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Marketing is like a game of chess; you must strategize and plan to achieve your goals.
From that perspective, adding creator marketing to the marketing mix is like having Magnus Carlsen help you during chess.
And you’re on the best page to learn what creator marketing is and how to leverage it successfully.
This guide shows you:
We’ll also dissect examples, invent our own case studies, and offer free templates you can copy.
Let’s start.
4 Reasons to Use Creator Marketing
3 Types of Creators in Creator Marketing
How to Build a Successful Content Creator Strategy
Creator marketing is a marketing strategy that involves a partnership between brands and online content creators.
But before closing this tab to write to Beyonce, keep in mind that:
We’ll dive into more about the differences between using different types of creators in a minute.
For now, let’s summarize the benefits.
Everyone seems to have hopped on the creator marketing train.
According to Hubspot, 88% of companies have a specific budget for creator partnerships. This makes creator campaigns an essential part of modern marketing projects, ensuring tailored content reaches the right audience.
Let’s see the facts:
The famous Bob Burg once said, “People buy from people they know, like, and trust.”
And while your brand is not people, creators definitely are.
Find your content creators wisely; their authentic, user-generated content will persuade more people to buy.
But there’s one more reason why personalized content works better:
It has unique insights.
Your brand messaging may focus on specific pain points, solutions, or product features. But content creators understand more about your audience and products than you do.
So, they will be more persuasive, highlighting unique product uses.
And that means these creators will appeal to a broader market.
Here’s a neat example: EdrawMax AI is a diagramming app:
The brand partnered with an Instagram creator called the Ultimate Ivy League Guide™. This account shares study and productivity tips for students.
This content creator can highlight EdrawMax’s specific solutions for students who want to study more efficiently:
Content creators connect and engage with your target audience:
For example, husbands Doug and Sanjay influence the discussion around gay adoption and surrogacy by presenting raw moments from their lives:
According to Popupsmart, the average cost per lead for each channel is as follows:
Let’s see how much partnerships with influencers or creators would cost per lead.
Let’s say you want to partner with solo travel creator Roxana (@roxadventures) to promote your online business.
In Roxana’s case, a 4.36% engagement rate means she can reach 5,275 people with one post.
Now let’s see what “lead” is defined as in marketing:
By comparison, the average cost per lead is:
So a simple calculation shows that in this case, at least, creator marketing lead generation is 2 to 290 times cheaper than social media advertising.
Let’s recap:
All those factors translate into a better return on investment in the long run.
According to Neal Schaffer, using creators can bring you 11x the ROI of traditional marketing.
Now that you know why creator marketing works, let’s see the different types of creators you can choose from.
Some content creators are influencers, but the reverse of the medal isn’t always true.
Influencer marketing campaigns can be a great tool in your marketing arsenal.
Maryam Remias is a good example here. She is a:
In the post above, Maryam promotes two of her favorite brands with which she partnered in the long run.
These brands borrow from her credibility and can gain traction in a broader market.
The easiest way to recognize a content creator versus an influencer is to look at their channels and tactics.
Content creators:
Neuroscientist Andrew Huberman is a YouTube content creator:
Andrew Huberman also has different social platforms but only uses these accounts to promote his YouTube content.
For example, he posts short, catchy TikTok cuts from his podcasts to enhance his online presence and reach a broader audience:
Content creators like Andrew Huberman:
Social media creators are mainly active on social media channels.
However, they also create content that helps their audience. This content can be:
Remember: By contrast, social media influencers create content that influences an audience.
For example, Jefferson Fisher is a personal injury lawyer who aims to “help you argue less so you can talk more.”
In the post below, this digital creator teaches people what to say when they cry in an argument:
This type of content turns Jefferson into an expert in the public and interpersonal communication niche.
Therefore, his followers would heed Jefferson’s advice if he promoted a product/service in this niche.
For example, if the post above also recommended a meditation-related YouTube channel for stress relief, Jefferson’s followers would likely subscribe to it.
Host your own webinar : create your own content by setting up a webinar to interact with your audience and encourage the chat discussion. Provide interactive educational, inspirational or brand awareness content
The sections above taught you what creator marketing is, its benefits, and the types of creators you can work with.
Now, let’s build your content creator strategy from A to Z.
Let’s assume you’re representing Peanut App, an app promising to connect mothers who go through pregnancy and parenthood.
The first step in formulating a successful content creator strategy is to thoroughly conduct market research on your:
You must understand:
This planning will help you find opportunities that you can leverage to:
For example, you might have a low budget – a definite weakness. But having a strong voice on social media through its content creators can mitigate this weakness.
Besides, content creator marketing can help you address larger audiences your competitors can’t reach.
In Peanut’s case:
From all that, you can infer that creating a support system could be a better opportunity than simply talking about it.
The next point in the strategy is to set your goals and KPIs.
This part is essential because it dictates the rest of your strategy: tactics, types of creators you choose, messaging, and channels.
Let’s say we want to increase the app downloads for Peanut by 20% within the next 6 months.
Pro tip: Notice that we’ve formulated the goals very precisely and timely.
The KPIs associated with increased app downloads include:
We’ve already decided on creator marketing.
That’s the strategy.
Now we need more specific tactics (i.e., smaller-scale, actionable steps) to implement that strategy.
Possible tactics under the broader campaign include:
Peanut App decided to use social media posts where content creators like Abbie Herbert share snippets of their lives:
Figure out where your audience spends most of their time.
Use:
Peanut chose TikTok and Instagram as its main channels.
That’s a good choice because of:
After deciding on all these issues, it’s essential to structure them in a creative brief.
Include:
Pro tips:
Here’s a neat example based on one of inBeat Agency’s clients:
Use inBeat to find and compare different social media profiles.
Here’s how that search looks for the Peanut app:
One of the content creators that Peanut partnered with is nano-influencer Dr. Thomishia Booker.
Let’s analyze her profile using this free engagement rate calculator:
As you can see, the average engagement rate is fairly good for the platform.
inBeat also boasts an up-to-date, precise fake follower checker. Let’s calculate Dr. Thomishia Booker’s audience score using this dedicated tool:
With no inactive followers and a comment/likes proportion far exceeding the average, this nano-influencer was a good choice for Peanut.
After you have your list of content creators, you can perform influencer outreach.
Remember: Your outreach email should be 75-100 words for best results.
Be friendly but professional, and avoid sounding too cliché or salesy.
Here’s a good outreach message from Peanut:
Subject: Peanut app collaboration
Hey Thomishia,
I’m [Name], a [your job position] at Peanut. I love your content, but I especially related to how you turn everything into a song.
Your overall gentle and conscious parenting approach is amazing.
That’s why I think you’d be a great fit for our next campaign. We’re looking for content creators to help us increase app downloads.
Our app aims to help mothers find and support each other. After all, it does take a village.
We only need two Instagram posts from your side.
Let me know what you think by replying to this email.
Looking forward to your feedback!
[Name]
After you’ve enrolled your content creators:
After onboarding your creators, it’s time to start the campaign.
Pro tip: You can also scale your campaign with creator ads. These have been proven to reduce fatigue and lower CPAs considerably.
This guide took you through the intricacies and benefits of creator marketing, from what it is to a detailed campaign plan.
A solid plan is essential because it helps you pick the best tactics and find the best creators for your marketing goals.
Remember that inBeat is here to support you with an array of free and paid tools.
We already showed you how to use our platform, engagement rate calculator, fake follower checker, and money calculator.
So go ahead and try inBeat now – it’s fast, free, and flexible!