The 2025 Creator Marketing Blueprint

Welcome, everyone, and thank you for joining today's webinar, twenty twenty five Creator Strategies for Success and Brand Growth. My name is Alex Kirk, and, I am director of the global consumer insights team at Bazaarvoice.

My team provides the analytics showcasing the impact of the creator and content marketing programs from social performance on their respective platforms to revenue driven from UGC living on a brand's PDP.

We have Kelsey Abel joining us from Tenuity.

So excited to have you here, Kelsey. Could you give a quick intro about yourself, please?

Yeah. Of course, Alex. So first, thank you for having me, and hello, everyone. My name is Kelsey Abel. I'm the VP of influencer marketing at Tenuity, and I oversee an awesome team of influencer experts who really help our clients solve their business challenges with creator strategy and execution.

And I've been in the space for over ten plus years and so I've worked with a number of brands across pretty much every single vertical you can think of. I've partnered with many, many different types of creators all the way from micro creators all the way up to, you know, celebrities. So I'm really excited for this conversation. So, yeah, thanks for having me.

Yeah. Of course. We're so thrilled to have you here. This is such a great topic for us to be discussing together today and looking forward to this. So let's, without further ado, dive in.

So before we get started, I just wanted to give a quick introduction of Bazaarvoice for anyone who may not have worked with us or is new to our events.

Bazaarvoice specializes in connecting brands, retailers, and consumers through authentic user generated content, UGC.

Our platform helps brands build trust and drive conversions by leveraging creator and user generated content, which ultimately can lead to influencing purchase decisions.

By harnessing the power of real consumer voices, we enable brands to create meaningful interactions that lead to stronger relationships and measurable business growth.

With our expertise in UGC, we empower brands to tap into the true potential of customer feedback and content to stand out in today's highly competitive and evolving marketplace.

We're trusted by over thirteen thousand brands and two thousand five hundred retailers, and we have a global network of everyday shoppers and creators of around twenty one million.

We drive conversions and deliver insights to optimize your customer experience.

Kelsey, could you give a quick intro into, Tenuity?

Yeah. Of course. So a little bit about Tenuity for those who don't know us, we are the largest independent full funnel performance marketing agency within the US. And our patent technology, BlissPoint by Tenuity, measures what marketers previously struggled to measure and offering a clarity in today's marketing landscape. So with expertise in commerce, search, social, TV, influencer, like we'll talk today and creative like we'll talk today, really, Tinuit drives measurable business outcomes for your brands.

Awesome. Thanks, Kelsey.

And over our next twenty minutes, we'll dive into key insights, strategies, and actionable insights that will help future proof your creator marketing efforts in twenty twenty five. So be sure to stay with us till the very end, but if you have to drop, we get it. No worries. We can certainly send a recording following this session.

And please feel free to use the chat functionality throughout this session. If you have any questions or comments, Kelsey and I will try to get to as many of them as possible during the q and a at the end.

Okay. So we always like to start these webinars with a question for our audience to answer. So let's ask the audience.

Our question is, how much will creators in the US earn for their sponsored content this year?

You have any ideas, please feel free to drop into the chat.

And, Kelsey, while people are submitting their guesses, do you have an idea of what this amount could be? Maybe a ballpark estimate?

You know, I don't I I don't know the most recent recent figure. I assume it has to be well into the billions at this point. So I'm gonna say, like, let's go with five billion. That'll be my guess.

Okay. Five billion. I'm certainly seeing a mix in the chat and ranges. So, without further ado, drum roll, eight billion. So according to eMarketer, US creators will make over eight billion from sponsored content deals this year. So this is what they're projecting.

Kelsey, you've been in this space for ten years or so. Would you say this number has certainly increased over the past few years? Like, what trends are we seeing here?

Oh, yeah. Yeah. It has definitely increased. And I'm sure if you have worked with, you know, creators over the past few years, I'm sure you've seen that shift as well.

One of the more dramatic shifts more recently I think we've seen is is the shift into the rise of TikTok. Right? So you don't necessarily need that huge following on the platform to make money. So you are seeing a lot more of, these creators join to kind of join in on on the dollars that can be made. So I'd assume it's only gonna go up from here as well.

Yeah. I would I would imagine so too. And could you elaborate and speak to some of the trends and shifts that you've been observing in this space recently?

