For digital marketers, however, understanding the nuanced differences can mean the difference between a social campaign that hits its mark and one that falls flat. Creators and influencers represent two distinct types of partnerships – each with its own strengths, challenges, and opportunities.
Understanding the Difference
At a glance, the roles may seem similar. Both creators and influencers drive awareness and engagement for brands, but their approaches and impacts are quite different:
Creators are content architects. Often behind the scenes, without sharing their life or even their face, they build audiences through original, user-generated content that spans multiple platforms. Creators often focus on crafting narratives, telling brand stories, and creating immersive experiences that draw in viewers and brand consideration. Their primary focus is to build an engaged community while monetizing through user-generated content for brands to use as ads.
Influencers, on the other hand, operate on the power of trust and personal connection. They often are face-first on camera, sharing their life. This allows them to leverage their relatability and influence to sway purchasing decisions, often through authentic product recommendations and endorsements. They thrive on the intimate, direct connection they have with their followers, making them powerful voices for driving immediate action.
Here’s one easy way to tell the difference between a creator and influencer: Do you know details about their personal life, or are they focused mostly on products and brands? Do you know their name and can recall it? If you know details about their personal life, can recall a recommendation they made or a product they use and love, you’re probably talking about an influencer.
Why the Distinction Matters for Brands
While many social media professionals wear both hats and their approaches at times can be very similar, treating these roles as identical can be a costly mistake for brands. Here’s why:
They Have Similar, But Different Content Styles
While the content style of creators and influencers is likely similar, mostly a low-fi, UGC-style of video, it’s the nuance on subject matter that can tell the difference between creators and influences. A creator’s content is likely to be more focused on the product, and an influencer will have a focus on personal life and how products work in their own lifestyles.
There are Varying Levels of Audience Trust
Influencers can build deep, long-term connections through storytelling and often maintain a more personal, relatable connection with their followers. This intimacy can lead to higher trust, ultimately driving more immediate influence on purchasing behavior by their followers. However, this also means that influencers risk losing credibility if they promote too many conflicting brands or appear too transactional.
In contrast, creators also have audience trust, but without tapping into their own life and personal stories, they are passing the audience trust to the brands and products they’ve partnered with. Typically, creators are more focused on the brand messaging versus their own style of storytelling and their own personal voice.
They Have Different Places in the Funnel
Creators excel at driving awareness and brand discovery, making them powerful allies at the top of the marketing funnel. Their content can establish brand narratives and reinforce messaging over time. Influencers, by contrast, are often more effective at driving direct response actions, like clicks, app downloads, or purchases, placing them further down the funnel where conversions matter most.
There are Critical Cost and ROI Considerations
Influencers tend to command higher fees, reflecting the personal connection they’ve developed with their audience. However, there are different levels of influencers, depending on how many followers they have, so some micro-influencers may be an affordable option for brands. Creators tend to have more cost-effective rates, and bring the potential for a long tail of engagement as their content is often evergreen.
Building the Right Influencer Strategy
For brands, the key is to understand where creators and influencers fit within your broader marketing strategy. A smart approach should include a mix of both:
- Use creators for long-term brand building, awareness, and storytelling. These partnerships can help you connect deeply with audiences and establish your brand as part of the cultural conversation.
- Leverage influencers for tactical, conversion-focused campaigns. Their immediacy and relatability can drive short-term sales and amplify your message in real time.
The creator vs. influencer debate isn’t about picking sides – it’s about understanding the strengths of each and deploying them strategically. Brands that take the time to understand these differences, and build nuanced partnerships accordingly, will find themselves better positioned to navigate the evolving world of digital marketing.