How to Partner With Creators and Influencers in Your Content Creation Process

Content creation is the act of planning, executing, and publishing content to help people find your brand and learn more about your products or services.

Content is everywhere.

Every blog post, social media update, email, product review, and video is a piece of content—the possibilities are endless. But it can feel overwhelming trying to keep up with the demand for fresh, exciting content that stays front of mind.

To stand out in this sea of content, everything from your blogs and social posts to Instagram Lives needs to tell a compelling and authentic story about your brand.

Partnering with content creation pros can help you resonate with your target audience, reach more people, and build a scalable content library without doing it all yourself.

What is content creation?

Content creation is the act of planning, executing, and publishing content to help people find your brand and learn more about your products or services. It’s a tough job managing it all in-house, which is why the creator economy has blossomed over the past few years. Today, there are more than 50 million creators producing content in a market worth over $100 billion.

So what exactly is the creator economy? It’s an ecosystem that sees creators make money directly from the content they create. Made up of consumers, entrepreneurs, and influencers, the creator economy offers a wealth of resources for advertisers and companies to lean on.

Content created within this ecosystem can include emails, blogs, web pages, social media posts, videos, and podcasts—the most successful type of content ultimately depends on the type of business you’re running, whether you fall in the B2B or B2C category, who you’re targeting, and the kind of products you sell.

The great thing about the creator economy is there are tons of specialists that focus on different types of content so you can quickly populate your content library without spending hours creating it internally.

YouTuber Emma Chamberlain specializes in creating atmospheric videos about various travel destinations. While Tabitha Brown is renowned for posting candid, face-to-camera videos about life on TikTok.

The rise of ‘lofi’ content

Content forms a major part of every step in the sales cycle. It’s often the first thing people see in relation to your brand and it can have a huge impact on decision-making.

But it’s no longer enough to put any old content out there and hope for the best. In fact, 90% of consumers say authenticity is important when deciding which brands they engage with, which is why there has been a massive shift towards authentic social media content and video content in the direct-to-consumer (DTC) arena. A new study has revealed that consumers found user-generated content most trustworthy, followed by creator generated content, then branded content.

This has led to a demand for more ‘lofi’ content, which is often less polished but more share-worthy and relatable.

Why is content creation important?

You have a marketing goal, right?

Maybe you want to increase awareness of your brand, drive more sales, or get more engagement on your social media channels. Whatever you’ve set out to do, content can help you get there. It’s a fundamental part of generating new leads, supporting customers in their product searches, and educating, informing, and engaging your customers.

Without content, shoppers will find it difficult to understand what you’re selling and why they should buy from you.

It ultimately creates an infinite shopping loop. Take TikTok, for example, which is a prime example of how popular audio-on-video content is right now. DTC brands are gaining traction there by partnering with creators. The community engages with that content, tries the product, and goes on to create content of their own. And so it continues. Content is the crux of the loop and has changed the way people shop—it’s no longer a linear journey, but an ongoing discovery experience.

Strategic content at each stage of the sales funnel can mean the difference between gaining a new, loyal customer and losing them to a competitor:

• Pre-sale content: Helps you attract the right people, increase visibility around your brand and products, and connect with potential customers.
• During-sale content: Helps you position yourself favorably against competitors, shows you understand customer pain points, and establishes your brand as a trusted, valuable option.
• Post-sale content: Helps you secure long-term loyalty through empowering content that nurtures existing customers and highlights how much you value them.

What is a content creator?

The term can refer to in-house creators, writers, and freelancers, but now more commonly refers to content creators on social media. While there are many similarities, the term isn’t synonymous with influencers. Content creators come from all walks of life and can specialize in a variety of fields.

