Category Archives: Marketing
What is the Creator Economy? (A Complete Guide)
Are you looking for new ways to market your brand? In today’s landscape, it can be challenging for your business to stand out when relying solely on traditional marketing methods. With a host of new advertising opportunities available, you can adapt or risk getting left behind.
Fortunately, getting on board with the creator economy might be your solution. With the power to influence purchasing decisions, the creator economy offers you the perfect chance to boost sales. Plus, you can also reach new audiences and build brand loyalty by partnering with passionate and creative influencers.
In this post, we’ll look at what the creator economy is and why it’s experiencing such popularity. Then, we’ll explore three ways for your business to get involved. Let’s get started!
An Overview of the Creator Economy
The creator economy was born when users took notice of the internet’s potential: anyone can use online platforms to grow an audience. Many people began to see the internet not just as a source of information but as a hub for entertainment and content sharing.
In the past, few people achieved success through creative endeavors. For example, a writer would work with a traditional publishing house, and a musician would need the backing of a record label.
However, as users began to get creative with internet platforms, it allowed more people to monetize their hobbies. Now influencers can make money from various channels, including social media.
With substantial followings, creators can become influencers, enabling them to affect purchasing decisions. Therefore, many companies are attracted to working with creators for marketing their products.
Creators can make money through affiliate marketing and typically share revenue with their hosting platforms. Furthermore, they might also secure sponsorship deals to boost their earnings.
As a live streamer, popular platforms include Twitch and Mixer, whereas WordPress and CreateSpace are great for writers. Instagram is a top platform for photographers, while YouTube and TikTok provide monetization opportunities for filmmakers.
Why the Creator Economy Is Booming
Increasingly more marketing focuses on social media platforms due to their growing popularity and widespread use. For example, in 2021, $3.7 billion was spent on influencer marketing in the US. This number is forecast to rise to $4.62 billion by 2023.
Moreover, with 4.59 billion social media users, these platforms enable you to promote your brand easily. You can reach global audiences by partnering with creators.
The creator economy has grown further due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many users turned to online courses, streaming movies, and reading blogs/eBooks when they couldn’t leave their homes. All of these mediums are cheaper and more accessible alternatives to their in-person counterparts.
The popularity of internet content can also be explained by its relatability and personalization. Since creators upload content frequently and communicate with their audiences directly, they can cultivate loyal followings.
Companies can take advantage of the creator economy because audiences trust influencers’ advice and recommendations. For example, nearly 40% of Twitter users admit to making a purchase due to a tweet from an influencer.
How Your Business Can Engage With the Creator Economy (3 Ways)
Now that you understand the creator economy and its power, here are three ways your business can get involved!
1. Partner with Content Creators Within Your Niche
By building loyal networks of followers, creators serve audiences that trust their recommendations. Your business can utilize this trust by piggybacking off influencers’ credibility to reach their audiences. Plus, you might discover new ways of advertising your products.
For example, you can partner with creators who produce lots of video content and generate more engagement with your products:
You can use publisher advertising networks or influencer agencies to broker deals between your business and influencers for sponsorships, referrals, and endorsements. Alternatively, you can reach out to creators directly to propose working together.
You also might want to consider collaborating with micro-influencers, which can be great for small businesses. Micro-influencers can still widen your reach while minimizing your campaign’s cost per action.
2. Access New Platforms and Support Creators
The creator economy offers exciting game-changing opportunities for your business to explore, including platforms like Patreon and OnlyFans. The industry focuses on many forms of direct creator-community relationships.
These platforms offer influencers and their followers the chance to participate in the collective value they can help platforms create. This approach involves the community in the process:
Your business can take advantage of this aspect of the creator economy by exploring these platforms. This research can help you better understand what audiences are looking for. You can also focus on testing and learning from new strategies. Plus, you can find unique opportunities to collaborate with content creators.
Creators have become the middlemen between brands and audiences, with the power to boost traffic to your site and increase sales. By supporting their endeavors, you can help your brand establish authentic connections and naturally acquire quality affiliates for your program.
3. Move Away from Traditional Marketing Methods
It’s important for your business to adapt to the new creator economy. You might consider rethinking how you communicate with audiences. Otherwise, you risk looking outdated and getting left behind.
Creators generally want to partner with exciting brands. Likewise, customers often do business with authoritative brands that position themselves as market leaders.
Furthermore, engaging with the creator economy frees up time and money from investing in marketing materials that may be less effective in today’s landscape. For example, the global influencer marketing platform will surpass $370 million in 2027.
Adapting to what audiences want can be easier through partnerships with creators. You can make the most of their ability to produce relevant content that keeps pace with cultural moments.
You might even be able to use “trendjacking”, which focuses on advertising strategies around trends. For example, Nike created a trendjacking marketing campaign focused on social distancing:
Keeping pace with ongoing trends can be difficult for businesses to achieve with normal production means. However, influencers can create content in real-time and are already a part of the cultural fabric. Therefore, they can connect with these movements more easily.
Conclusion
As traditional marketing takes a back seat, your business can either adapt to the creator economy or risk getting left behind. By getting involved with the economy, you can use engaging marketing strategies to explore new audiences and boost sales.
To recap, here are three ways that your business can engage with the creator economy:
- Partner with content creators within your niche.
- Access new platforms and support creators.
