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A Comprehensive Look At Creator Earnings In The Digital Media Industry

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A Comprehensive Look At Creator Earnings In The Digital Media Industry

Influencer marketing and the creator economy is continually growing, with projections showing that brands don’t plan to stop using this strategy any time soon. But, what still seems to remain somewhat of a mystery is compensation. 

This is evident when you log in to an influencer-related Facebook page or group chat, where creators regularly search for advice about what they should be charging for certain packages and a fair price for their follower amount and engagement rate.

To help unlock the compensation secret once and for all, Later and Mavrck teamed up to conduct a research report, which we’ll be analyzing a little later.

If you’re a content creator who’s still unsure about what to charge for your expertise then you’re in the right place. In this guide, we’re going to break down the results of the survey and discuss what this means for influencer marketing.

A Comprehensive Look At Creator Earnings In The Digital Media Industry

Who Conducted the Survey?

The survey was conducted by Later and Mavrck, both of which are social media tools that help creators, small businesses, and even enterprise brands manage their operations. 

Later is a social media management platform for Facebook, Pinterest, TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter. The company has millions of users ranging from creators to brands who use the tool for scheduling content, analyzing data, and planning content calendars. 

Survey Methodology

Later and Mavrck began conducting the study in December 2022. 

The data was collated through newsletters, in-app, and social media messaging channels with the sole purpose of discovering what creators were earning from their social media presence. 

The companies surveyed over 500 creators from their joint talent pool, while at the same time analyzing over 31 thousand social media posts. 

In the images below, there’s a clear breakdown of the follower count, location, age, and other data points of the survey participants. 

A Comprehensive Look At Creator Earnings In The Digital Media Industry

Some interesting facts about the participants: 

  • 80% of the surveyed creators identify as a woman. 
  • 67% of participants were located in the U.S.
A Comprehensive Look At Creator Earnings In The Digital Media Industry
  • The follower size per platform varied. But, the majority of creators surveyed had a follower count of 10 thousand or less.
A Comprehensive Look At Creator Earnings In The Digital Media Industry

Now that you have a better idea of how the survey was conducted and who participated it’s time to break down the results. 

Key Takeaways

With social media booming, influencers and creators are leveraging these platforms as a form of income. And because the industry isn’t showing signs of slowing and there are so many great brand deals on the table – why wouldn’t creators leverage these opportunities? 

Nevertheless, it can be difficult to pinpoint which platform offers the best return when it comes to income-earning capacity from partnerships. Is closing brand deals on Instagram more lucrative than TikTok? And what are creators charging on average? These questions are exactly what this new report helps to uncover.

As mentioned above, the report has been published by Later. It showed how creators still consider Instagram their most profitable source of income from a social app, thanks to the number of brand collaborations it provides. Rates on the app are higher when compared to other platforms and creators can’t seem to get enough!

There are other reports and research papers that have shown that TikTok is succeeding with its influencer marketing efforts. TikTok is definitely the leading platform for factors such as acquisition, user growth, and content creation, especially when taking into consideration that the platform is fairly new. But, when it comes to monetization, TikTok still has some growth to do in order to catch up with the earning capacity on other platforms such as IG.

The research showed that Instagram was voted the leading social media platform for monetization. Creators indicated that in-feed posts and video content in the form of Reels were their two main sources of monetization.

The data also suggested that 84% of creators were being paid for posting on Instagram, 63% for Reels, followed by 27% for TikTok short-form video posts, and 26% for Facebook content. 

LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Twitter were located on the lower side of earning capacity with only 7% of creators receiving income from these platforms.

A Comprehensive Look At Creator Earnings In The Digital Media Industry

When it comes to the content format, the survey showed that Instagram posts and Reels are the most rewarding financially for creators. With TikTok short-form videos in second place.

44% of the survey participants stated they earnt $200 per reel which is quite a difference considering that only 28% earnt the same per post on TikTok. Some creators even stated that they earn a whopping $7000 for a brand-sponsored reel. 

A Comprehensive Look At Creator Earnings In The Digital Media Industry

The survey also asked participants what some of their top considerations were when negotiating their rates. The majority of creators stated that they prefer working with brands long term, instead of a one-off contract. 

The top considerations that influence rate prices included the content format, delivery time, and scope of work. The report showed that these three factors are leading, whereas ROI and link inclusion as part of the campaign came in as the least important factors.  

A Comprehensive Look At Creator Earnings In The Digital Media Industry

Lastly, 42% of participants stated that their main goal was to earn a full-time income from social media, whereas starting a business was the main priority for 29%.

A Comprehensive Look At Creator Earnings In The Digital Media Industry

What Does This Mean for Influencer Marketing?

Ultimately, the results of this survey show that your efforts will be most rewarded if your main focus is Instagram. 

But, what’s interesting is that report shows how cross-promoting your content on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok is what delivers the best results and highest earning capacity. This is probably due to the fact that brands feel like they’re getting more value, therefore, are happy to pay a premium fee. 

Repurposing content doesn’t have to be complex. For example, you can use the same short-form video for Instagram reels, Facebook, and TikTok. Using a scheduling tool such as Later can also help to streamline your efforts by automating some of your workloads. 

Link to the Report

The Creator Rates 2023 by Later can be found on their website, along with other interesting reports and blogs that share tips and tricks for social media management, content creation, influencer marketing, and social trends.

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David Adler is an entrepreneur and freelance blog post writer who enjoys writing about business, entrepreneurship, travel and the influencer marketing space.

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