Business of Creators 💬

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

Hello again 👋 Willkommen! And bienvenue! We are entering into awards and superbowl season - which one are you more excited for?

vidyo.ai: The better way to create viral short videos

There's no doubt that short-form video is the best way to grow your reach on social media today. Growing on socials should not be difficult, and vidyo.ai makes it easy. 🚀

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Each video is highly customizable with options to apply brand guidelines, outros, b-rolls, animated captions, and directly schedule on social media platforms. ⚡️

Try vidyo.ai today, the free plan is free forever (really)! 

Recipe for success:

The secret to unlocking brand deals as a Snapchat creator

We all know that Snapchat has an invite-only creator program called Snap Stars. And with a bit of muscle and hard work, it’s not totally idealistic either. In our previous edition, we explored Snapchat creators Grey and AJ, who despite clocking an average of less than 400k followers each, earned a five figure salary last year. Building a credible following to unlock the Snap Stars program is only part one of the journey, however. 

The Snap Stars program, which offers the Snap Star Collab Studio and the platform's unique features isn’t just about ad-revenue, it's a gateway for creators to secure brand deals. Creators can build relationships with brands and showcase products or services in their videos. Online travel agency, Priceline, was among the first brands to collaborate with creators early last year. Creators crafted branded content for Priceline, posted as sponsored content on their Snap Stories, then boosted with paid media as Snap Ads across the app. Mia Finney, a Los Angeles lifestyle influencer, found more paid brand deals pouring in after working with Priceline with the program allowing brands to discover creators more easily. By opting into sharing their data for brand collaborations, creators open doors to new paid opportunities seamlessly. The Snap Star Collab Studio resembles TikTok's creator marketplace, enabling direct brand pitches to creators, fostering an environment for mutually beneficial partnerships. 

And that’s not all - Snapchat's AR tools are proving to be a magnet for beauty brands. E.l.f Beauty, L'Oreal, and NYX Cosmetics have utilized these tools through the creator studio. Chantel Jeffries, a top creator, was approached by L'Oreal and NYX Cosmetics after naturally featuring their products in her Snapchat content. Katie Feeney and Katie Austin, both creators within the Snap Stars program, successfully promoted Comcast and Kohl's, respectively. Kohl's found Austin through the studio, collaborating on short and long-form video content that garnered significant views when converted to a Story Ad with paid media.

These collaborations prove pivotal for influencers and creators and these types of stories emphasize the significance of brand studios in simplifying the process of connecting with diverse brands, allowing creators to focus on content creation while exploring new brand opportunities on the platform.

Industry news

Pelonton’s craving some of that Gen Z capital 

We all know Peloton's been a hit with millennials. Pandemic triggered workout trends and personality infused trainers skyrocketed the brand’s growth. But not without bumps in the road. People are going back into offices, inflation is making consumers think twice and the CMO has left to work for Verizon. Peloton is having to hit hard or go home and take a bold step into the TikTok world to acquire a new market demographic. 

Teaming up to create exclusive fitness content for the app's audience, the move is aimed to rev up the company’s growth, rolling out a #TikTokFitness hub featuring diverse workout clips and an original series, all tied to Peloton's vibe of "Anyone. Anytime. Anywhere." crafting unique content that lives solely on TikTok, not just their usual channels. Timing it for the New Year's resolution wave, it's not just Peloton following suit of Gen Z’s growing influence for market trends. Big players like Unilever have also jumped on the bandwagon, sponsoring hashtags like #CleanTok to share curated content and promote their brands.

Opinion

The 15 minutes of fame for AI influencers 

AI influencer Aitana Lopez, who holds a 200k following and holds a trademark pink hair-do, has caused some storm following secured brand partnerships with Olaplex and Victoria’s Secret. Virtual influencers are on the rise and human creators are fearful it will disrupt the $21bn content creator economy. 

Who’s that chick?

You see, with Gen Z’s undeniable ability to spot things that are unrealistic when they try to be and with the lack of authenticity in current AI conjecture - there’s only one word to sum up how I see AI influencers like Aitana Lopez becoming - tired. 

Platform round-up

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

TikTok

👉 TikTok removes the ability to search for specific hashtags in its Creative Center tools, limiting users' insight into tag popularity.

Google

👉 Google has starting phasing out third-party cookies on Chrome (finally!) but a word of caution - marketing players need to look into privacy-safe alternatives if they want to adapt to this change that will affect 30 million users.