Yeah. That's a great question. And I think, for this conversation, I think there's two that I really wanna call out. So the first one I think is more shoppers are turning to social media to discover, and purchase products, right? So it's really highlighting the vital role creators play in influencing buying behavior. You know, social has really become the new search platform, especially when you think of, you know, TikTok and YouTube where consumers are going to those platforms to discover and search for brands and products more than they really ever have before.

You know, and with so many creators making this authentic content, it really does help brands show up and be more discoverable to those consumers.

And, you know, since that information is coming from a third party voice, that review can be even more impactful than just coming from from the brand.

And then, you know, the second big shift that we've seen in creator marketing is the shift towards deeper collaboration and personalization between brands and creators. You know, audiences are rising up. They no longer are fully trusting, you know, one off brand deals with with creators. And we've even seen it from our own programming with our clients, you know, that ongoing and long term partnerships are really driving strong results. You know, we've seen a lot of success with creator led content outperforming BAU branded ads across pretty much all of the social platforms that we run on.

You know, and and seeing these creators posting multiple times with a brand or a product really helps aid in frequency and authenticity of that partnership. And then you've, kind of lastly there, it's really consumers getting a chance to see how that creator is truly using the product and and really showcasing how they are are genuinely supporting that brand or product, which makes it even more authentic.

I love that. Thank you for sharing both those, key trends and really interesting to hear.

I would say that, you know, that there's been such a significant growth in shopping from social and it certainly adds up, right? Like I think we all as consumers can relate knowing our own behaviors, intentional or you know, impulsive purchase in feed shopping. I purchased silk pillows this morning from Instagram. Like, it just reminds her all in the morning.

So, you know, whether it's from purchasing in feed or from clicking on a code or a link shared by our favorite creator. Like, we are very much, you know, well versed in this, new way of shopping. And it's no surprise given how much time we are all spending on social media. And just to quantify this, and I'm sure we're all familiar with these numbers, but just to refresh ourselves on how much time we are spending.

This year, the average daily social media usage globally is around one hundred and forty three minutes per day.

Average content engagement per format, so if we're thinking about videos, it's around ten to twenty seconds, posts one to three, and then if we're talking about stories, that's five to ten. So when you start putting this all to context of how much content we're consuming on a daily basis, it's a lot of content. And so it's really not surprising that so much discovery, inspiration, and purchase is happening.

And as part of our research with Bazaarvoice's Shopper Experience Index study this year, we asked if shoppers purchase a product after watching video content on social. And our most recent numbers show that close to sixty percent agreed that they had.

And while twenty eight percent said they did not, I love this response of that fifteen percent agreed that they, did not purchase, but they still very much enjoyed watching that video content. And, yeah, that makes sense, like, what the use cases of the various platforms.

And there's such an abundance of content to consume, and it's coming from a variety of different creators, each with their own backstory, brand tone, who continue to build followers based on that really impactful content that they're creating.

Kelsey, could you share some of the different types of creators based on the varying parameters? And, are there certain creators that brands are choosing more of these days?

Yeah. Yeah. So there has definitely been, this noticeable shift in the types of creators that brands choose to work with. So brands are increasingly moving away from relying solely on, you know, mega influencers or celebrity endorsements and are really focusing more on working with, you know, micro or nano creators who can really drive performance.

And what I what I mean by performance is some of those lower funnel metrics such as clicks and, you know, ultimately sales. And, you know, these creators don't have a super large following, but they do have a highly, highly engaged audience. And, you know, additionally, like you mentioned before, Alex, there's this growing interest in everyday creators or consumers who are not, you know, professional influencers, but share their content related to their genuine experience with the product. And this trend is really what's aligning with that broader movement towards authenticity and trust within that UGC user generated content because it really becomes influential in driving purchasing decisions.

And, you know, this has really created a rise in in niche creators as well. So those individuals who have a deep expertise or passion in specific areas like sustainability, wellness, technology, a whole host of other verticals. And brands are really tapping into those creators for targeted specialized campaigns that resonate, you know, very highly with a specific audience segment.

Thanks, Kelsey. So hearing relatable content, content that resonates and, how niche creators are certainly building that fundamental trust and credibility with their audience and how brands can really benefit greatly from leveraging these voices.

As we look ahead to twenty twenty five, the landscape for creative marketing continues to evolve rapidly.

And with that comes the need for brands to strategically adjust their approaches and be nimble.

I just wanted to take this moment to dive into some major trends that we should all consider as we plan for the coming years. And we're saying that there's a much greater focus on creators as brands realize the immense value of this authentic engaging content that resonates with these audiences.

