Influence or Create: Defining Your Brand’s Content Strategy

Nailing a content strategy for your brand is key to keeping current customers engaged, attracting new eyeballs to your business, and most importantly, growing your social media. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, we know that integrating user-generated content into your strategies always works. 

In fact, more than 80% of Australian consumers rely on user-generated content to decide their purchasing choices.

However, as social media evolves so have two different breeds of UGCs: Content Creators & Influencers. While from the outside, an influencer and a creator can be seen as ‘same, same’, they are actually quite different. So, what is the difference, and, more to the point, which one is right for your brand’s content strategy?

What is an Influencer?

In simple terms, an influencer is just a more updated buzzword for what we called in the old days a ‘brand ambassador’ or “face of a brand”. There is nothing new about getting beautiful or famous people to promote a product or brand; companies like Calvin Klein, Nike, Gucci, and many many more have been doing it for decades.

These days the mediums have just expanded beyond glossy magazine covers, big-budget TVCs, and billboards. Now we have online platforms like Instagram and TikTok that have allowed for the rise of everyday people finding celeb-like status due to what they do or post on their social media. 

So, when they collaborate with a brand and are paid to promote it to their usually large audiences, these brands rely on their “influence” with their followers to convert to sales and brand recognition. Admittedly till now, this has worked very well for many brands and influencers.

But the tides are a turnin’, and everyday consumers are becoming a little more discerning about who we listen to when it comes to deciding where and on whom we spend our hard-earned cash. So, hiring that ‘IT’ influencer may not necessarily be the best decision for your brand’s content strategy in today’s changing market.

What is a Content Creator?

Simply put, content creators create content! These kinds of peeps tend to create content for the same reasons someone might write a book, paint a picture, or design an item of clothing: it’s a passion or an extension of their core skills or business.

A content creator’s purpose is to create content, so when they are doing this for your brand, they really understand the process behind creating content for a specific audience and are usually good at it. This can be anything from a blog, a recipe, a photo shoot, or a tutorial.

While their followers may not rival those of a Kardashian, they are usually loyal, highly engaged, and invested in what the creator makes. What they create smacks of authenticity, which means they too can have significant pull and be a very effective option for your brand’s content strategy.

Influencer or Content Creator?

At the end of the day, there are cases where influencers do become content creators and vice versa, however, we have seen influencer marketing becoming less desirable to consumers and loads of brands shift to more authentic user-generated content.

When it comes down to selecting the right figure for your brand’s content strategy, you need to keep in mind what the ultimate goal is and remember that choosing an influencer versus a content creator will yield very different results.

If the goal of your brand’s content strategy is only looking for reach, an influencer will work. But if you are looking for creative and authentic ways that align with your brand identity and truly connect your brand to your audience, a content creator is the way to go!

Do you want to learn more about influencers and content creators for the growth of your account and business? Please give us a holler!