What is the creator economy? Many small business owners have heard of it, and some small businesses are even based on it. For the rest, though, you may be wondering what it means and how it can benefit your business. In this overview, you’ll learn what the creator economy is and how to leverage it for your small business growth.
What is the creator economy?
Forbes defines the creator economy as “A growing field of people who make money by leveraging their creative talents, typically using digital platforms to connect with their audiences.” Countless people now make at least part of their income as content creators for social media, such as TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and others.
They’re writers, artists, graphic designers, videographers, photographers, and more who create content for their audiences and often promote other businesses, too. Many are also “influencers” – people with significant audiences through their online presence.
And it’s a force to be reckoned with: The creator economy is projected to generate nearly half a billion dollars in the coming years.
Can you leverage the creator economy for your small business?
You’ve seen the impact of the creator economy on large businesses that use “influencers” and other creators to help market their goods and services.
For example, an influencer may promote a major sneaker, soda, or software brand. Someone with a substantial following on TikTok or YouTube may have their videos sponsored to include a promotional snippet for a business. Or a fitness influencer whose videos can be viewed millions of times while wearing a certain brand’s gear.
It’s important to note that using the creator economy isn’t only for large corporations. There are thousands of creators with tens of thousands of followers who have a significant impact within their niche markets. And when their niche market aligns with yours, you can strike gold when you engage them to promote your small business.
So, if you’re wondering whether you can build the creator economy’s impact into your business, the answer is absolutely yes!
How to use the creator economy for your small business
For small businesses, there are three primary ways you can leverage the power of the creator economy to increase your reach and build your business:
- Find content creators and influencers in your niche and develop a promotional relationship with them.
- Have creators develop next-level marketing materials that can grow your brand.
- Become your own “influencer” by creating content and building your brand around you and your products and services.
Let’s take a look at how each of these options, and even using all of them, can help you build your small business.
1. Use creator influence to build your business and brand
According to a Harvard Business Review article, smaller creators (creators with less than 50,000 followers) make up 76% of all creators on TikTok and nearly 96% on Instagram.
These majority have significant and specialized niche audiences, and when you find a creator whose audience is your key market, big things can happen. The great news is that this can also be a cost-effective way to get your business known, with promoted posts costing about $10 to $500 for smaller influencers.
Find creators and influencers in your niche
First, you’ll need to do some research. Search for content that’s related to your business – your products, services, location, target audience, etc.
Here are some examples:
- If you have an e-commerce site that sells specialty products for parakeets, you’ll want to start your search with that information. Chances are that you’ll find some niche influencers with audiences of several thousand people who are already interested in what you have to offer.
- If you have a food truck that features your great-grandma’s cannoli, you’ll want to base your search around your locale, as well as your product line.
Connect and find a way to work together
Next, connect with them (this tool can help you develop the strategy that’s right for you and your business). You can often engage these niche influencers with relatively little effort and expense.
For example, once you’ve made an initial outreach, your strategy may include offering free samples or services in exchange for a review or promotional spot. For a local business and influencer, you may arrange to have them do a short promo video at your business.
If a particular creator or influencer isn’t interested in working with you, don’t despair – thousands of them are out there, and you’ll find the right fit for your business.
2. Leverage creators’ expertise and audiences
The services of many creators can also be engaged to create new content for your digital channels. If you come upon a video or other content you love online, reach out to find out how much it would be to use their services. Sometimes, great content development can be secured for a great price. That’s because many creators are competing for audience share, so a paid gig to create something for you can be a win for them, too.
Keep your eyes and ears open to everything that passes by your digital feeds – you never know when you’ll stumble upon the exact type of content you want for your business. You can find a wealth of freelancing creators through sites like Fiverr and Upwork, as well as through your favorite social media channels.
3. Become your business’s own creator and influencer
One of the keys to creator success is authenticity: It’s why so many “ordinary” people amass thousands of subscribers or millions of views simply for their take on decluttering a home, cooking a pasta dish, or demonstrating software use.
These are the backbones of the creator economy, and for you, this might be the best path forward for growing your business and brand. After all, who can represent it better than you?
Depending on your business, you could start with simple videos made on your phone. For example, sharing videos that show you baking your baklava, pouring your craft beer, or providing a facial massage. And before you know it, you’ve become your business’s best brand ambassador.
You can use sites like YouTube’s Creator Academy for free tutorials and more. Or, you can enlist a tech-savvy employee, friend, or family member to help.
How to measure success
Given the relative cost-effectiveness of these strategies, you can likely budget a bit for each method to see what works best for your business. The easiest way to measure your strategy’s success is to check the analytics functions for your digital channels, such as Google Analytics, for traffic from organic searches and paid promotions.
You could also include a brief survey in a follow-up email for sales to ask people how they found your business. This can offer even more insight into what people responded to and what is worth investing in further.
The key is to keep it simple: You want to ensure that your time and money are well-spent, but don’t let a quest for perfection keep you from trying.
Pursuit can help you build your marketing budget
Now that you have an answer to the key question, “What is the creator economy?” and ideas about how to make it work for you, the next step is to create a simple strategy and move forward with implementation. If insufficient funds could hold you back, Pursuit can help.
We’re a leading small business lender in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Illinois, Nevada, and Washington. We have a line of credit and loan options that can help you finance your plans and thrive.
Start your application to learn more.