And this shift is more than just a trend at this point. It's becoming a fundamental strategy for a successful marketing campaign.

And by next year, we expect brands to be dedicating even larger portions of their budgets to creators.

And this will soon be absolutely essential to stay competitive in this marketplace.

And as we see the demand for more content across various digital channels, and seeing this growth, we're also seeing that there's a shortened purchase cycle and it's incredibly critical to deliver constant engaging content to keep consumers leaned in and hooked.

And this is why bite sized content continues to be as popular as ever, especially now as the purchase cycle becomes shorter and shorter. And short form videos have always been that, you know, quick snackable bite size, content of entertainment and information, and is impactful on platforms like TikTok or if you're on Instagram reels and YouTube shorts.

So as a brand, if you're not already incorporating short form video into your creator strategy, now's the time to certainly make that shift.

Another key trend is this increasing need for a full funnel approach to creator marketing, not just thinking about your top of the funnel metrics.

In today's digital marketplace, consumers need to be educated and they're expecting to be educated, entertained, and influenced at every touch point. So when we think about that, we really monitor this. We're also seeing that younger audiences, millennial younger millennials and Gen Z, they're the ones that are especially wanting to be entertained on social media first and then educated and sold to. So content should always be looked at from that lens. Does it entertain them? Because if it does, it's much easier to get them to stick around to keep their attention.

And whether it's the top, middle, or bottom of the funnel, brands must really think about how they're collaborating with creators to deliver that seamless experience that guides consumers smoothly through the buying journey.

Kelsey, I believe that Tinuity recently completed, some research with some good insights to support some of these trends. Would you mind sharing?

Yeah. And one of the things that I'll just I just wanna echo from what you just said too is we're really even seeing with our brands and clients that the younger audiences really are turning to to social to be entertained first. So exactly like you said, you know, content needs to be entertaining on social. That's why people are going to social. And then really you can, you know, sell to them and and you can educate them second.

So that really kinda just leans into this larger trend of of what what really matters and content is what really matters and good content. So what you all are seeing here is a study called from a to gen z twenty twenty four where we leaned into the influences and motivations shaping buying behavior for young consumers based on the content.

It asked how important it was for shoppers to see brands featuring models who look like them in marketing. And if you see here, this left column is the answer from Gen z where almost sixty percent answered it is moderately or more important to see models who look like them in in its marketing. So this really is just further proof and goes to show that the content needs to be entertaining. It also needs to be personalized and truly reflect the consumer that that you are looking to target. Otherwise, it just might not land as as impactful as it could.

Makes sense.

And what would you say are best practices, that can help brands ensure that they are creating this impactful content when they are working with creators? Are there challenges or pain points when activating?

And, are they concerned about brand guidelines? Tell us. What do you hear from your clients?

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So I I definitely think the creative challenge is, in my opinion, the hardest part.

You know, the brand typically has this long list of key messages or mandatory items that need to be in the content in addition to, you know, all of the FTC legal requirements, which are very much important and very much needed. And I think you can tell when a brand hasn't really worked with creators much before. You know, it's kind of obvious where they just handed this giant list of mandates over to the creator and said, hey. Give us something that fits everything on this list.

When in reality, that is not really a way to create really good entertaining content. So our philosophy is to, you know, create a brief that is just that. Just a creative brief for the influencers.

So how I kind of approach it when I'm working with my clients is, you know, the brand is the expert in their product, and it's their responsibility to share all of the great things about the product with the creator. You know, they should also share program goals. They should, you know, share, you know, what are the KPIs? What is the intended outcome of this content? And then from there, brands should really lean on the creators for the actual creative concepting and output because, ultimately, those creators are the expert in their creative craft. They're the experts in their audience and know what is going to perform on their channel.

And now as I say that, I know, you know, one common concern brands have when working with creators is maintaining brand guidelines. And it's very natural to want consistency to, you know, really want to make sure that every piece of content aligns with, you know, your voice, your messaging, the the visual identity of your brand. However, you know, the reality is, you know, guidelines are important and they should be in there, you know, but brands also have to recognize the power of giving creators that that creative freedom. You know, like I said, creators know their audience better than anyone else.

They have that unique style that resonates with their followers and if you limit their creativity too much, you risk losing that authenticity and that connection that really makes their content so effective. So, you know, ultimately the key is to strike a balance. You know definitely provide clear brand guidelines but allow room for those creators to really express themselves in a way that feels natural and genuine. And I think by doing this, you're not just ensuring brand consistency but you're also leveraging, you know, the creator's ability to deliver content that really feels real to their audience.

