Running a business in this digital age requires a constant supply of content.
In the famous words of Bill Gates, content is king.
So, where can you find or come up with content?
From content creators!
The content marketing industry is booming but businesses are having a difficult time figuring out how much to pay creators for content.
So in this guide, we’re going to discuss:
- What creators can do for your business
- Factors that affect the cost of content
- How much creators cost
That said, let’s dive right in!
[fs-toc-omit]Table of Contents
What Does a Creator Do?
3 Types of Creators (Based on Number of Followers)
7 Factors that Influence Creator Campaigns’ Cost
How Much Does a Creator Cost? (Based on Number of Followers)
What Does a Creator Do?
A content creator is someone who creates a scroll-stopping and appealing piece of user-generated content for viewers through any medium.
The content can be entertaining, informative, or educational such that it captures the attention of people who weren’t even interested in your brand.
More specifically, creators create different types of content for various platforms such as:
- Social media
- Websites/blogs
- Video platforms
You should note that the content creator’s responsibility varies depending on the social media platform you are using and which type of deliverables you require.
Some of those responsibilities include:
- Content ideation: involves coming up with content ideas that will deliver results like a strategist
- Writing and blogging: covers a wide range of written content such as scripts, blogs, articles, whitepapers, case studies, and any other piece of content, including making edits to them to optimize the content
- Video creation: involves creating videos (unboxing videos, testimonials, etc.) for social media and other platforms
- Asset delivery: the final stage of the content creation process where the content is delivered to the brand or is posted to the creator’s social media page
- Organic posting and creator ads: the creator posts the content organically on their social media pages or through creator licensing
What happens after a creator is done creating content?
Well, the outcome is increased brand awareness, increased follower count, and more sales.
As a matter of fact, for every single dollar spent on creators, business owners earn approximately $6 in return.
Let’s take a look at the types of creators there are in the next section.
3 Types of Creators (Based on Number of Followers)
Creators have become very relevant in the marketing industry probably because posts coming from them look less like an ad.
In other words, social media content created by content creators looks more authentic.
Creators have mastered the art of capturing their audience’s attention such that there’s usually no dull moment on their page.
As a result, 61% of consumers have said they trust recommendations that come from creators, friends, or family, compared to 38% trusting social media content from brands.
Now, the thing is: there are thousands of creators out there you can collaborate with for social media marketing.
How do you choose the one that is the right fit for your brand?
Let’s take a look at three types of creators you can work with based on their follower count.
Type #1: Nano-Creators
Nano creators are individuals who have a follower count that starts from 1K to 10K on social media.
You can think of them as social media users who are particularly knowledgeable in a niche and are considered an authority there.
Here’s an example:
Their social media accounts are usually buzzing because they're quite engaging.
According to data from Hype Auditor, nano-creators with a little less than 5k followers have the highest engagement rate and this decreases as the number of followers increases.
Another report showed that nano-creators garner 22.2 times more conversations regarding purchase recommendations every week than an everyday customer.
You're probably thinking that the number of followers they have is quite small. How would they be of any help to my business?
Here's the thing; even though the follower count of a creator is a good metric to check when choosing creators, having a remarkable engagement rate is pretty important too.
Why?
Well, higher engagement rates mean better chances of influencing what their audience thinks and subsequently, what they buy.
They are able to have that much influence by developing close relationships with their followers and cultivating those relationships by constantly engaging them.
Plus, their audience is usually a niche and truly engaged audience.
So, is there a good time for you to use nano-creators?
Of course, there is.
Nano-creators are a good option if you’re just getting started with influencer marketing.
They also come in handy if you want to test a new product or service, branch into a new niche, or attempt a new product launch.
Basically, if you run a startup or medium-sized business and have a limited budget for your content marketing strategy, nano-creators are a cost-effective option.
What makes them appealing to marketers?
They are authentic and genuine because of the way they present themselves to their audiences, like a close friend or family member.
Type #2: Micro-Creators
Micro-creators are social media users who fall within the 10,000 to 100,000 followers bracket. They have a pretty large audience in comparison to nano-creators.
Despite that, their followers still find them relatable which means more engagements on their page.
About 82% of consumers in a recent study said they are very likely to follow recommendations made by a micro-creator.
The community of the micro-creator is usually based on their area of expertise and interests.
What does that mean?
Their followers see micro-creators as normal people who they can trust.
So there is a high chance that the micro-creator’s followers would listen to and act on what they say.
A good example of a micro-creator is Angela Onuoha on Instagram.
By sharing skincare tips and hair tutorials, she’s built a community of beauty lovers. Her audience would trust the recommendations she gives because of her position as an expert in her niche.
What benefits does your brand stand to gain from working with micro-creators?
- Cost-effectiveness: you can find a micro-creator that fits your digital marketing budget especially if you want high volume of UGC
- Niche communities: you will have access to a targeted audience since they usually focus on one niche on their social media pages
- High engagement rates: while they do have a large following it’s still small compared to celebrities’ follower counts so micro-creators are more likely to engage with their audience
Micro-creators and nano-creators are quite similar but the difference is that micro-creators are able to reach more people due to their follower count.
When should you use micro-creators?
Well, whenever you want to source a high-volume of high-quality UGC or generate more direct leads considering they specialize in a particular niche and have a close relationship with their audience.
