initiatives. We predict that budgets will continue to shift in the next couple of years to support these efforts. The clear advantage of working with creators is their ability to drive organic and authentic engagement with a positive ROI.

This year will also be one of the most pivotal years to take advantage of these opportunities, so now is the time to align with the growing creator economy trends. How can you do that?

Sign up with a content monetization platform like Retrieve to turn your audience and content into a recurring revenue stream. Sell your valuable content and make money off your direct messages by adding a subscription paywall to your content and messaging. With Retrieve, you can offer a sophisticated platform to your followers with one-on-one interaction, audio and text translation, communities, live sessions, courses, digital guides, and many more inclusive features.

Check out Retrieve.com today and unlock your earning potential.