Yeah. It's such a fine balance. Right? So like you said, striking the balance of those guidelines and ultimately allowing creators their creative freedom. So loosening the reins because they know their audience better than anyone else. I love that.

Kelsey, considering you've run many creator campaigns for brands and seen these challenges, we thought it'd be really valuable if you could potentially share a framework, that you use to guide anyone on a recommended approach for a creator marketing campaign. Is that something you could walk us through?

Oh, yeah. Absolutely. So this is one of my favorite things. So what you all are seeing is kind of the the guideline or the parameters that we like to think through when we're developing a creative brief.

I will say, you know, every brand has a different way of briefing creators, but really the way that we found success is to make sure that we are including information, in each of these sections. So I'll kind of, you know, talk us through these to just give some additional examples. But really here in in, you know, section one, let's call it, you know, focusing on that campaign goal. So while keeping it super short, super simple, explain what the goal of the partnership is with that creative.

Are you working with them to drive awareness of a new product? Do you need creators to drive to a microsite and encourage sales? You know, you'd be surprised with the number of creators that have told me that, you know, they've never actually been told by the brand that they're working with what the goal of the partnership is. And I think it's it's kinda funny because how can we expect them to create this impactful content when when they don't even know what those goals are?

So keeping it short, keeping it simple, but just kind of briefing them and telling them, hey. This is what we're about to do.

You know, that this is what you need to know to kind of make that happen.

The next thing that you wanna make sure that you are including in your brief is, you know, a short section on brand information. So what is the main thing that you want the creators and the audience to know about your brand or your product. Right? At a really high level, who are you and what problem does your brand or your product solve?

You know, who is the target audience? Why should they incorporate it into their life? And really having, the creators understand this will help them, you know, talk about your brand as it relates to consumers. It can even give them some use cases to, you know, genuinely showcase in their content.

The next thing that you should be including in your briefs is, you know, what are the program needs and deliverables. So, you know, we need to have the creators understand exactly how much content are they creating, what channels is this con going to live on. And then, additionally, are there any type of length requirements? Are there any type of specific format needs? Any type of posting instructions that they will need for the actual deliverables?

The one thing that I will also call out here too is I think a lot of people like to include, a contract along with the brief in one one formal document. That's not bad, but my recommendation is that anything from a deliverable standpoint, you know, usage rights, compensation, exclusivity needs, really any other contractual stipulations that you you have negotiated before you even entered into the formal partnership.

That all can be included in a separate, you know, contract. I like to joke that that's like the boring paperwork part of my job where, you know, you have everything laid out. It's it's, you know, contractually, you're set. But then this creative brief really is just that.

It's it's for creative. It's briefing them. It should be fun. You know, think about even if just you were to receive a a whole document that just had, like, a whole bunch of contract stuff and a little bit about the creative, it's not gonna be as fun to wanna go off and create that.

So that's my recommendation is, you know, any kind of contractual items, leave that in the in the contract, but bring forward, you know, more of those fun creative briefing elements into this, you know, influencer and and creator creative brief.

Then the bulk of the brief that you that you want to have is around all of the content creation. So this really should focus on a few key things. So your priority key messages, so select two to three messages max. You know, creators can be encouraged to to share those messages in their own voice.

I know sometimes some brands might have a regulatory or a legal, something, and that's okay to tell them that that needs to be verbatim. But please encourage them to have those priority key messages shared within their own, you know, tone of voice. You also wanna include a call to action. So something that clearly states what the desired action is you want consumers to take, whether that's, you know, clicking the link or commenting below.

Whatever that is, make it very clear so that creator can incorporate that into the content from the very beginning.

Then you should also make sure that you're including, you know, content do's and don'ts. This is where you will list out what creators can and cannot show about the product.

For example, you know, maybe it's a product that can only be used in kitchens, so you can't show them using it, you know, in a bedroom or there's specific places or ways that you would hold the product that you really need to make sure that the creator is aware of. And I think this is also where earlier, I know we talked a lot about wanting to have more creative control, creative guidelines from the brand side. And I think this is where you can kind of give those as as suggestions and kinda say, hey. This is what we need you to do with the product, and give some of that creative direction there as well.

The other thing you wanna make sure that you have in your brief is, you know, clear ways of how your legal team has approved FTC disclosure language so that the influencer is in incorporating that. And then the other big thing that I like to include in this section is content inspiration. So, again, going back to that personalization, how are we making making it personal to each creator? So what I like to do is we will include, you know, one to two posts that that creator has made and shared previously and either share it with them, you know, via email or in the brief itself to really just say, hey.

