A large part of being a successful marketer is knowing how you can scale your content production and expand into different marketing channels.
Working with other content creators can be a great way to get in front of new audiences and increase your brand awareness.
However, you first need to know what type of individual you are working with.
Digital creators and influencers are two types of social media individuals that brands can partner with, and the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, despite the fact that the two are different.
In this article, we’ll help you understand the differences between digital creators and influencers and figure out which one is the best partner for your brand.
What is a Digital Creator?
A digital creator sometimes referred to as a simple content creator, is a person who creates content for different platforms, typically on social media.
This could include media such as:
- Videos
- Articles and Blogs
- Emails
- Images
- Infographics
- Podcasts
- Resources
- Social Media Posts
Digital creators aren’t necessarily influencing their audiences to buy certain products or try different software solutions, but they are creating compelling content that tells a story to their audience.
The content they create tends to be informative and creative rather than focused on selling.
They usually have a niche they create content about and a few dedicated platforms they post on.
Because creating content is the sole purpose of digital creators, they often put a large amount of work into the content they create, leading to high-quality results that draw in engaged audiences.
Over time, a digital creator might become an influencer if their audience starts purchasing their recommended products or following their advice.
What Does Digital Creator Mean on Facebook?
Facebook has recently created a category specifically for digital creators who want to share their content on the platform.
It’s designed to help self-identified digital creators reach their audiences, connect with followers, and get found by new people.
If you are recognized as a digital creator on Facebook, it means that you are someone who creates digital content to be shared that provides value to audiences.
You can get paid through the platform and earn a salary as a page with a digital creator category.
How Does a Digital Creator Make Money?
Digital creators make their money through the same types of monetization channels as influencers do. That could include things like sponsorships, follower donations, collaborations, or brand partnerships.
Advertisements are the primary way that a digital creator will make money.
However, the way they go about advertising products might differ from an influencer.
What Skills Does a Digital Creator Need?
Digital creators tend to have many different marketing skills, such as video editing, copywriting, photography, design, and more.
These skills help them create high-quality content that engages their audiences and tells an impactful story.
This can make them great partners to work with.
In order to be a good digital creator, you also need to be a good storyteller. The content a digital creator makes isn’t the same as an influencer, who might make videos specifically about beauty products or fashion trends.
Instead, a digital creator is often showcasing their lifestyle or narrative, and they need to convey that in a convincing manner to audiences.
Can Anyone Be a Digital Creator?
The short answer? Yes.
The longer answer is that becoming a digital creator takes a lot of time and dedication, along with a little bit of luck.
However, there are some steps you can take if you want to try being a digital creator yourself. Here are some important pointers to help you become a successful digital creator.
Find Your Speciality
A digital creator needs to have a specialty.
Whether that’s living in a specific region, experiencing a unique challenge, partaking in a different lifestyle, or simply creating content that has a powerful story, your content should be unique.
This will help you develop the core of your digital creation brand and the type of audience you want to reach.
Create Your Content
The next step is to create your content.
There are many different types of content you can create, but videos and social media posts tend to be the most popular options for digital creators.
There’s a lot to learn when it comes to content creation, so don’t be afraid to get started even if you aren’t an expert. Many AI tools can help you create and inspire your content as well.
Over time, your skills will grow.
Set Clear Goals
You will want to have actionable goals in place as a digital creator to track your progress and monitor your brand’s growth.
Setting goals will help you understand how much you still need to do in order to expand and will give you benchmarks for your accomplishments as a digital creator.
Your goals should be measurable and attainable, so don’t set something that’s too far out of reach.
Plan Your Schedule
The best digital creators keep a consistent schedule.
That way, their audiences know when new content is going to be released and know when quality content is coming their way.
Having a schedule also helps you take advantage of your free time when you are starting out to pre-plan videos, schedule posts, write articles, and engage with audiences.
Be Active on Your Accounts
Being a digital creator is more than just posting a video and calling it a day.
You need to engage with your audiences and be active on your accounts.
Take time to like and reply to comments, answer questions from followers, and like content outside of your niche.
This not only makes your followers happy, but it increases the trust they have in your brand.
What Does an Influencer Do?
An influencer is another type of social media personality that, like a digital creator, spends a lot of their time online and on social media.
However, an influencer, as the name might suggest, is primarily focused on influencing their audiences to do things or buy items based on their actions.
The appeal of an influencer has everything to do with their following. Influencers usually have large followings, often in the millions.
Or, if they have smaller audiences, they still have an enormous amount of influence over the people who follow them.
This makes influencers appealing to marketers as partners to work with.
How Do Influencers Make Money?
Influencers make their money through advertisements and brand deals.
Brands who see how much sway an influencer has over their shared audiences will approach influencers for paid promotions and product reviews.
Oftentimes, brand deals make up the majority of the content that influencers post.
The Main Differences Between a Digital Creator and an Influencer
While there are some influencers who are digital creators, not all digital creators are influencers.
Digital creators work to create content that entertains and informs their audience.
While this content might be influential, that’s not the main purpose of it. As such, the content tends to be higher in quality and contain powerful storytelling elements.
On the other hand, influencers are more focused on promoting themselves as their brand and growing their following.
They want to convince their followers to buy the things they buy and take the actions they take. This can be great for promoting a new product or selling your services, as they are incentivized by brand deals to portray goods in a positive light.
Knowing which type of social media personality is going to be the best partner for your brand will depend on the kind of promotion you want.
While influencers might have larger audiences who are more willing to buy, they might not be great content creators.
And while digital creators can add more interest to your brand than just a product, they might not accept a sponsored deal, so you will have to be more creative.
Think through your marketing strategies and goals in order to determine which type of social media personality is going to be the best fit for your brand needs.
You can then explore different individuals in each category to find the best fit for your brand’s mission, values, and goals.
Wrap Up
Learning how to create connections and grow your audience is an important part of digital marketing.
Partnering with other content creators can help you boost your brand name, get traction in new arenas, and build trust in your brand.
If you are interested in learning more about social media influencers and how they can help your business marketing initiatives, then check out our blog on social media influencers.
But in case you need to scale up your content production, WriterAccess can help. Our content creation platform combines the efficiency of AI-powered tools with the creativity of human writers.
Why not give WriterAccess a try today? Sign up now and get 14 days of free access to our network of expert writers. Discover for yourself what great content can do for your business!
