Business of Creators 💬

Stay ahead of the curve in the creator economy...

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Industry news & events

🧠Recent research shows that 40% of marketers are integrating AI into their daily operations, see how with SemRush’s latest report. 

🎶It looks like TikTok’s beef with Universal Music is only escalating. In response to calls to remove all songs featuring contributions from UMG’s roster of artists, TikTok may now need to remove additional songs that include any input from UMG signed performers.  

🏆#FilmTok arrives at the 96th Oscars…TikTok, in collaboration with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and Disney, is set to host a variety of in-person and in-app activations featuring creators. Among the initiatives will be @cinema.joe and @ladyyasima1, two TikTok film creators, on the Oscars red carpet, conducting interviews with arriving celebrities.

📸SXSW(South by Southwest) kicks off this Friday at Austin, TX. A conference / festival with an entire creator economy slot & some huge A-list stars.

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Slack, the hidden gem for brand deals

Comms and productivity platform, Slack, is emerging as a hidden gem in creating connections between creators and potential employers and in return forging exciting brand deals. The innovative creators and marketers leveraging this secret have revealed some key insights for securing opportunities on the platform… 

👉Lissette Calveiro, initially used Slack when recruiting talent for influencer marketing campaigns. Today, she’s a creator herself and still leverages channels on the platform to track down paid opportunities, highlighting the benefits of how fast people respond back to you. 

👉Micro-influencer, Kristen Bousquet, found out her favorite influencer-marketing companies started a Slack community and instantly found the value in speaking directly to brand executives. She’s landed user-generated-content gigs for small tech companies and D2C companies whilst liaising with brands on behalf of other creators looking to grow with her own private membership community. 

👉More communities, specifically for creators, are emerging on Slack. Workspaces like Supply and Startup CPG have helped UGC creator Patricia Redulla in meeting founders who are looking for content but need collaboration to help brainstorm ideas and pitches. Slack has quite the arsenal to help facilitate this.  

Platform round-up

Leverage the latest updates and features across digital platforms to help you get ahead of the game…

💸X now features a "Monetization" tab for X Premium subscribers, simplifying performance tracking for those aiming to earn money. 

📽️YouTube’s version of CapCut, known as ‘Create’, is expanding access to users in several countries. It offers features like audio clean-up, auto captions, filters, effects, transitions, access to royalty-free music, and direct publishing to YouTube, providing a comprehensive toolkit for video customization and enhancement. 

👀Seeking Instagram content tips? The team has shared an overview of best performing marketing concepts to help shape your branding. 

🏗️LinkedIn has recently updated its content distribution algorithm, emphasizing a shift towards valuable, evergreen updates in order to combat clickbait. They’ve also introduced modifications to its "Creator Mode" feature, influencing your posting strategy on the app.

🆕Instagram is enhancing its DM features. Users can now edit messages within 15 minutes of sending, pin up to three important chats, enable read receipts, and customize engagement with new chat themes. 

TikTok wants you to post more photos

It’s no secret TikTok wants creators to produce longer videos. But in recent events, TikTok is actively encouraging users to share photos based on specific categories through profile topic prompts. The idea is for creators to grow their audience by crafting photo posts around 'top-searched topics' and showcasing 'high-quality, informational content’. Now, you might wonder why TikTok, a platform primarily known for short videos, is pushing for more photo content. Well, here's the lowdown on the reasons behind this move:

👉Appealing to a broader creator base: Despite Instagram's push towards Reels, it's still the go-to platform for creators who love sharing photos. While video content is all the rage, there's a dedicated community of creators who prioritize still images. Many of these creators are deeply ingrained in Instagram, and TikTok wants to tap into this pool by highlighting the benefits of increased engagement for photos on its platform.

👉Boosting search and discovery: TikTok prides itself on offering a search engine-like experience, and the addition of more photo content aims to enhance this feature. Creators can now add titles and seamlessly create longer captions through Photo Mode, improving the overall search experience. The simplicity of categorizing and indexing photos and text makes it easier for users to find relevant content during searches.

👉Fueling branded content and advertising: Some brands heavily invest in influencer marketing on Instagram, relying on high-resolution photo assets from creators. TikTok wants to make this type of content more native to its platform, attracting these brands and potentially convincing them to bring their influencer marketing campaigns to TikTok. This move aligns with recent trends, where brands engaging creators for sponsored content often include a paid media component, ultimately benefiting TikTok's advertising business. The introduction of Carousels, a newer ad format supporting scrollable, multiple images, makes it an attractive option for brands looking to advertise multiple products.

Given that many creators and brands are already producing photo content, jumping on the photo bandwagon on TikTok is a low-effort, high-potential move. To make the most of it, ensure your photo posts have engaging titles, longer captions, text overlays for smooth transitions in carousels, and, of course, audio – just like in videos.