How the creator economy is bracing for the approaching recession

Our guest author says that the tough times ahead don't take away the creator economy's opportunities.

The creator economy has witnessed immense growth over the years. It withstood economic crises and the creators have been able to acclimatise themselves during difficult situations.

With the impending recession, while brands are prepping to tread carefully when making spending decisions, the creator economy may find itself under the gathered clouds.

While brands already started churning out plans to deal with this descent (KMPG 2022 India CEO Outlook) and the tough times ahead, it doesn't take away the opportunity the creator economy amasses. But the question here is, how will the creator economy respond to the incoming recession? Here are my two cents on this.

Making yourself relevant to brands

The creator economy has an influx of creators falling under each category. At present, the game will be, ‘who is really relevant?’. It's a case of who invests more time in creating high quality content, especially in a crowded category, to be successful. Those who're able to adapt, will be able to sustain.

Content creation has become synonymous with side hustle

For some people, content creation is a side hustle. The outlook towards this line from a mere hobby to a profession that can make you millions, is happening. More and more individuals with a stable '9-5' (job) are stimulating their passion outside of work, through content creation. This has helped to build a reliable cushion for creators, regardless of recession and inflation.

A broken record: brand rapport is key

Deals are business transactions. But at the end, they are made by people. It involves a dialogue that leads to a connect. If there is a rapport between the creators and the brand marketing teams, then it's an easy game, regardless of any economic stress. Typically, the creators then sign a long-term contract with brands, which strengthens their financial immunity.

Influencer marketing/new vanilla tool for marketing

Influencer marketing is the new preferred choice. This could be because it can provide a quantifiable lead generation which, in turn, helps in making a brand part of the pop culture on social media platforms. A new report by CreatorIQ and Tribe Dynamics stated that brands have spent over 66% more than last year on influencer marketing. The number is bound to increase.

As a society, we have undergone a considerable amount of unexpected calamities. Be it a life-taking virus or a literal war. It has shaken up, and broken, our financial systems.

As we paced ourselves with the dynamics of the world, newer trends like influencer marketing, arose . Time and again, it has been able to yield results for brands, especially in the e-commerce and retail sectors. Hence, their marketing rupees have shifted from conventional mediums (radio, newspapers, etc.) to influencer-led marketing.

Yes, times will be turbulent ahead. But influencer marketing will continue to win.

(The author is co-founder, IPLIX Media)