The difference between an influencer and a content creator

You’ve heard both – influencer, content creator, you’re not sure which you identify more as, I mean don’t they mean the same thing? NO THEY DON’T. Let’s clarify the differences in the terms so you can get crystal clear on which one you are & own your title with PRIDE.

First, the content creator. The content creator is someone brands gift product to take pretty pictures of. The pictures are then sold back to the brand for their use on their platforms. The nuances of this vary based on the agreement whether it’s for use on social media, in print, for a designated period of time or in perpetuity. IF YOU’RE SELLING YOUR IMAGES IN PERPETUITY, YOU BETTER BE CHARGING A PREMIUM – ok now we need a blog post on that. Noted.

Whereas an influencer has a brand of their own this includes: owned platforms like a website & email list, a following on social media, an engaged community. They also wear many hats – they take the same pretty pictures, they style the content or the outfit, they’re creative director of their personal brand. The biggest difference here is the influencer has a platform. Think of it like TV – you see a Pepsi commercial. Pepsi paid $100 to make that commercial and they paid $200 to run it on TV. (These numbers are obviously very wrong but you see what I’m saying.) Sticking with that analogy, an influencer both makes the commercial and is the TV it runs on. So influencers should be charging $100 to make the commercial & $200 to run it on their platform (TV in this example) (again these numbers are made up but you get the idea).

Content creators are running rampant, they’re coming for your space and they’re charging a fraction of what you are. Because they’re only doing half the job. This makes your platform piece that much more important. Your platform is your brand, your owned medium (website, email list), all the pieces beyond and all the ways you can differentiate yourself in the market.

Schedule a free call with us to discuss how you can differentiate yourself further in the market and ways you can build brand and your owned platforms.