The secret to great creator partnerships for your business

Businesses of all sizes are engaging creators’ services to accelerate their brands’ growth. This makes perfect sense, as creators are typically the first to notice trends and jump on them, helping to identify what type of messaging would work best for a brand. However, as creative becomes a differentiator for performance on Meta platforms, it can be a competitive advantage, writes Harry Lowes, Director of Mid-Market ANZ, Meta.

Consumers trust creators over brands

Our research shows 78 per cent of consumers believe that creators are influential in helping them discover new brands. Consumers trust creators over brands, relying on them for relevant information, personal content, and transparent recommendations.

Creators excel in understanding how their audiences make decisions, as they receive a lot of regular feedback from their followers and constantly observe what works and what doesn’t.

To stay on top of our fast-paced culture, it’s important to remember that people are looking for new and exciting ways to express themselves and connect with others. They also love being part of authentic stories and connecting with them in some way, whether it’s making them laugh or teaching them something new.

Creators understand this intrinsically. You can see it when they fluently switch between platforms to express an idea or a story through different lenses, tailoring their content according to what works most effectively within that format. Great storytelling is multi-dimensional – it entertains, captures attention and can be immersive. Moreover, it sparks an authentic connection with whomever you’re speaking to.

Because they are so deeply connected with audiences, creators know what makes people tick. It’s why people increasingly spend their time and money with creators they love and trust and why many of us are drawn to authenticity as part of sponsored content.

Tips for strong creator content

Author, poet, and filmmaker, Donovan Beck, uses Reels as a vehicle to deliver his smooth, spoken word poetry videos. Recently, he shared some insights with us as to the methodology he uses when determining how to present his videos, which are also highly applicable to businesses trying to connect with their audience.

He said it’s important to:

• Touch people’s emotions and hearts by sharing something they connect with from the start of your video.
• Find a consistent voice and style: your audience should know what they are walking into with every video you create.
• Be aware of trends but also create your core voice – if trends don’t work specifically for you, don’t feel pressured to chase them.

Food creator, Sophie Fisher, also uses Reels to engage her audience, increase reach, and to share her decadent recipes.

Her top tips include:

• Making insights your friend. By using analytics, you can identify what content resonates with your audience the most and use these insights to refine your content.
• Aim for quick and attention-grabbing edits. Reels content must attract attention from the first few seconds – it’s always best to make the opening frame as engaging as possible.
• Keeping authenticity at the heart of all you do. Make your content as relatable and authentic as possible – try featuring yourself in Stories and Reels.

Choosing the right creator for your brand

To that end, small businesses should look to partner with creators that share their brand values to reach new audiences and build trust with consumers. Creators can be lifestyle leaders, entertainers, comedians, artists and subject matter experts, in fields as broad as health and beauty, or as niche as cross-stitch and cleaning.

When looking to engage with creators, businesses should start by designing a campaign structure and setting specific objectives. I’d recommend you:

• Start with who: Be clear on who you’re trying to reach – where are they and what do they value? Then find a creator who can speak to those values.
• Let creators create: Wrapping your message in the creative storytelling style of your creator will help ensure it resonates with your audience.

With the benefits of modern technology, reporting and analytics tools, brands can readily understand which stories and experiences are resonating and what’s not hitting the mark, and iterate accordingly to foster deeper connections.

Consequently, you know you’re getting the most value from your marketing activities and creator partnerships, and can concentrate your efforts towards the activities that work best and deliver the most positive audience response and target outcomes.

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