There is a new role emerging for creators—social media strategists for brands.
Brands are becoming less interested in tapping creators for their large, loyal and engaged social followings, and instead looking to them for their social media savviness and expertise in crafting effective social content. A growing number of agencies are reworking their influencer marketing offerings to align with this surging interest from brands in creator-produced content.
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Edelman, for example, recently began piloting a new program, dubbed the “Creator Bench,” to connect creators with brands struggling to produce the high volume of short-form video content needed for modern social strategies. The program arose last summer from a conversation with one of the communication firm’s clients, which was seeking user-generated videos to post to its own social channels. But it quickly ballooned into a larger offering for any brand hoping to tap into creators’ skills in filming and editing short-form content, said Patrick Sidoti, U.S. head of production at Edelman.
Now, the Creator Bench is winning Edelman new clients that are eager to have a set of creators on hand to pump out video content for their brand’s channels, he said.