This is why we liked you. This is the content that we like. Right? You already would have seen them.

There's a reason you're partnering with them from the very beginning. So bring that forward, and that can often help, give that creator some direction and and what the brand is looking for and and what we're looking to create overall.

And then the last section of the brief, which I will quickly touch on is really just a timeline and process. Make sure that you are dedicating, you know, a small portion of the brief to focus on the timeline. You know, when are there items when are you expected to review and then provide feedback. If there's any other types of reviews, I know a lot of times legal teams or regulatory teams also like to have a hand in reviewing that. So just kind of be honest and upfront because I think that's also going to help set the expectations, to those creators about, what to create, when they're gonna create, and and kind of what this process will look like.

Awesome. Thank you, Kelsey. That that was so thorough. And it was a lot of information, but I love how you broke this out into these five sections to make it, like, digestible.

And, there, I love the the to dos and the the not to dos. That was, like, really insightful. So thank you for sharing. And, of course, planning for creative marketing can look different from other marketing campaigns.

And while you can plan for a stream of consistent creator campaigns, Kelsey, I wanted to, ask you if you could share some ideas to how to incorporate agility into your creator marketing next year. Being agile is a word that I think we've used a few times.

Yeah. Yeah. I think that is is super important. So just some kind of high levels of of ways to make it easier.

So I think the first thing to think about is keep the content plans flexible. Right? So, you know, think about breaking, you know, your campaigns into smaller phases so you can adjust quickly based on results or plan different types of content to see see what works best and really just kind of think about your plans in general and how how you can adjust and make them more flexible as you continue to go. And I think that really leads into, you know, another, strong point of, you know, use real time data to make decisions, track performance of that content as the campaign goes live, if you're doing it, you know, in small increments or one large program.

But just make sure that you're tracking that performance because you always wanna, you know, have a pulse on what's resonating. We all know social trends happen really quickly. So even being able to have a pulse on what's performing will make it that much easier if you need to pivot or, you know, there's something that's trending that you can hop on real quick.

That can really just make it easier to know what's performing, what's not to be able to make some of those real time decisions.

I think another way to be agile is to let creators have that creative freedom like we have mentioned.

You know give them those clear guidelines but trust their instincts to adapt to the trends of their audience to the type of content they know what works with their followers.

I think another key one that I see often is, you know, the approval process can can sometimes drag out a a program or just make things, last longer than they could. So really find ways to streamline approval. So simplify the process, you know, either by using preapproved templates or automated tools, anything that, you know, can can get to reviewing and and posting quicker, the better.

I think another a key thing that, you know, brands can think about is diversifying their creators and then their creator content pool. So, you know, build a roster of creators that you know, that you trust, who can deliver the type of content that you want.

That will allow you to activate pretty quickly, especially if you're hoping to jump on new trends or new opportunities as they, you know, so quickly arise in in social. And I think having, you know, a diverse range of creators as well, you know, creating videos, static, short form, whatever that is, will also allow you just to be able to be a little bit more more nimble as you you go throughout your programming.

Another key way to be agile is just be flexible with budgets. I know sometimes this can be really hard with different finance teams, but, you know, keep some budget available to be able to scale up halfway through their campaign if you see that some pieces of content are working really well or perhaps, you know, you've you've, kind of uncovered that, you know, messaging is really, really working well. How can you get more creators to be creating content around that messaging as well? So if you can, I think being flexible with budgets is another key thing?

And then lastly, I think collaboration is is one of the top ways, you know, I think we all talk about collaboration and even some of us are working with multiple different teams. Maybe it's different agencies. Maybe it's different, you know, cross channels across your company.

But really make sure that, you know, yourself, you know, your marketing, your product teams, whoever that you're working with are all in sync from the very beginning. This is just, you know, one of the surefire ways that you can easily pivot. Everyone knows what's going on.

So if you need to make some of those changes, it's easier to do so. So you're not going through and kind of alerting all of the masses, you know, before you're making that change. You can kind of do that, as you need to.

Thanks, Kelsey. These are great. So these are some seven ways to certainly, you know, have that agility with creator marketing next year and to really help brands like future proof their success as they think through these strategies.

And this actually brings us to our takeaway portion already. So I'll spend some time just going through our three key takeaways before we move into our Q and A session.

