You need to be creative to keep up with the creator economy

I refuse to believe that the creator economy is disappearing anytime soon, but I have to acknowledge that however, 2023 appears to look like it could be a challenging year for the creator economy, but not an impossible one.

The amount of venture capital investment in the fourth quarter of 2022 was down 79 per cent from the same quarter in 2021; programmes for creators on social media networks have been severely reduced; brands are reducing their spending, especially on mid- to lower-tier creators; and creator tech platforms have been cutting back on costs.

Any logical person would determine that the situation is dire and only becoming worse given the combination of events and the state of tech businesses globally.

Thankfully, creators are creators because they are passionate about what they do for a living and are more focused on generating engaging content than worrying about potential problems the industry is having. These creators will continue to inform and entertain while publishing binge-worthy content on multiple platforms to millions and millions of audiences.

Although it may sound clichéd, the fact that many creators are prioritising doing what they love rather than sacrificing themselves in the name of viral content makes sense when you consider everything that creators will have to deal with in this day and age.

I have spoken before about how to be a successful creator requires a significant amount of determination, self-assurance, creativity and innovation, and the most successful have had to adjust over a long period of time.

Challenges and trends in creator economy

In light of this, I believe that the challenging times of 2023 will function as a great motivator for the industry to dramatically mature. On the other hand, industry actions will prompt responses from creators and ultimately determine how the market will look for many years to come.

Many brands and their brokers have already started to cut back, especially on risky investments with up-and-coming talents. There has always been a very broad tail, with 46.7 million people calling themselves creators, but as companies place fewer bets with more well-known creators to lower their risk, the earning divide will widen even further.

A short thread about the challenges with the Creator Economy today and how Web3 technologies can potentially solve these challenges ??

— Vurse (@vurse_official) January 24, 2023

At this point, I want to point out that I think there is one area of this space that will still grow significantly – the career-related creators. For example, make-up artist by day, TikTok star by night.

Most creators will continue to prioritise ownership, especially as brand sponsorship’s weak opportunities dwindle. By using the community’s passion to sell goods you have made rather than those you have recommended.

Take for example someone like MrBeast who has demonstrated successfully that you can successfully cut out the middlemen. And why not? Who needs a middle man when you can operate, function and earn on your own terms. We should anticipate a huge increase in platforms that facilitate creator direct-to-consumer engagements in 2023 because that’s how the evolution of this sector is going to be and very soon.

Although the content creator ecosystem is somewhat complicated, the trend for 2023 is straightforward. Due to a lack of funds, brands, artists, and technologies will all need to adapt swiftly.

Platforms must reconsider their commitment to empowering creators; companies must reconsider the idea of quality versus quantity; and creators themselves must take charge and return to what they love, even if doing so means ignoring all the challenges that come with it.

The year 2023 will offer a number of opportunities for marketeers and advertisers, especially those who are fast enough to take advantage of the quickly shifting landscape.

The majority of prudent bets in the creator sector will continue to go to the biggest creators, but audience connection with and allegiance to those creators in the weightier section of the bell curve won’t alter. Because of the earnings difference, there will be plenty of chances for strategic alliances that prioritise quality.

In an ideal world, and a not-so-distant future, talented creators will be able to fully own their content, grow their audience quickly and also manage their journey of transformation as independent entrepreneurs as well. That’s when true creator economy will surface and reach the level of maturity that you’d expect from this massive industry.

Shadman Sakib is the founder and CEO at Vurse

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