Social media influencer vs. content creator
In a nutshell, we can say that every influencer is a content creator, but it doesn't work the other way.
In fact, it's hard to give these terms exact definitions, as both professions are brand-new and are closely connected with the Internet in their prime. They both are not limited to text posts or marketing only. Those professionals can record clips, edit video as true montage specialists and work with audio tracks as well as other types of multimedia. They have to be at least advanced Internet users and have good editing skills.
What is the difference then?
What does a content creator do?
As the very term implies, this person creates content for internet sites and sometimes social media (SMM). The main aim of a content creator is to attract attention to the product, promote it, and give all the necessary information. The name and personality of the content creator most often stay in the background, as those don't really matter. It's common when several content creators work on the same project, and the final customer will never know that.
This specialist should be good at SEO (Search Engines Optimization) and other activities that do not imply direct contact with people. They should be able to do research, find keywords and use them in the text, set a target audience, think of a good CTA (Call To Action) and use other marketing techniques.
Even though this profession may be considered a type of art, it still includes a lot of routine work and demands some experience and constant self-development as marketing trends and searching machine algorithms keep changing.
What does an influencer do?
It's not easy to find an exact social media influencer definition because there is no one. In contrast with a content creator, this person doesn't study marketing strategies and storytelling techniques. An influencer usually is known for being an expert in some sphere, which may not even be related to the service or the product they promote.
An influencer has a rapport with their followers, is deeply involved in communication, and maintains contact via comments or direct on Instagram, for example. The influencer's personality and charisma are the key factors for successful product placement or any other type of advertisement. Their content-creating techniques may not be impeccable, but that doesn't matter, as the audience trusts the influencer's opinion.
Whom to choose for brand promotion?
Both, as those two specialists are "responsible" for different spheres of promotion. Each of them has its pros and cons.
Content creators:- Can create not only content but also the whole marketing strategy;
- Brand content creation increases sales in a long-term perspective;
- Usually create multimedia content, including texts, videos, and audio;
- UT! Usually, they don't have their own audience, and after their work is done, they don't interact with followers and reply to the comments.
- Increase sales in a short-term perspective;
- Usually already have targeted or even niche audience, that almost guarantees great ROI (return on investments);
- Interact with followers.
- BUT! Some influencers may have fake followers, bought just to rank as an "influencer".
We hope it helped! And stay tuned: there are more interesting and useful articles to come.