So first and foremost, authenticity is non negotiable.

Audiences are savvy and, they resonate with creators who are genuinely reflecting the brand's values.

So making sure that that brand is aligned with what that creator stands for and that backstory.

Consumers are savvy, and they know when a brand aligns with a specific creator. So that's why it's so crucial of partnering with the right creators and how that can elevate your brand's connection with that creator's audience.

Really having a great system that helps you identify those creators, efficiently is certainly essential.

The second takeaway is creative marketing should be a dynamic evolving process. We just heard Kelsey talk about how you can kind of adjust and, you know, be nimble and agile there.

So relying on data certainly helps guide strategic decisions and ensures that your campaigns are both impactful and relevant.

So it's so important that you have the ability to leverage real time insights so that you can adapt your approach, ensuring your content is optimized and ensure that you're picking a really great list of creators who remain aligned with both audience preferences, as well as your business goals and KPIs.

And finally, Kelsey touched on this, the allowing creators to have that creative freedom. So brand guidelines are important. You as a brand know your brand. The creators know their audience.

So really allowing them the room to be themselves. So loosening those reins so that they can really, create that content that performs so well against their audiences. And this is where authenticity really thrives when creatives do have creators do have that creative freedom to deliver content that feels personal and never forced. You never want it to feel too forced because, again, consumers are very savvy and they're gonna call it for when it doesn't land.

And so balancing this freedom with the need for scalable, timely content, it can be a challenge, but But that's where our Bazaarvoice can step in, and our platform enables you to efficient efficiently source content from the right creators, delivering high quality creative output at scale so that you can get the best of both worlds, agility and creativity.

And with that, I would love to open up for questions, from the audience.

I think we have two.

Alright. So let's start with Caroline asked, what are some strategies for a successful campaign focused on conversion?

Seems like more brands are focused on conversion and ROI versus awareness.

Yeah. That's a good one. And I think especially as more brands are shifting to wanting to drive conversions within their creator marketing, there's a few things that that you can kind of keep in mind as you as you're working with creators. Right?

I think traditionally, when people think creator creators or influencers, they think more top of funnel. They think more awareness, but it's really looking at, looking at it in a few ways. So one, you can look at it by the actual creators that you're partnering with. So, you know, are you, you know, most of the time when you are finding creators, you should be vetting them.

You can find some, you know, audience and channel performance metrics that way. So you can look at creators that have really strong engagement rates. If you've worked with creators before, you can see, okay, who was driving the most clicks? You know, let's say the, you know, you want conversions, you want sales, who was driving the most clicks or, you know, sales on on my site and really kind of build a stronger relationship there and continue to look at creators who, excuse me, have that strong, you know, engagement rate conversion, all of that.

I think another way to look at it, and I think some some people are doing this, but I think it's still kind of new within the industry is looking at, you know, conference different compensation models based on, you know, you know, maybe percentage of sales. Maybe you're not necessarily giving creators a a flat rate, but you are saying, okay. We'll we'll give you x amount for the content, but then we can give you, you know, a twenty percent CPA on on every sale that you you make. So really then, you know, the the power is in the creator's hand to, you know, the the better that their content performs, the more that they're driving, more sales that they're driving, they're also making more money. So there's different ways to to look and and and how you want to set up your programming that is more based around targeting some of those those lower lower funnel conversions.

I think kind of the last piece that you can think about too is you're getting all this great content from your creators. How can you then take that content and leverage it in your own social platforms? You know, can you take that content and retarget it to audiences who have seen that creator's content, with paid? Can you take that in take the content and put it into your own, you know, media buys even not just not just on social? Are there other places that you can put that to, you know, further drive some of those conversions and have that content focus on on conversions as well.

Yeah. That makes sense. And, just to add to that too, I certainly, like, have seen the shift of, you know, we all everyone was talking about with impressions and engagement and our media value. Now it's certainly making its way down the funnel.

So we we touched on this in the presentation, but having access to really thorough reporting and real time insights is really crucial in how you can optimize some of these mid to lower funnel metrics, tracking when, a creator is using, an affiliate link. And you're able to see, you know, the traffic they are driving to the site, what sales that can be attributed back to them. So you can kind of compare and contrast, like, which creators are really driving that traffic to your your web your website, your product page, and so forth. And similarly with codes, you know, tracking those metrics.

