Business Creation in the Creator Economy

The internet revolution has changed the way of earning money completely. Today the era is of content creators, who have the power to influence public opinion in a particular direction. This emerging ecosystem is creating many opportunities for brands and consumers.

One cannot scroll through different social media handles without coming across any piece on the creator economy. 

“Like, subscribe and follow” is the slogan that resonates with a lot of promotional videos often seen on promotional videos. The slogan may sound cliche to an end consumer but for the creators, these are metrics which decide their monetization.

The estimated 100 million+ influencers and creators form the foundation of India’s creator economy, which has evolved to a great extent to reach its current stage. 

What is the Creator Economy? 

The creator economy is an amalgamation of creators of different niches, platforms and apps that help them upskill, create and promote content in exchange for a service fee charged. 

These creators could be -

• writers, 

• musicians, 

• video-bloggers, 

• comedians,

• dancers or any other type of artists who are monetising their efforts through promotional content.

From authentic recommendations or reviews to online courses, virtual communities and other digital products - are all service offerings by different content creators in this ecosystem. 

Earning Potential for Creators

Creators now have access to various platforms to leverage their artistic ability and convert their follower base into sales by generating and marketing content. 

In fact, there now exist professional creators who’ve built full-time content creation businesses on social media.  The sources of revenue for these independent artists are also multifold - 

• ad revenues, 

• subscriptions, 

• online courses, 

• affiliate links, 

• brand deals, etc. 

The earning potential varies for creators across Tier-1 and Tier-2, 3 cities. A creator in a Tier-1 city can earn upto Rs. 50 lakh per month, whereas creators in Tier-2 and 3 cities earn upto Rs. 2 lakh per month. (Source: Inc42)

The primary responsibility of any content creator is to build a community of like-minded people by sharing relevant information, which the target audience can relate to. 

Over a period of time, this target audience gets converted into paying customers. The key here is to keep the audience engaged, such that they look forward to the next piece of content and are even willing to pay for the same. 

How to create a personal brand? 

Both audience and marketers do not focus exclusively on social media followers or general popularity of creators. Each influencer needs to make a personal brand and positioning for themselves. 

In order to achieve this, content creators may consider the following aspects: 

1. Finding a niche and gain expertise: From the plethora of opportunities available for creating content, a creator should narrow their focus and develop expertise in a specific area. The journey begins with a limited audience but soon gains traction and the fan-base expands. This may help to grab the attention of brands and business partners, who may show interest in collaboration with the creator. 

2. Authenticity and differentiation: If leading influencers are followed and an amateur begins to follow their path, the audience has no incentive to stick with the content generated. Even if there is some engagement witnessed, it is often short-lived. Thus, it is preferable that the audience captures the uniqueness in the skill and the content, reflected through authenticity in the thought process shared. 

3. Consistency: Publishing content on an ongoing basis is important to stay in the minds of the target audience. There is no dearth of creators in the economy and accessing new content generated by different creators is no challenge. Hence, switching costs for customers are highly low. Therefore, it becomes essential to keep in touch with the audience and have a disciplined approach to engaging with the fan-base.

 

Conclusion

The pandemic-induced shift to an online world has increased engagement of the general public on social media and online entertainment platforms. Brands are keen on leveraging this to their advantage and reaching out to target customers through influencers and content creators is a lucrative investment for business growth. 

We’re at that inflection point in the industry where becoming a professional creator is a career aspiration for many. Becoming a creator involves a gradual transformation from an artist to an entrepreneur. Catering to different consumer tastes and interests can build a sustainable career in the creator economy. 

As end-consumers of both - the creator content and products/services promoted by the content, the exposure does make us vulnerable to evolving preferences amidst a wide variety of options.