Creators World: The Spinning Wheel of Economy with UPCRED

Traditional professions have taken quite a backseat in the last few years. With Covid merging into everyone’s life and taking the space of panic, creators have emerged, succeeding by adding colors to everyone’s life in multiple realms. So while India saw a huge unemployment rate, on the one hand, the other outgrew great influencer culture monetizing out of everything that came into the picture. Creator’s Economy has not only been predicted as the next big thing but has started to become one. Content Creation is the new trend, and we must say, the sea is endless here.

The Content Creator Culture has taken the world by storm; from advertising a makeup brush to selling a credit card, the economy has grown multiple folds. Today, nothing goes untouched from the creator marketing programs; after all, there’s no better way than promoting a brand’s aura than influencer marketing. It has become a two way-road of profit for both the brands and the creators. Creators are seen monetizing by launching brands, promoting products, and so much more. Content has become the new form of storytelling, a brand’s purpose, and personality-building. In return, it aids popularity to the creators and helps them build a base in different niches. India’s influencer market stands at a $ 75-150 million turnover compared to $1.75 billion of the global market. However, India is a melting pot of different perspectives at its nascent stage. From body positivity to promoting side-hustling startups, the nation’s creators are diverse and unique. If we had to look at the different creator cultures, some are listed below.

The Multidimensional Channels To Monetization

Promoting a brand’s product and getting paid is the most common form of monetization transparently visible to the layman’s eyes. However, there are plenty more. Today, applications like Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, etc., enable the selling of products on a creator’s page via live auctions. While the bidding is for the product, the creator's influence serves a great role. Then, some apps promote ticketed shows for fans to connect to their favorite creators while getting insights into their personal life and varied interests. Bumble,

Tinder has a swag game of its own. They provide community support and exclusive features to creators with similar interests. We also see Spotify and Shopify rolling out ads of creators promoting their favorites. These monetization methods offer shares to both the creators and the brands. It has seen Creators engage the crowd and build their fan base.

Creators As Brand Makers

Gone are those days when the city billboards only had celebrities advertising your favorite clothing line. Today, Creators from small cities have made a big difference. From newspapers to billboards, every creator has their face for a brand. The D2C business has benefitted immensely with the unique overflowing content about their products and brands.

It is not limited until here. Creators have created brands that holistically stand for their perspective, belief, and dream of integrity. The influencer group “Team07” has launched their gaming app, “2407 Racing”; Debashree Banerjee, a makeup influencer, has created swirls in the beauty world with her edgy and artistic beauty line called “Debashree”; Siddhi Karwaa, an interior stylist, founded “Unfurl Studio” Influencers like Saloni Srivastava are unfolding an independent change, slow but steady. Her “HustlePost Academy” has enabled creators to begin their side-hustles like startups. She aims at creating a sustainable company where everyone achieves their goal of independence effortlessly. YourQuote is a platform that enables writers to transform their emotions into ink in over 15+ languages. Their creators publish books and stories to make money through subscribers. Ankur Warikoo, the game-changer in the world of finance, self-help, and business, predicts to see the world’s first one-person unicorn emerge. Who thinks this is impossible?

The Creator Wave

Content imagination has changed, but the groundbreaking path has been the same. Lifestyle, beauty, fashion, travel, art have been some of the major contributing niches of content creation. However, there are different visions in this world today that drive these niches. For example, body Positivity is appreciated and talked about in lifestyle, Men’s beauty is embraced in fashion, Budget traveling is the new go-to for every solo traveler, and art creators have begun a whirlwind of homegrown business. With this year ending, we will definitely see new trends that build more dimensions of viewing the similar niches more brightly.

The challenge of coming up with fresh content is immense. With so many people walking into the creation mode, the competition is growing. The popular ones who have had a solid fan base for years are only seen ruling the industry. In contrast, the new ones seem to struggle to stand out and are dependent on platforms. However, Creators should consider themselves entrepreneurs and only depend on platforms to bring all their business tools together. With many small and big creators and brands collaborating, tomorrow might see a rise of content creators helping each other grow and, as a result, creating a dynamic and visionary platform of their own.

The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), a self-regulatory body, was formed to check the influencer and brand connect. It has put out guidelines to ensure influencers do not promote brands falsely. This eye-opening check will help fans differentiate between a made-up and an organic post. So, if you look up to being original, the greater you will attract.

Survival of The Creator World

With so many ups on the creator’s wave, there are downhills on the road as well. Brands switch creators like everyday chores. No one brand is seen consistent or limited to renew contracts with particular content creators. The horizon is big and flimsy, switching from one vlog to another post. Venture capitalists haven’t walked into the scenario of influencer marketing yet, and the need for platform hunting bites back an influencer’s pocket quite much. With the loss of TikTok, several creators lost their identity, whereas the big shot ones in no time built another on Instagram. The emerging ones lost a way of showcasing their hidden talent and were sidelined.

If we turn the wheel another circle, we find YouTubers and bloggers like Prajakta Kohli becoming an overnight star through her Netflix show and upcoming Bollywood movie. We see our beloved Ranveer from BeerBiceps becoming a public speaker and interviewer about all things life and spice. The realm has only broadened but with its sets of pros and cons. Amidst many dropping their successful careers to become full-time creators, many others with side-hustles have fallen short to climb the ladder due to popularity constraints.

Only time will tell how the upcoming creator economy will be defined. We can only hope space and transparency keep the spinning wheel running at its pace until then.