How the 'Creator Economy' Is Transforming the Digital Industry

The “Creator Economy” is a new industry that has been growing rapidly since confinement, becoming a path of development for the younger generations and for many individuals who were left unemployed, driven by the upward trend of people who monetize their passions for a living.

As social networks and platforms turn to creators who generate content on the internet, more and more internet companies are accelerating the creation of new spaces for creators to monetize their content.

Generation Z and millennials are driving the growth of creators through the creation of photos, videos, music or texts on different social networks and digital platforms. In this world, we have content creators, curators, social media influencers, bloggers, and videographers. Anyone with an internet connection and a camera phone can produce content. This new line of profession is just another step in technological innovation and the democratization of the internet.

The creator economy is a booming industry. Today, it is valued globally at the extraordinary figure of US$104.2 billion, according to Antler's Creator Economy Report. Obviously, it represents an important flow of income and it is clear that the creator economy is the future, but also the present, of content creation and consumption. However, for this to continue to develop, it is crucial that platforms offer financing and support for the content and protect the creators so that they continue to flourish, which in turn has a positive impact on economies.

And what are brands doing to capture the content from these young people?

Until not long ago, digital platforms and social networks acquired content easily. Creators uploaded their content to the internet without looking for something in return. Today’s universe of creators demand monetization in exchange for their content, which is forcing digital companies such as Meta, YouTube, Spotify, Twitter, TikTok, Amazon and Twitch to adapt their sites with new business models that benefit creators, including advertising revenue quotas, sponsored content, tips from subscribers, sale of digital content and merchandise, advertisements and marketing of products through tokens or the sale of NFTs that allow content to be capitalized.

With these investment channels, more and more brands are approaching these people to include them in their marketing strategies, whether through paid media, collaborations or exchanges of a product, a promotion or a service among their fans (communities).

The content of the creators is vital, since it is proven by consumer studies that 92 percent of consumers trust the recommendation of another person before the content generated by the brand itself, which is why successful content goes viral on the internet.

According to data provided by SignalFire, more than 50 million people around the world consider themselves content creators. They have become authentic creatives who earn a living with this new line of profession or simply do it for pleasure and to be in on the trend.

That is why all brands must take full advantage of the content generated by their consumers. Nowadays, platforms like Meta, YouTube, Twitch, TikTok and other similar social networks keep all the content and information that people share in their platforms without giving them recognition or value for their work.
As a solution, the integration of HitsBook as UGC's technology platform would help brands capture fresh content focused on their marketing plans. This means that there will be no intermediary that benefits from the creation of the content, since through our technology they could capture, filter, manage and store the content generated by their consumers to use it in future projects, such as multiplatform spots, where creators become the protagonists or ambassadors of the brands.

HitsBook promises the decentralization of content from other media through innovative technology and its multiple UGC solutions, which help to:

1. Capture organic, credible and authentic content created by consumers, who keep all of the rights.
2. Generate branding, engagement and quantifiable interactions that avoid fraud.
3. Increase database levels, leads, conversions and sales in a measurable way.
4. Produce innovative multiplatform content from the content generated by the creators.

We are at a cathartic point in history where the creator economy is changing the definitions of work and also opening up new opportunities for brands to reach out to leading content creator entertainment platforms. As the number of creators increase, revenue streams expand. The content startups that master the “creator” transformation of tomorrow will be key to capturing user-generated content.

To be successful, platforms will need to do more to support the middle class of creators and the new talent that will emerge. The generation of content gains weight, not only for entertaining an audience, but also because it helps to connect and build loyalty with brands through new business models, where both parties will win economically.