Since establishing ourselves in the industry back in 2014, we’ve seen the creator economy change drastically. Today it is unrecognisable from what it was then, confirmed by new research by Goldman Sachs that predicts the creator economy will grow from a current valuation of $250 billion today to a valuation of half-a-trillion dollars by 2027.

The findings demonstrate how the industry has and will continue to rapidly professionalise and grow more sophisticated as a marketing channel. Today there is now a greater variety of social media platforms to incorporate into marketing strategies and a greater number of content types and creators available - from nano-influencers to celebrities.

That means it’s an exciting and dynamic industry to be involved in, but a potentially more daunting one for new entrants to explore. However, the rewards for those brands able to successfully navigate it are significant.

Influencer marketing is forecast to ramp up

US influencer marketing spend on major platforms

The benefits of creator content

Creator content is relatively affordable to produce compared to highly curated ‘traditional’ advertising assets such as TV commercials and OOH content. Influencer marketing also facilitates the creation of a greater variety of content, at a faster rate, and with the potential to reach more targeted and engaged audiences - overall delivering better ROI than mainstream marketing channels.

The sector’s appeal is what’s helping it grow at pace. More and more brands are dipping their toe into the channel for the first time, and coming from a wider variety of sectors. Others - who are more advanced on their influencer marketing journey - are investing bigger budgets and experimenting with more complex, integrated campaigns. For example, we recently launched an integrated creator-led campaign across out-of-home (OOH), experiential and social media channels for Lipton Ice Tea - featuring the biggest digital billboard in Australia.

With the scale of opportunity set to continue growing, brands are advised to explore the channel sooner rather than later and begin testing its capabilities and learning what works best for them. And, with marketing budgets being squeezed, there’s no time like the present. Creator economy can deliver high quality content at
more affordable costs.

Brand-direct deals are the largest source of income for creators

Survey question: What is the highest earning revenue source for you are a creator?

Further information

See this link for the new research from Goldman Sachs

Written by Ed East, Global CEO and founder of influencer agency Billion Dollar Boy