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The Rise of Digital Content Creators: Moving Beyond Traditional Influencers
Here’s All the GOOD Bits:
- Trust has moved to the comments section – 41% of people say what unpaid people say about a brand matters most to their trust. Only 20% say the same about the brand’s own messaging.
- Influencers grab attention; creators earn trust – A digital content creator feels like someone you might know: same interests, similar budget, washing up in the sink. That’s why their recommendations turn viewers into buyers.
- Follower count is losing its grip – Feeds now serve content by interest, not by who you follow. 80% of US consumers would buy from a creator they’d never seen before, so pick creators for fit, not fame.
- Judge creators over months, not days – In the IPA’s research, creator and influencer content paid back about as well as TV in the short term, then pulled ahead of most other channels over time. Count only day-one sales, and you’ll miss most of the value.
- More for your money, if the brand shows up – A handful of smaller creators beat one big name and cost a fraction of a studio shoot. Brief them well, let them speak in their own voice, and make sure people know what’s being sold.
The internet is filling up with flawless, machine-made content, and people have started skipping anything too polished while scrolling. Fair enough: when AI can put your product on a Santorini terrace without anyone leaving the office, “looks great” stops meaning much. Edelman’s 2026 Trust Barometer found that 41% of people see what unpaid voices say about a brand as the biggest factor in whether they trust it, while 20% trust what the brand says about itself.
Influencers aren’t going anywhere, but a holiday-filtered grid on Instagram doesn’t close the sale like it used to. They don’t convey the authenticity buyers look for when making a final purchase decision, especially as the customer journey has changed alongside platform algorithms. So brands are turning to a different voice: the digital content creator. Someone who bought the thing, liked it, and filmed themselves talking about it. Let’s see the differences and what sets content creators apart.
Digital Content Creators vs Influencers: What’s the Difference?
We understand the confusion between the two roles, which is why we want to clarify this. The difference comes down to one thing: whether the audience believes them. Research from Deloitte, which surveyed more than 2,000 consumers, 500 brands and over 600 creators, confirms they tend to work in different ways.
We follow influencers for the life we’d like, whether that’s a villa on the Amalfi Coast or a kitchen nobody has ever cooked in. We enjoy it, and we know plenty of it is #ad.
Creators feel like someone you might know. Same interests, similar budget, washing up in the sink. Most would keep posting without a brand deal, and audiences can tell. They have more creative freedom; creators would keep making content even without brand deals, which is why they come across as genuine. It’s word-of-mouth, filmed vertically.
The difference shows in what each does best. Influencers are great at grabbing attention; creators are better at earning trust. A huge following buys visibility, but relatability and shared interests are what turn viewers into buyers.
How Brands Measure Advertising by Content Creators
How do marketers know whether the content creator strategy is working or not? Well, this is trickier than you might think. Constant changes in people’s purchasing behaviours and platform algorithms affect the data. The old journey had a map: see an ad, search, read reviews, compare, buy. The new one goes: see a video at 11pm, tap, buy, wonder what you’ve done.
Now, those steps consist of scrolling on TikTok and purchasing, without needing to switch platforms. A 2026 IAB study found that creator content does most of its work early on, when people are discovering products, rather than at the moment they buy. That makes its effect easy to miss if you only count clicks and sales on the day.
In addition to consumers’ behaviours, algorithms are changing too. Feeds now show posts based on user interests rather than on similar followers. One survey by the agency Blue Hour Studios found that 80% of US consumers would buy something based on a post from a creator they’d never seen before, regardless of follower count. Follower count is fast becoming a vanity metric with a very good PR team.
If you wish to move your brand to a better method, there are some aspects we recommend keeping an eye on:
- Judge them over months, not days: Creator campaigns keep working long after they end. An IPA’s research on influencer and creator marketing, the largest study of its kind, found that in the short term, they pay back about as well as other advertising. Over the following months and years, however, they outperform most other channels, including paid social media and even TV. Brands that judge creators solely by quick sales miss out on most of their value.
- Test rather than randomly choosing: Brands are comparing people who saw creator ads with people who didn’t, so they can see what the creator content actually caused. Meta’s own tests show that adding creator-led ads to standard campaigns makes each sale cheaper, though that’s Meta grading a product it sells.
- Build your own scorecard (for now): There is still no common way to measure creator marketing across the industry, and this is holding back investment. The IAB is now working with agencies and platforms to create standards. In the meantime, you can figure out your own depending on your goals.
Why an Advertising Content Creator Gives Brands More for Their Money
Once you look past follower counts and quick sales, it becomes clear why so many brands are turning to user-generated content (UGC): content made by real people, whether creators or everyday customers, rather than by the brand itself or influencers.
- Costs: A traditional advert requires a studio, a crew, weeks of planning, someone holding a reflector for eight hours, and editing to create a polished ad. A digital marketing content creator can produce several short videos for a fraction of that cost, ready for every platform.
- Targeting: Five smaller creators whose followers resemble your customers usually outperform one big name whose audience mostly comes for the outfits.
- Business goals: Creator content can drive sales now and, as we saw earlier, it continues to build your reputation long after the campaign ends.
- The catch: None of this happens automatically. Plenty of creator videos rack up the likes and leave viewers with no idea what was being sold. Lovely content. Shame about the logo.
Choose creators who genuinely fit your brand, give them the freedom to speak in their own voice, and make sure your brand is clearly seen or mentioned. Get those right, and creators can do what traditional influencers increasingly can’t: earn your buyers’ trust.
The way people discover and trust brands has changed. Buyers now listen to real people with real experience, and brands that keep relying on big names and follower counts risk being scrolled past. Our customers already trust each other more than they trust you. Creator marketing borrows some of that trust, with permission.
Ready to make creators part of your content strategy? Get in touch, and we’ll help you find the right digital marketing content creator for your brand and measure their results.