The Wild Differences Between "Influencers" and "Creators"
There are ongoing conversations that try to unpack the differences between these worlds, like this video underneath which I think is very valuable and starts to differentiate the two, but I think there’s still a lot more to unpack in the creator economy.
People get lost in the “macro”, and just refer to anyone who posts videos on the line as an ‘influencer’ and I think that’s dangerous for endless reasons, but I’ll give you one, arguably the most important.
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The Problem.
This problem was always clear to me, but I never thought it was too big of a deal, until I was at a party this past week and I vaguely described what I do for work. Now I really don’t like to tell people what I do, because I feel like it’s hard to describe and I feel like a crazy person when I even try to. Anyways, I still always say something like, “I work in advertising.” This time, I expanded ever so slightly and said, “I work in advertising by providing media to platforms that I then see a return on”. To which my dear friend responds with, loudly I might add, “Ohhh so you’re a Social Media Influencer.” I nearly choked on my Celsius. I’m not kidding.
The Creator Economy
The cringe in my soul when I hear the word influencer used to describe me is so real. Not that I have anything against influencers, I love influencers, I’m just not in that space. We are completely different creators.
Yes we are all part of the creator economy, yes we all post content to these platforms, but we don’t necessarily do it the same way, with the same intention, or even with the same priorities. So not only do I believe this is a crucial conversation to be had for my pure sanity, but this a big deal.
People are fighting to understand their work identity. When you go to school for accounting, nursing, or therapy, there are clear progressions. After you graduate and obtain your licenses you are the accountant, the nurse, the therapist.
Those jobs are so fundamentally clear, and creating online is the polar opposite, and I believe that’s partly because there are no concise definitions to the differences. So I wanted share my thoughts on the matter to hopefully clear the air. Let’s dive deep.
The Big Three.
There’s three types of people who create videos online: Influencers, Creators, and *Big Media Companies.
Influencers
Think of influencers as new-age celebrities of the internet. Very similar to super models in the early 2000’s. These are people who have somehow managed to build on platforms to not just reach an audience, but have influence over the audience. Usually with style, charm, and personality. Each post kind of feels like a hug. It’s really interesting.
The big thing with influencers is their gift to drive sales. Whether it’s them showing you their new Target haul, some makeup they’re now obsessed with, or a drink they can’t put down. Influencers have this ability to be infectious with their opinion and personality that drives their audience from being casual viewers, to casual buyers. Because seeing someone you care about, talking about something they like, makes you want to like that something even more.
Clear example: *Emma Chamberlain and her coffee company, Chamberlain Coffee. (Asterisk explained later on.)
Creators
On the other side are the artists, craftsmen, the chefs of the internet. The writers, the videographers, the podcasters who publish content regularity and with style. In that world currency isn’t just in subscribers or followers, but engagement. Deep, meaningful connection with their audiences.
Creators aren’t just about publishing because they’re in it to make money, even though that’s part of it, they’re publishing because their work is an extension of themselves. They’re also less quick to sell out and are generally more concerned about building their community.
Clear example: Casey Neistat didn’t turn on monetization on his YouTube channel until he passed 100 million views, because he cared about the integrity of the art.
Big Media Companies
Then there are the *Big media companies (adding an asterisk because some of these media companies run a bit lean, but you get the idea.) Here, it’s not just you. You’re not just an independent creator or influencer who’s doing your own thing, you have a team behind you. That includes payroll, scalability, and way more. The game has changed here.
Companies like Think Media, Mythical, Watcher, and Colin and Samir operate in this bracket. These guys focus on niche content. Which is good because they say, “the riches are in the niches”. Big media companies bring online broadcasting on platforms to the next level with higher quality, more consistent, show like experiences.
Similar to what you’d find in traditional broadcasting, except without the overhead and politics found in media networks.
Simple Breakdown:
Scale and Flexibility: Influencers and creators are often independent. More personal, more flexible. Big media companies, while larger, still operate with a leanness that allows for quick pivots and a personal touch that massive corporations simply can't match.
Control and Creativity: Influencers and creators have complete control of their outputs entirely, living and breathing by their instincts. Big media companies, are slightly different. While still individualistic, there’s also layers of strategy, brand, and partnerships that live rent free in the back of their minds, which could influence some choices, because now you have a team to feed.
Goals and Monetization: Influencer’s fuel is engagement, and more often then not their main source of income is through brand collabs, affiliate links, etc. Creators usually get more creative with their monetization typically having many revenue streams. This can be a combination of ad revenue, digital products, merch, memberships, newsletters. The goal here is building your revenue while still focusing on community and continuity. Big media companies use their established names to sell courses, teach masterminds, have long lasting partnerships with brands, or even create subscription websites that rival Netflix (that’s right, we’re looking at you Watcher).
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Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browserThings to remember:
There are overlaps. Lots, and lots of overlaps. Many people who share content one way or another might transition into another category, creating sort of a hybrid. This is normal and we’re probably going to be seeing things like this happen more often. *Emma Chamberlain is a great example of this because she has evolved and it’s clear to see. Emma was primarily a YouTube Creator for a long time, but now there’s an argument to be made that she is in this new, celebrity-influencer bracket that she has invented for herself.
And that’s my favorite part of the creator economy, it is all so new that people are essentially inventing their own categories because they’ve simply outgrown the ones they initially started in.
That’s the beauty of this world. There are no ceilings in this business.
The internet moves fast, and with that so will the creator economy. In business, those who adapt and pivot will win. Not because they’re better, but because they’re committed to the process of creativity.
Final thought.
Creators are here to stay.