Collaboration Roadblocks: The Top Challenges Brands Face Working with Content Creators in the Creator Economy | by Vishwas Gupta | Kromium | Apr, 2023

Last time I wrote about the challenges of creators in the creator economy, let’s talk about the challenges faced by brands now. It is not always true that the bigger one dominates the smaller one or at least in our experience at Creator First Media, sometimes creators have also taken brands for a rough ride. Content creators definitely play a vital role in driving engagement and topline numbers for brands, but in some cases, they are also driving problems for the brands. In this blog post, we will explore some of the most common issues brands face when working with content creators.

1. Lack of Authenticity

This happens often. One of the most significant problems faced by brands from the side of content creators is a lack of authenticity. With so many influencers and creators promoting products and services, it becomes challenging to determine who is genuinely passionate about the brand and who is only in it for the paycheck. We as an agency providing services to different brands need to look beyond follower counts and focus on finding creators who genuinely align with the brand’s values and mission. It’s a time taking and tedious task to find creators who genuinely believe in your brand, you can ensure that the content they create is authentic and resonates with their audience.

2. Misaligned Goals

Another problem brands often face when working with content creators is a misalignment of goals. Many creators have specific goals for their content and it gets tricky for us to get the goal of their content aligned with the brand’s objective. While in some cases these goals may align with the brand’s objectives, they may not always be a priority for the creator. As a result, we need to work closely with creators on the client’s behalf to ensure that creators’ goals are aligned and that the content they create supports the brand’s objectives. Believe me, it’s a headache.

3. Inconsistent Quality

To and fro in content due to the inconsistency in quality, is another common problem faced by brands working with content creators. While some creators produce high-quality content consistently, others struggle to maintain consistency. As an intermediary, we inform brands from day one to set clear expectations for the quality of content they expect and provide creators with the tools and resources they need to meet those standards. To navigate this, we have to work with creators to develop a style guide that outlines the brand’s voice, tone, and style, ensuring that the content created aligns with the brand’s overall aesthetic.

4. Lack of Transparency

I personally have caught a creator being shady in content by not disclosing that it is sponsored, and when I confronted him, he uttered shamelessly “Bro ye ganda hai, per dhanda hai”. In my understanding transparency and trust are crucial in any business relationship, and it’s no different when it comes to working with content creators and brands. Brands need to be upfront and honest about their expectations and provide creators with all the information they need to create content that aligns with their brand. Similarly, creators need to be transparent about their partnerships and disclose any sponsored content or affiliate links in their posts. This transparency helps build trust with the audience and ensures that the content created is authentic.

5. Difficulty Measuring ROI

Now, this one here is the nightmare. Measuring the ROI for influencer marketing campaigns is challenging. Brands struggle to determine how much revenue is directly coming from the content created by a particular creator. To address this issue, we help brands to establish clear metrics for measuring success and work with creators to track and analyze the results. Brands also leverage data and analytics tools to track engagement, clicks, and conversions, helping them determine the effectiveness of each campaign.

6. Scalability

The problem of scalability in influencer marketing campaigns refers to the difficulty of replicating successful campaigns across different influencers, audiences, and new targeted demographics. Let me explain this with an analogy. Imagine that you own a small biryani shop that you run by yourself. You have a limited number of customers that you can serve each day, and you can only make a certain amount of biriyani by yourself. If you suddenly become very popular and your business starts to grow rapidly, you may find that you cannot keep up with the demand. You may have to turn away customers or run out of supplies, and you may not be able to expand your operation quickly enough to meet the demand.

Similarly, in the case of influencer marketing campaigns, this happens because influencer marketing relies heavily on personal relationships between the influencer and their audience, and each influencer has a unique style, voice, and audience that may not be easily replicable by other influencers.

So, I’ll say while working with content creators can be a highly effective way to engage with audiences and drive revenue, it is not without its challenges. Brands need to be aware of these challenges and work closely with their agency partners and creators to overcome them. Or brands can wait for Kromium. What’s Kromium? Maybe some other time.