The definitive Digiday guide to what’s in and out in the creator economy

Here’s how the creator economy has shifted so far in the last 12 months.

In
Agencies of record
Out
Agencies for one-off campaigns

In
Creative agencies
Out
Creator agencies

In
Creators as strategic partners for marketing campaigns
Out
Creators as add-ons for marketing campaigns

In
Platform diversification
Out
Platform homogeneity 

In
Performance metrics 
Out
Reach metrics

In
Spending on creators’ engagement
Out
Spending on follower counts

In
Creators
Out
Influencers 

In
Working with creators of all sizes, depending on end-goal
Out
Prioritizing macro creators and celebrities with large followings

In
Creators as media brands 
Out
Creators as influencers 

In
Creators prioritizing direct-to-fan monetization, diversifying income streams
Out
Creators’ over-reliance on platforms for monetization

In
Agencies and creators using AI tools to produce high quality content at scale
Out
Agencies and creators needing photo and video editing tech skills to produce high quality content

In
Creators negotiating payments
Out
Creators taking whatever they’re given as payment

In
Creators trying to make it on the big screen (Hollywood, streaming platforms, etc)
Out
Creators trying to make it on social media platforms

In
Creators building a community
Out
Creators building an audience

In
Serialized storytelling for better engagement
Out
Content churn focused on going viral

In
The professionalization of creators (hat tip eMarketer’s Jasmine Enberg) 
Out
The legitimization of creators (hat tip eMarketer’s Jasmine Enberg)  

In
Platforms’ ad revenue share deals
Out
Platforms’ creator funds

In
Paying creators with a salary/money
Out
Paying creators with freebies/gifting

In
Platforms building monetization tools to encourage the flywheel of creator content on their apps 
Out
Platforms building monetization tools so creators feel appreciated by them

In
The creator economy correction 
Out
The creator economy fragmentation 

In
The creator economy bubble
Out
The creator economy boom

In
Brand suitability
Out
Brand safety

In
Accepting TikTok’s uncertainty in the U.S.
Out
Worrying about TikTok’s uncertainty in the U.S.