Author’s Note: You need to carry out extensive research before finalizing your collaboration with a micro-creator to ensure they align with your target audience.
Type #3: Macro-Creators
The next type of creators we’ll talk about is macro-creators.
Macro-creators refer to social media users who have a follower count of 100K to 1M followers. They can be any one of the following:
- Social media stars
- TV personalities
- Athletes
- Vloggers
- Bloggers
- Thought leaders
- Internet-made celebrities
Jesse Driftwood, a video creator and photographer, is a good example of a macro-creator.
He has a follower count of over 100K but still has a wide reach and high level of engagement.
Macro-creators have a large following in comparison to the other types of creators we’ve discussed.
To be more specific, it’s an audience built organically over a long time of developing relationships from scratch online which means followers trust them.
There’s something you should know about macro-creators before we continue: you’ll need to prepare for a bigger price tag (compared to the previous two categories of creators) if you want to work with them.
Why?
Firstly, because of the number of followers they have. Secondly, they’ve got experience collaborating with brands…
…and considering the effort they’ve put into developing and understanding their target audience, they want to maintain the connection they have with their followers.
So, when is it right to work with a macro-creator?
Basically, if you want more awareness for your brand, product, or service. You can also collaborate with creators to increase your engagement rates.
What other benefits do you stand to gain from working with macro-creators?
- Professionalism: these type of creators have had experience working with brands so you’re sure to receive high-quality content that aligns with your audience.
- Reach: their follower count is one major advantage they hold over other types of creators and that can help you increase your brand awareness and conversion.
- Relevance: macro-creators have a broad audience but micro-creators have a more focused audience.
Now, let’s look at what influences the cost of creating content with creators.
7 Factors that Affect the Cost of Creator Campaigns
Creating content is no easy feat.
It’s crucial to the success of your business and you want it to produce the right results.
And with studies showing that 48% of consumers engage with three to five pieces of content before contacting a sales rep, producing low-quality or average content won’t drive sales or engagement.
What you need is high-quality content – the kind that gets people curious about your brand and it is quite affordable.
So, what influences the cost of the kind of content you need?
- Deliverables
- Level of content creation complexity
- Relationship between creator and brand
- Overall campaign requirements
- Campaign goals
- Number of followers
- Product value
The complexity of content creation: This has to do with the level of difficulty the content would require. Perhaps you require special effects to be added to a video and they’ll need videographers or a special background setting.
Essentially, the level of complexity the content needs influences the creation cost.
Deliverables: Will you want the creator to edit the content when they’re done or will your team handle it in-house?
Either way is good depending on the campaign requirements but it affects the cost of content creation.
Campaign goals: also known as your campaign objectives.
Do you want your new content to increase your brand’s awareness? Lead generation? Conversion? Video views?
The content type needed for each goal varies and so does the cost.
Follower count: The number of followers the creator you want to work with has can influence how much the entire creation process costs.
Why?
Well, the more followers they have, the wider reach you get. That would get your brand, product, or services seen by more people.
It can also lead to more sales which is the main objective of most marketing campaigns.
In terms of cost, that means you will likely pay more for content coming from a macro-creator than from a nano-creator.
Value of the product: Product value means how much your product meets your end-consumer's needs.
Relationship between brand and creator: Relationships have a role to play in almost every situation.
In this case, having a good and open relationship with your creator can save you time and money on your content creation journey.
What do we mean?
You ensure the creator is clear about what needs to be done through proper communication.
Campaign requirements: The overall scope of the creator’s duty can influence the cost of content creation.
What will be the duration of the video? Do you require raw footage or ready-to-use content?
Do you want them to post it? Do they need to create a caption?
How about creator licensing?
This would require lengthy access to the creator’s name that they’ve worked hard to establish.
So, this will cost slightly more.
It’s time for the icing on the cake!
How Much Does a Creator Cost? (Based on Number of Followers)
We know you’ve been looking forward to this.
You probably have checked for rates you can use as a benchmark for your creators on search engines.
Let’s not waste any more time.
You should note that our pricing recommendations depend on which platform you are using the content for and the campaign requirements.
Here’s the cost of collaborating with a creator on TikTok and Instagram for one video asset:
To help you understand more clearly, here’s a rundown of the graphic for Instagram:
- Nano-creators: cost $40-80 for single video content, $60-$140 if they post it, and $100-$150 for creator ads
- Micro and Macro creators: cost $80 to over $220 for single video content, $140 to over $330 if they post it, and $200 to over $390 for creator licensing
… and for TikTok:
- Nano-creators: cost $40-80 for single video content, $50-$100 if they post it, and $80-$120 if spark ads are involved
- Micro and Macro creators: cost $80 to over $180 for single video content, $100 to over $250 if they post it, and $120 to over $300 if spark ads are involved
To scale your UGC production, we recommend sourcing between 20-30 UGC assets per month to ensure a consistent and steady flow of content.
We’ve come up with a recommended budget:
Also, if you decide to hire up to 20 creators across both platforms per month, here’s an infographic of what your budget would look like:
It’s time to wrap this up!
Now Over to You
Finally, we’ve come to the end of this guide!
We hope you now have a pretty good idea about how much content creators cost.
Are you thinking about working with creators for UGC ads?
We’ll be happy to help out.
So, don’t hesitate to book a demo with Insense.
We’re eager to walk you through your brand’s content creation journey.