- Move away from traditional marketing methods.
Do you have any questions about the creator economy? Let us know in the comments section below!
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The post What is the Creator Economy? (A Complete Guide) first appeared on Easy Affiliate.
Why Your Small Business Doesn’t Need a Marketing Agency
Many small business owners are aware of the importance of marketing, but they lack the time and knowledge to handle it. As a result, 53% of companies hire an external agency to do their marketing. However, this can be detrimental to your workflow, overall mission, and bottom line.
Luckily, you don’t need to rely on a marketing agency to scale and market your offerings. There are many strategies for marketing your business in-house, and most can be accomplished without spending any money.
In this post, we’ll go over the problems with hiring a marketing agency for your small business. Then, we’ll look at some strategies for growing your business with inbound marketing. Let’s dive in!
Why You Might Want to Avoid Hiring a Marketing Agency for Your Small Business (4 Reasons)
It might be very tempting to hire a marketing agency for your small business. However, this may not always be the right decision. Let’s look at four reasons why you might want to do your marketing in-house instead.
Reason 1: Costs
Your customers may discover your business through multiple mediums, such as social media, search engine results, and YouTube:
Many companies already struggle to allocate their marketing budget to different advertising mediums, like Google Ads and Facebook Ads. One of the downsides to working with a marketing agency is that you have to pay for their services on top of your advertising costs. This is usually a flat fee or a percentage of the amount of your overall ad campaign.
There may also be additional costs involved, such as banner ads, landing pages, or blog content. Therefore, if you don’t have the budget to pay an agency’s management fees or advertising costs, you might want to avoid hiring one.
Reason 2: Focus
It’s important to remember that most marketing agencies typically split their attention with at least 10-20 clients at a time. Additionally, they may earn more money from their other larger clients.
This also means they may be more inclined to focus their efforts and creativity on big companies, rather than small businesses. This can lead to sub-par content for your marketing campaign, or missed deadlines.
Reason 3: Mission
Small businesses have to be frugal with their spending. Your goal is to get the best return on investment (ROI) for your dollars spent.
On the other hand, marketing agencies usually get a commission from the sales generated from the ads they run for you. Regardless of your company’s mission statement and goals, the agency will want to get you to spend more money on advertising, even if that’s not in your best interest.
Reason 4: Intellectual Property
If you outsource your marketing duties to an agency, its team of creatives will develop their own intellectual property related to your business. This may include banners, posters, and promotional videos. If you later decide to switch agencies or take your marketing in-house, you may not be able to keep using that creative content.
How to Grow Your Small Business Without a Marketing Agency (3 Strategies)
Luckily, there are many strategies you can use to grow your small business without relying on a marketing agency. Let’s look at some of them.
1. Inbound Marketing
Over the last two years, the world has gone through unparalleled changes that have forced many businesses to operate from home. As a result, one in nine marketers report that inbound marketing will be their biggest investment in the year 2022.
When done properly, inbound marketing attracts customers by creating content and experiences that are tailor-made for them. Some strategies related to inbound marketing include:
- Using search engine optimization (SEO) to get leads from organic search.
- Running a newsletter to inform and engage current and potential customers.
- Diversifying your social media campaigns to reach your target audience.
Each of these methods is optimized to attract and engage customers through different stages of their lifecycle. Additionally, many businesses add a blog to their websites to position themselves as experts in their respective fields. Not only is this an effective way to answer your customers’ questions, but it can also help you generate more traffic.
2. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing involves earning a commission by recommending products or services to your audience. This is a popular method of monetization among bloggers, businesses, and content creators:
Starting an affiliate program for your business can be a powerful way to grow your customer base. Instead of relying on a marketing agency to grow your audience, you can enlist the help of affiliate marketers who already have an influence over their followers.
If you run a WordPress website, you can use our Easy Affiliate plugin to create an affiliate program for your business:
Our plugin comes with all the features you need to build a team of affiliates and start selling more products. These include a personalized affiliate dashboard, email marketing tools, simple payment integrations, and commission tracking.
3. Influencer Marketing
With the growth of social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram, businesses have turned their attention to the influencer marketing industry to increase sales. Over 93% of marketers report using influencer marketing, while about two-thirds of brands are expected to increase their influencer spending over the next year.
Businesses typically reach out to influencers with a proposal to complete a certain task for compensation. In contrast to affiliate marketing, influencers have less freedom to structure their content if they choose to accept a partnership contract. Instead of receiving a commission from the sales they generate, influencers are usually paid directly per campaign.
Still, small businesses have lots to benefit from influencer marketing. You can start by collaborating with micro-influencers, then scale up your budget and campaign based on your needs.
Conclusion
Marketing a small business is not easy. However, the challenge can be overcome by applying strategies that direct more customers to your website.
Instead of spending money on a marketing agency, you can try out the following tactics:
- Focus your in-house efforts on crafting exceptional content that drives traffic.
- Enlist the help of affiliates who can help you sell more products, using a tool like Easy Affiliate.
- Utilize influencer marketing to expand the reach of your brand.
Do you have any questions about hiring a marketing agency? Let us know in the comments section below!
If you liked this article, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and LinkedIn. And don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter 
The post Why Your Small Business Doesn’t Need a Marketing Agency first appeared on Easy Affiliate.