And then, it was our voice. We also when, brands identify creator content that, you know, they really think is impactful, being able to redistribute that in a gallery living on your product page and then being able to attribute revenue to a piece of content. So you can really see not only what content is performing and kind of compare and contrast to optimize, Then also which creators are really working for you, like, throughout the funnel too. So it's a real time reporting and insights is really crucial so you can optimize future campaigns.

Awesome. So Holly asked okay. So there's a new FTC rule that says that businesses are prohibited from creating, buying, procuring, or disseminating consumer reviews or testimonials from someone who doesn't have actual experience with the business or its product, or if it misrepresents the person's experience. Do you have any insight on how this impacts working with creators? So I I think this is in reference to, this summer, the the latest FTC around fake reviews.

Yeah. I will say this is not a cop out. I promise. If you have any FTC legal, questions, go to your legal team.

They're gonna be able to tell you exactly how, to work within kind of your brand, your product, your ways of working. But I do think that it it brings a, a good talking point in terms of this is really you wanna be partnering with creators who already potentially have that affinity with your brand or with that product. So I think it's a good way to maybe do some social listening. Are there people that are already tagging you, you know, in social channels that you can then, you know, start a partnership with?

I think that's a really cool way to kind of start with the people who already have, excuse me, interacted with your product, interacted with your brand. I think if you're a brand new product, you're a brand new brand, that's when you can look at things such as product seating or even just kind of, you know, surprise and delight gifts where it's like, hey. We wanna share this product with you. You know, would you be willing to try it out?

So there are different ways that you can go about this. You absolutely want your creators to, excuse me, have, you know, familiarity with you as a brand, and that's why, you know, we are seeing and like we mentioned earlier, these long term relationships really being strong and successful because they're continuing to partner with you time and time again. So you not only have their historical performance, they they know you as a brand, they know how to create that content, but they also have this well established history of actually wanting to support the brand or the product that they are promoting, and and really kind of just making sure that that, you know, they have that genuine connection with the brand.

Awesome. And just to go back to your framework, Kelsey, you you did speak to having that FTC disclosure language included. So, you know, making sure that's all upfront and the the so the creator is aware. And and then I think having good moderation too of the content, that's something that, bizarre voice that we really take seriously at, you know, staying up to speed on the the latest FTC regulations and rules and really thinking through our moderation processes of when we are syndicated content to the various places to ensure that there, again, are authentic and really a true testimonial from that specific person.

Is it more important to see an influencer's reach than their follower number?

That's a good question. I would I would say it depends. Right? So, like, we've talked about a lot of people are shifting more towards, you know, those micro and nano content creators where they're, you know, following a reach might not be as important as some of the other metrics such as engagement rates.

If we have insights into any type of click performance, affiliate type of performance, I think if you're really focusing on those conversions, those are the metrics that are gonna become more important versus, you know, follower count.

But if you truly are looking for more of that top of funnel, you just want someone who has that cloud, has that awareness, I would I would look at, depending on what you have access to, I know sometimes you can have access to, just their full follower count. Sometimes you have access to the actual, metrics that and and who their content is actually reaching. So if you have access to who that content is actually reaching, I would lean there just because that's a better indicator of performance or how many people are actually seeing that content, and and versus just kind of, like, their potential total follower count. But, again, I think it depends on kind of what your goals of the program are, and kind of what what emphasis you're gonna put on certain metrics.

Yeah. I would definitely agree, like, tie it back to your, like, your campaign KPIs and also to being mindful of, you know, the platform and how the algorithms can change. So it really can vary.

Pring at how many times I say, like, we're at the mercy of the platform sometimes, but we are. So, yeah, I think really catering it to your your specific business goals and seeing what's working and, yeah, seeing the trends there.

We have another question here from Katie. How do you balance putting paid behind an influencer's content to better align with where people are at in the marketing funnel and leveraging their organic reach and audience?

Yeah. And and, Alex, I'd be curious what you have to say about this too because I know you had this, you know, amazing slide to all about full funnel approach, and I think that's something that, excuse me, we focus on to a Tenuity is is looking at, you know, in or creator marketing as a whole and where that content can be used. So it's not just, okay. Here's a creator.

This is their content living on their channel. It's where can that content be used. So we have this framework that we like to start with. Okay?

Most likely, if you're starting upper funnel, maybe you want some of those higher tier creators who have a following where their messaging is going to be focused more on, hey. We're this brand. We're this product, and it's more introductory. So you're then gonna take that content, put it into any type of, you know, paid, media buys.

