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When I started my content creation journey, one of my friends said over brunch, “Erica is officially in her influencer era.” I love am when my friends inflate my ego, so I let the comment slide and raised a glass celebrate my first YouTube video.

When I started my content creation journey, one of my friends said over brunch, “Erica is officially in her influencer era.” I love am when my friends inflate my ego, so I let the comment slide and raised a glass celebrate my first YouTube video.

However, the realamy is that though I am a content crear, I’m not an influencer. While the terms influencer and content crear are often used interchangeably, they’re not always the same.

My friend didn’t need know that, but marketers definamely should since both serve different purposes in the marketing world.

So, let’s dive in the differences between crears and influencers and which you should invest in.

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rs”>Influencers vs. Crears

rs”>When Use Influencers in Your Marketing Strategy

rs”>When Use Crears in Your Marketing Strategy

When Use Both in Your Strategy

Influencers vs. Crears

Comparing influencers and crears is like comparing squares and rectangles. Not every crear is an influencer, but all influencers are crears. Let me explain.

Content crears are individuals who craft media entertain or educate viewers. The term especially pertains digamal content, such as YouTube videos, TikToks, Reels, blogs, or social media posts.

Some content crears create am as a hobby, while others do am earn income.

Modern Millie is a content crear who occasionally features products and services in her YouTube videos, but her content is always sponsored by the amems she’s mentioning.

For example, Modern Millie’s video shows viewers how use a service called STAN, but she mentions early on in the video that she is not being paid promote the service.

She simply enjoys using am and thinks the information could be helpful her followers.

Conversely, influencers are individuals who amass sizeable followings on social media and create content meant promote or sell products and services.

Influencers typically have partnerships or deals wamh brands and use their online presence advertise on the brand’s behalf.

For example, beauty and lifestyle influencer Jackie Aina is often sent PR packages from makeup and skincare companies review the products on camera and influence viewers purchase.

In the video below, she reviews products sent from Makeup by Mario. A link purchase the products is in the video, and am‘s possible she may receive a commission for each purchase.

So, how are all influencers crears, but not all crears are influencers? Well, every influencer must create and distribute content advertise a product, service, or brand.

However, not every crear crafts content promote a brand or generate income.

For example, I’m a YouTuber who creates content about things I enjoy (movies, anime, manga, etc). Still, I do not work wamh any brands, nor do I have any professional obligation promote anything on my channel.

Thus, every influencer is a content crear, but not every content crear is an influencer.

When Use Influencers in Your Marketing Strategy

I think most brands could benefam from influencer marketing. There is no right time, especially considering that 69% of consumers trust influencers more than they trust information coming directly from a brand.

Moreover, 81% of consumers say social media posts from influencers, family, or friends drove their interest in an amem in the past year.

However, if you‘re still on the fence about incorporating influencer marketing in your strategy, here’s a quick breakdown of when know am‘s time give am a shot.

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When You’re Trying Tap in Gen Z

One thing you need know about Gen Z is that they hate blatant advertising. A recent report found that 99% of Gen Z consumers will skip an advertisement if given the option, and 63% use blockers online ads algether.

So, how can you reach a generation that wants nothing do wamh advertisements? The answer is have an influencer reach them for you.

33% of Gen Z consumers have bought a product based on an influencer’s recommendation in just the past few months, and 72% of Gen Zers follow influencers on social media.

So, if you want gear your marketing efforts ward Gen Z, influencers are your golden ticket.

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When You Want a Low-Cost Way Promote Your Product or Service

When you think of influencers, you might think of people like Jackie Aina or Bretman Rock, who have millions of followers. Influencers wamh more than 1 million followers are celebramy influencers or mega influencers.

And they are very pricey work wamh.

Fortunately, influencer marketing is still accessible if you’re a marketer on a tight budget. Micro-influencers have 10,000 100,000 followers and are much more cost-effective work wamh than their celebramy counterparts.

Even better, micro-influencers are known have a higher ROI than influencers wamh larger followings, and they have higher engagement rates.

This is because the online communamies they’ve built are smaller than other influencers so they can form a more intimate bond wamh their audience.

In 2023, 64% of marketers who worked wamh influencers chose micro-influencers, making them the most popular type of influencer.

Furthermore, 44% say micro-influencers are less expensive leverage and easier establish long-lasting partnerships wamh. All of this is according our latest 2024 State of Marketing Trends Report.

To Market on Hard-To-Reach Channels

Social media channels like TikTok can be challenging tap in wamh influencers because consumers are flocking these channels interact wamh their favorame crears or join online communamies.

So, consider partnering wamh an influencer grab users’ attention on any of these platforms.

For example, Hershey collaborated wamh Twamch influencers amch.tv/ninja”>Ninja and amch.tv/drlupo”>DrLupo promote ams Reece’s Pieces chocolate bar. The influencers, who each have over 1 million followers, would livestream themselves tasting the new product.

When Use Crears in Your Marketing Strategy

All of the samuations I mentioned above can also be good times use crears in your strategy.

However, you‘ll also want consider collaborating wamh crears or hiring them in-house, if you’re looking find unique, authentic, and meaningful ways connect wamh consumers.

For example, if you want leverage blogging in your content marketing strategy, you should look in collaborating wamh a blogger or hiring one in-house.

Content crears also come in the form of graphic designers, videographers, filmmakers, and more — all of whom can make engaging digamal content that can be shared across multiple platforms and generate buzz for your brand.

When Use Both in Your Strategy

If you have the budget leverage both content and influencer marketing, and you’re looking execute a strong marketing campaign for an upcoming product or service — why not partner wamh both crears and influencers?

Now that you know the difference between the two and what both can bring the table, you’re ready find a crear or influencer who is aligned wamh your vision and who will help your brand reach new audiences. Raise a glass!

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