How Social Media Platforms Are Wooing Creators
In recent weeks, Instagram, Twitter, Clubhouse, Snapchat, and other social media platforms have made splashy announcements about new tools and funds made to win over creators who feel stretched thin across the different platforms.
As competition for users heats up, social media platforms are offering new incentives to encourage creators to prioritize their app.
If you feel like you’ve read more headlines in recent weeks about social media platforms offering new creator incentives, you’re not alone. In recent weeks, Instagram, Twitter, Clubhouse, Snapchat, and other apps have made splashy announcements about new tools and funds made to win over creators who feel stretched thin across the different platforms. The goal? Incentivize creators to use their app the most.
From affiliate programs to subscription services, here are the ways the major social media players are attempting to woo creators to stay active on their platforms, as well as what it means for marketers moving forward:
Instagram Gets On The Affiliate Train
The creator benefits they’re offering: Instagram has made a lot of headlines in recent weeks as they work to lure creators back to their platform with creator-focused features. These new features include Milestone Bonus Badges for hosting Instagram Lives and an Affiliate Program for creators to earn money for items they share that are on Instagram Shops. After years of influencers relying on external affiliate programs like LikeToKnowIt and ShopStyle, Instagram is finally making a play to bring a native affiliate program to the app.
Twitter Introduces Subscriptions & Tips
The creator benefits they’re offering: Twitter is entering the subscription business, introducing a “Super Follow” option that allows users to pay to receive exclusive subscriber-only content. Twitter has also introduced a “Tip Jar” as a way for followers to monetarily support their favorite creators.
TikTok Refines It’s Creator Program
The creator benefits they’re offering: TikTok set itself apart from other social media platforms by prioritizing creator growth in its early stages, introducing the TikTok Creator Fund as a way to pay top users for creating strong-performing content. The benchmarks for entering into the program have changed; initially only 10,000 followers were needed, but as of March 25, creators now need 100,000 followers to qualify for the Creator Program.
Clubhouse Facilitates Creator Growth
The creator benefits they’re offering: Clubhouse is also investing in providing its creators tools to succeed on the up-and-coming platform. Their “Creator First” Accelerator Program launched in March to assist select creators with developing their Clubhouse strategy and grow their audience. The app has also introduced Payments for users to send money to creators as a way to show their support.
Twitch Provides Tiered Programs For Creators
The creator benefits they’re offering: Twitch offers two tiers of programs for creators: Affiliate and Partner. The Affiliate program serves creators who are building their platform and growing, offering tools like subscriptions and affiliate payments for game sales. For established creators, the Partner program allows creators to display ads on their channel and earn revenue from ad views, channel customization, access to opportunities to participate in panels, meet & greets, and other events, as well as the subscription and affiliate opportunities presented at the Affiliate level.
Snapchat Rewards Viral Content
The creator benefits they’re offering: When Snapchat introduced their TikTok competitor Spotlight, they did so with a big draw for creators: a $1 million-per-day fund to distribute to creators with top-performing Spotlight content. Since the launch of this program, some creators have become literal millionaires off of their Spotlight earnings, with $110 million given out across all markets since the program launched in November.
So, what does all this mean for brands?
You might be wondering what all these creator-first developments have to do with brand marketing. While brands may not be directly involved in these creator programs, these pushes to bring creators to certain apps will guide the landscape of social media for the next several years.
If Successful, These Programs May Influence Where Creators Spend Their Time
Platforms that can successfully lure creators to prioritizing their app over others will succeed in the long run. Keeping an eye on where the creators are flocking to will help you, as brand marketers, know where to look for influencers and what platforms to prioritize in your social media marketing efforts.
Not All These Programs Are Sustainable
However, some of the splashiest creator incentives may not be sustainable forever. While some platforms are adopting a revenue-share approach or providing monetization options where users are the investors, other apps have introduced funds that are worth hundreds of millions of dollars, or even billions. Unless usership and revenue skyrocket drastically for the latter, these valuable funds may disappear, further influencing the popularity of different apps amongst creators.
Creators Will Shift How They Approach Brand Partnerships
The most immediate effect of these creator programs is also the most impactful for brand marketers. With creators earning money off of their organic content, they will approach brand partnerships in a new way. As a result, creators may be pickier about the partnerships they do accept, or raise their rates for sponsored content. This is why cultivating long-lasting relationships with influencers is essential for brands, as is developing a thought-out strategy that targets influencers who are a natural brand fit. If you’re not sure where to start with influencer casting, Lytehouse can help you out—let’s chat.
How To Activate Local Influencers
Local influencers can be powerful brand advocates for your business.
We often think about influencer marketing on a macro scale, where campaigns reach hundreds of thousands of people and benefit national and even global marketing efforts, but influencer marketing can be just as powerful when applied to local businesses as well.
Local influencers and public figures may not have as large of followings as celebrity influencers, but they can provide niche expertise and appeal to local audiences in an authentic way more than any celebrity ever could.
Restaurants, boutiques, and other small businesses can partner with local influencers to get the word out about the business and turn social media postings into conversions, whether that’s in-store visits or purchases.
When searching for the right influencers to partner with, you will want to find influencers who post content that is relevant to your business and who live in or near your area. If your business requires in-person patronage or doesn’t have an e-commerce platform, micro influencers with smaller but more localized followings will be the best partners for your campaign, as they typically have a high following from their own area. This means that the majority of their followers will be interested in learning more about your business and actually able to support it.
Aside from appealing to a localized audience, micro influencers have a strong ability to relate to their followers and cultivate a sense of authenticity with their recommendations, from the clothes they wear to the businesses they frequent. Think of your influencer partners as brand ambassadors who act as an extension of your business. You can even collaborate with them to develop content for use on your brand’s social media accounts.
Interested in working with local influencers but not sure where to start? Lytehouse has tools to source the perfect influencers for campaigns big and small, so reach out to us here.