We’ve covered the key differences in this post, but the main definitions can be boiled down to this:

• Influencers are people who influence purchasing decisions with their content
• Content creators are photographers, videographers, and creatives who are pros at creating high-quality, engaging content

Why content creators have become so valuable to brands

The evolution of smartphones, the internet, and social media has changed the way people engage, shop, and carry out their daily lives. The versatility of the web and the idea that anyone can create content in a matter of seconds have been the building blocks of the creator community.

Here are some of the reasons brands are leaning on content creators so heavily:

• Expert video and editing skills: Content creators are essentially mini-content creation studios. They’re pros at creating video and photo content that doesn’t need to be brought in-house or outsourced to an agency.
• Lofi content: Brands can collect a library full of both lofi and slick, put-together shots which arms them with a variety of creative formats.
• Direct audience communication: Content creators have pre-built followings that allow brands to speak directly to their target audience.
• A source of purchase inspiration: Research by Statista shows that 78% of consumers discovered new content while watching content creator videos and 73% have been inspired by content creators to try new products.
• Authenticity first: Creators know what their audiences love, so they’re able to create engaging content that hits the mark every single time.
• Trusted by their followers: Social proof is critical to building trust and credibility. Creators are already trusted by their following, which automatically transfers to the brands they’re working with.

The benefits of influencer-generated content creation for brands

• Content by creators is high-performing with an 11x higher ROI than banner ads.
• It’s more cost-effective than studio-shot content.
• Brands have the ability to scale content creation by working with multiple creators.
• The volume and variety of content allow for more testing and refining.
• Brands can leverage a more diverse collection of content.
• Brands can repurpose the content to their own channels, which can support social media teams, email marketing teams, and website teams.
• Content by creators can be used in ads to reach new audiences.

6 steps involved in influencer-generated content creation

Let’s face it, unless you have a huge content team, you need external content creators in your marketing life. And even if you do have a huge content team, partnering with influencers can diversify your output and help you reach new audiences with trusted content. It’s a win-win situation.

So, how can you get started?

1. Set your goals and choose your channels

The goals you set at the start will determine the outcome of your IGC campaigns. These can include:

• Lowering customer acquisition cost
• Increasing brand awareness
• Generating more sales
• Boosting engagement
• Reaching a new target audience
• Increasing follower count
• Strengthening brand image

2. Come up with content ideas

Next, consider the type of content you want to create. This can be a collaborative process between your brand and chosen creators, but the most effective results typically come from letting influencers do their thing. 77% of content creators say they’re more likely to partner with a brand that grants them creative freedom, so provide a guardrail, not guidelines.

3. Plan your campaigns

The details of your campaigns, like the timing, execution, and creativity will determine their success. It can be tempting to throw spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks, but a strategic plan will ensure you’re on track to meet your goals and are doing everything by the books.

4. Execute away

Now the fun can begin. You’ve got your creators on side, your content mapped out, and you’re feeling prepped up and ready to go.

5. Track your campaigns

Content by creators lends itself perfectly to testing. Having access to a diverse content library will help you see what’s working and what’s not pretty quickly, but the most important thing is that you’re monitoring progress.

6. Boost your content with influencer ads

Consider strategies that will help boost your top-performing content once it’s out there in the wild. Here are some ideas to get you started.

How much does it cost to work with influencers for content creation?

Working with Kim Kardashian or Christiano Ronaldo (who charges a massive $2.3 million per post) is going to be considerably more expensive than partnering with a local creator that has 6,000 followers.

Influencers tend to be split into five tiers that can help determine how much it costs to work with them:

• Nano-influencers have 5,000-20,000 followers
• Micro-influencers have 20,000-60,000 followers
• Mid-tier influencers have 60,000-200,000 followers
• Macro-influencers have 200,000+ followers
• Mega-influencers have 1,000,000+ followers

Quickly scale your content creation with influencers and UGC

Working with content creators and influencers can help you dramatically scale your content efforts and reach your content goals—whatever they may be. Not only does content created by influencers perform better, but partnering with trusted creators in your industry can put your brand on the map and increase visibility on your chosen channels.