The Rise of the Creator Economy: 4 New Methods of Acquiring Talent
Denise Desimone, C-Leveled
Imagine if you get your customers to pay for your advertising. It sounds unlikely, but this is precisely what the creator economy is unlocking and it’s revolutionizing the business world in the process.
The creator economy is the ecosystem of influencers, freelancers and boutique brands who work with larger companies to create bespoke content. The Information reports that venture capital firms invested more than $3.7 billion in the creative economy in 2021. Analysts predict the creator economy market size could be worth up to $5 billion in 2022. The creator economy is the latest buzzworthy business trend. It’s been written about everywhere, from the New York Times to Wired Magazine.
To learn more, let’s dig in and find out how you can leverage the creator economy to boost your business.
Let’s start with a quick look at the creator economy.
What Is the Creator Economy?
“Isn’t the creative economy just another name for influencer marketing?” you might be wondering. Yes and no. The two are closely linked but have some key differences. That’s why it is important to define the creator economy in the first place.
The creator economy’s roots go back to 2011 when YouTube first started to monetize its content. They launched their YouTube Live program, and a new industry was born.
To put it simply, the creator economy is an individual or a business that monetizes their skills for a business or brand. Considering this, you might think of influencer marketing as an offshoot of the creative economy.
Picture this: you’re manufacturing a skin-cleansing cream. You might dig through Instagram and find some popular beauty influencers and get them to promote your brand on their channel.
This is one manifestation of the creative economy, as it does involve the influencer’s skills like photography or knowledge of their industry. It’s also like more traditional marketing models such as product placement or celebrity endorsements.
Now think about an independent filmmaker creating a short film for your brand. Or a rising musician writing a catchy jingle for your company.
This is the creator economy in its purest form, and it can be a goldmine for your HR and recruitment teams if you handle it right.
Now let’s look at ways the creator economy can be used to recruit new talent for your business.
New Method of Acquiring Talent: How to Use the Creator Economy
When handled correctly, the creator economy can fulfill multiple functions simultaneously. It performs the same function as traditional marketing materials, as it helps make potential customers aware of your business. It can also serve as a recruitment funnel if you’ve got a program to work with creatives.
Increase Buzz
Creators tend to have a very close, active relationship with their audience. That’s probably how you found them in the first place, after all. Engagement is everything when it comes to discovering social content, as virtually every algorithm prioritizes content with heavy engagement.
So imagine you get a fashion influencer to create a short film as a reel for Instagram. This kind of content just begs to get shared and commented on. These are the metrics that Instagram looks for to push content towards the top of the feed.
To make the most of this opportunity, make sure the creator you work for mentions your brand prominently. You might ask them to mention your collaboration, alerting other creators that you’re recruiting. This could be anything from product placement to branded content like a hashtag campaign.
As the content makes the rounds, so will awareness about your creator collaborations.
Customize the Content
The creator economy offers the unprecedented ability to target specific audiences and demographics. This lets you create targeted recruitment messaging that’s simply impossible anywhere else.
Imagine you’re a software developer looking to enlist talent fresh out of college. You might find some computer graphics whiz on TikTok to work together on a branded content campaign.
This creator can create content for their besties that will land right with a Gen Z audience in a way that official marketing simply can’t. You can get really specific in how you customize the content to attract the kind of creators and talent you want to work with.
Are you hiring new talent in the Boston area? Have someone make a YouTube video mentioning frappes. Looking for rising actors in the San Fernando Valley? You can attract the rising talent that’s cruising Sunset Boulevard. Independent creators can create this kind of content with a type of authenticity that’s intensely difficult to pull off with more “pro” talent.
Decide on the Network
Knowing what kind of talent you’re trying to attract means knowing where to find them. Not everybody hangs out in the same spaces online, of course. Knowing what demographic you’re trying to attract will influence everything from the creators you work with to the content that’s created itself.
Perhaps you’re looking to work with some young mothers to help spread the word on a new parenting app you’re developing. Of course, Pinterest is a goldmine for the parental crowd and is often overlooked in the online marketing gold rush.
Instead, imagine that you’re trying to find rising FinTech talent. Tech-savvy talent spends a lot more time on professional networking sites like LinkedIn. These creators can be a recruitment goldmine in and of themselves, as their creative collaboration could come in blog posts or whitepapers.
Don’t be afraid to get creative with the networks you’re working with, either. Even GitHub can be a rich source of development talent if handled correctly.
Enhance Your Credibility
The ability for independent creators to embrace the hearts and minds of their audience is perhaps the most revolutionary aspect of the creator economy.
When it’s handled tactfully, working with an independent creator acts as a kind of endorsement as well as advertising and marketing. To put it simply, you can’t buy that kind of press.
If you want to align your brand with specific values, the creator economy is a great place to start. Even the collaboration itself says something about your brand, showing that you support independent creators and businesses.
You can combine this tactic with other marketing techniques, as well, to have multiple marketing campaigns happening at the same time. Maybe you might work with a visual artist to launch a user-generated content campaign with a branded hashtag.
With one collaboration, you’ve shown your business to be hip, supportive of the arts and independent business owners while advertising to every participant’s entire network at the same time!
If you’re planning on working with the creator economy to enhance your brand’s credibility, though, make sure you’re aligning with the values you hold. If something emerged that proved contradictory, it could become a PR headache that does more harm than good.
Working With the Creator Economy: Final Thoughts
The creator economy offers unparalleled access to the hearts and minds of your customers and audience. It circumvents the skepticism some might feel about traditional by relating to your audience in language and style they can relate to.
The creator economy boom also means more talented, innovative creatives are available for collaboration. That pool only keeps getting bigger, too. You just have to find them.
The rules around the creator economy are still being written. It’s a brand-new and wide-open industry where only your imagination is the limit.
When it’s set up correctly, working with the creator economy transforms your marketing into an inbound recruitment funnel. You’ll have 24/7 access, reaching them wherever they might be. You’ll get access to the kind of talent you simply won’t find through other avenues.
It’s not hard to get started with the creator economy. Just come up with an idea for collaboration and start looking for influencers. Or find a good recruitment firm to find them for you!
Looking for Creative Talent?
At C-Leveled, we know that businesses are only as strong as the customers we serve.
If you’re ready to find out how the creator economy can take your business to the next level, contact us today with any questions or schedule a consultation. If you’re interested in growing your business, visit us at http://www.c-leveled.com.