Maybe you're it's more of an awareness buy. So it's just like, hey. We want people to see we are here, we're this brand, and really just have that introduction to us. We then if we look at, you know, kind of consideration and conversion, that's when we're leaning into maybe more of those micro or or mid tier creators who, you know, their their messaging is going to focus around, hey.

You probably already know who this brand is. You know what this product is. Here's how I'm using it in in my life, and that's really where you wanna focus the content on maybe those usage occasions. So this is, you know, the creator showing them actually using it in in their daily life, inspiring different ways to use the product or the brand.

And then similarly, that page should match that with it's either going to retargeting individuals who've already seen that creator's content or, you know, maybe you're taking that content and putting it more into a traffic campaign depending on the platform.

And then, you know, taking that a step further at that really consideration and conversion or that conversion level is focusing on, okay, what's the best way that we're actually getting, you know, consumers to purchase? So people already know who we are. They're already, you know, loving what we do. They just might need that extra oomph to actually purchase. I love that. Yeah.

I I I agree with all of that.

And, just to go back to, like, speaking to of looking at their how specific pieces of content are performing in addition to the creator's performance metrics because you might identify a piece of content that you're, like, just aesthetically or just, again, like, maybe it feels really on brand and aligns with your brand guidelines. Like, maybe you've struck that balance of that creator really has the right aesthetic that aligns with your your brand.

So you might see that as really great quality content that you want to, you know, share and distribute in more places and also perhaps put paid behind.

But then also looking at the metrics and seeing, like, okay, when it was on the platform and it it was garnering all these impressions, it was high awareness that perhaps too, you know, it performed really well when it was distributed to a new location, whether that was on the website or, you know, reshared on the brand's, own handles.

So, yeah, I think really lean into your reporting. So many times, I think we wait till, like, some people, like, wait till the end of the campaign. I'm just like, okay. Here are my metrics.

Good. Onto the next thing. It's like, you can really be monitoring throughout and not to keep using our words throughout this presentation, but being agile and nimble to what is happening so that you can optimize and really make that call. And, like, if you wanna put paid behind a specific piece of content to really push that out further and, really sweat that asset.

Did we oh, okay.

Do you have any data insights into how a consumer perceives UGC or product reviews that were obtained through product seeding and must disclose that the product was received for free?

I I I can jump in with with this, Kelsey.

So, yes, my team actually does quite a bit of research around this of when a review has, like, incentivized or, you know, it came from like, we have our influencer community that we, offer sampling campaigns for. So in exchange for receiving a product, our influencer members will, you know, create a review or create some sort of social, post or video or so forth, and that is being disclosed. I think with consumers, it's all about transparency. As long as you're disclosing that you received this as a gift and, you know, same with creators or, like, everyday shoppers.

As long as that review is saying, yes, this has incentivized us, this has given us a gift. Like, as long as it's upfront, you can build that trust. But, yes, we we do quite a bit of research on that. And I think the takeaway is, yes, as long as it's upfront, which it has to be, then people, you know, are still leaning into those types of reviews as well as the the the organic reviews and content that are out there.

Yeah. And even just adding on to that too, even if we take it a step away from kind of your traditional, you know, consumer reviews who are getting gifted product, even some of these influencers and creators you'll see that have larger followings, you'll start to see that they're organically posting like, hey. I have this brand deal coming up. I'm really excited to share it with you.

You know, some even directly call it out of, like, hey. I'd love for you to inter you know, engage with this piece of content that's coming up with this brand. And they're very transparent with their audience of, like, hey. I'm able to create this content for you because I'm able to partner with brands.

So the more brand deals that I get, you know, the more that I'm able to, put that back into to the community and the content. So you're even seeing that with even larger creators today too where they're having that direct conversation of, like, hey. Yeah. I am getting paid for this, but it's a product I truly believe in.

And and, you know, I appreciate your support in that sense. So it really is becoming a very transparent conversation overall, and and we've seen, that, you know, perform really well from from our end and our content when we have creators who are also talking about that as well.

Awesome. Alright. I think did we recover everything, Kelsey?

I think so. Yeah.

Awesome. And if if by some chance we we did miss a question, we will certainly be reaching out. And, again, we we will share this recording, following the session. So, yeah. Kelsey, thank you so much for joining us today. It was so lovely to chat with you, hear your insight, and to I was as follows taking in all of your actionable takeaways.

And so, thank you, and thank you for everyone for joining today. I hope you have a great rest of your day, and, we'll be in touch. Thanks, everyone.

Thanks, everyone. Bye.