Commentary
We Need To Start Paying All Creators Equally
- by Amber Burns , November 19, 2024
Content creators bring brands credibility, relatability, and trust that traditional advertising often struggles to deliver. A creator’s recommendation can lead to meaningful brand interactions and conversion rates among consumers conditioned to beware of traditional ads. In fact, 74% of consumers make purchases based on creator recommendations.
To do this heavy work for brands, creators put in relentless hours brainstorming, filming, editing, and refining. They invest in production equipment. And they work to attract and nurture an engaged audience -- so there’s value to tap into.
In return, too many get only free products and tiny commissions, sometimes as little as 1%, on sales. That’s a bad deal for everyone.
For starters, it counteracts great brand content by forcing creators to spread themselves thinner. When influencers need to take on too many contracts, the volume and feeling of being undervalued combine to make it harder to produce high quality work.
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Second, it undermines the diversity brands seek. Pseudo compensation disproportionately affects creators of color, who are the least likely to be able to afford unpaid work, and whose voices are already underrepresented. For example, research by UK-based SevenSix Agency this spring found that creators of Southeast Asian descent made an average of 57% less than white counterparts for sponsored Instagram content.
This is unacceptable. If we want diverse audiences, we need to support diverse creators financially.
It’s time for brands to recognize the value creators bring to the table and pay them accordingly.
We can start by identifying the jobs they do. Often one creator performs multiple roles to produce what an agency does: copywriter, art director, editor, social media marketer, to name a few. Then we can turn to the standards that inform salary and project rates for these jobs, which can easily be applied to creators.
If you’re a brand looking to partner with creators, you can start by making sure you’re making the case to dedicate budget to the effort. Even if you aren’t able to pay creators generously, approaching them with something is a great start in the right direction.
In those early stages, be mindful about what you’re asking creators to do. Know that if you have a smaller budget to work with, you may not be able to ask for the moon and stars in terms of deliverables. Be willing to scale back so that the project aligns with your budget.
Brands that invest in creators as partners, not ad buys, will benefit substantially in the long run. The work will feel more authentic, engaging and on brand. Loyalty will deepen, and as it does return on investment will climb.
As media channels and audiences continue to change and expand, marketers will need to rely more on creators. Giving them all the compensation they deserve will go a long way toward getting coveted results for brands.
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I agree with most of what you say, Amber---except for the title of your piece. If they were all paid equally there would be no incentive to produce excellent work for anybody. Perhaps a better word for "equally" would be "fairly".
This article oversimplifies the complexities of content creation and brand partnerships, presenting a skewed view of compensation that overlooks fundamental business principles and market realities. Content creators vary widely in skill, audience size, engagement quality, and relevance to a brand’s target demographic. Compensation should align with a creator’s proven ability to deliver value rather than relying on generalized notions of fairness or effort. Not all creators generate meaningful returns for brands, and those who consistently perform well naturally command higher compensation.
From a business perspective, the numbers matter. If a brand spends $500 on a creator to promote a product with a $4 profit margin, it must sell 125 units just to break even—without even accounting for the need to generate a meaningful profit. This reality underscores why businesses can’t afford to overpay creators who lack a track record of delivering strong results. For smaller creators, receiving $60 worth of gifted products for a short video that takes 10 minutes to produce can be a reasonable exchange. These products often offset personal expenses and provide content for their channels. Moreover, participation in such collaborations is entirely voluntary; creators who feel undercompensated are free to decline and pursue paid partnerships elsewhere.
The article’s emphasis on diversity as a central issue also misrepresents the goals of many brands. While addressing pay gaps is important in broader contexts, not every collaboration decision revolves around diversity. Many brands focus on reaching their target audience and achieving ROI, rather than adhering to generalized social goals. By framing pseudo-compensation as a systemic injustice, the article creates a problem where one doesn’t necessarily exist. The reality is that the partnership between brands and creators is transactional, and terms are negotiated based on mutual benefit. For brands, the focus is on sustainability—investments in creators must yield sufficient returns to justify their cost. For creators, gifted collaborations often make sense, especially for those early in their careers or with smaller audiences. Ultimately, fair compensation is about aligning expectations and results, not meeting an arbitrary standard of equity.