Bringing Brands and Creators Together in the Participation Economy

This post was created in partnership with Sam’s Club

The creator economy is moving past the passive follower era and into the participation economy, where brands can build ecosystems with creators and communities to co-create their stories.

During a Social Media Week session co-hosted with Sam’s Club, panelists came together to talk about how brands can foster genuine community by rewriting the rules of social engagement.

More learning and listening

The conversation began by discussing what brands can learn from creators.

Charlotte Tansill, president of social, creator, and earned at Publicis Creative U.S., explained that creators experiment, know their audience inside out, and bring realness and personality.

“Brands understand their audience through personas, through dashboards. They’re thinking about how to target their audience, not how to engage their community,” she explained.

Catherine Ebs, lifestyle creator, added that  brands should do more listening when trying to be more community-focused, “especially in the comment section, where people say exactly what they want.”

Creators and the participation economy

MacKenzie McCarver, head of social and influencers at Sam’s Club, said as a membership-based model company, she views community as a participation economy, not a broadcast one.

“At Sam’s Club, we’ve grown our community 600% this year, and we’re focused on making a community of creators for creators by creators by a brand that really loves them deeply,” McCarver shared. “We believe creators are small businesses, and that’s what our brand was founded to support.”

Ebs added that as part of the participation-based community, she has focused closely on staying true to her morals and values, something that brands should build on.

“Companies also have, normally, pillars, which I consider their morals and their values. And if you’re sticking to those, it resonates really well,” Ebs said. “If brands just continue to do that and, again, keep their focus on what their goals are—not what all these other brands are doing—it’ll work.”

Alignment with brand plans and objectives

Tansill described what makes a good brand partnership with a creator: thinking about the full system and adapting work streams to the right creators.

“We’re partnering with creators against any and all business objectives,” Tansill explained. “Whether it’s becoming more culturally relevant as a brand or driving conversation or product consideration or conversion and commerce, influencers play a central role—a very powerful role—in driving any of those objectives.”

Ebs agreed and advised creators to talk with a brand about its objectives before accepting a partnership.

“What is the goal? Is it conversion? Is it just eyes? Is it views?” Ebs asked. “Because sometimes that’s what the brand wants. They don’t even care about the conversions. They just want to be on your page.”

As the session came to a close, an audience member asked what happens if a brand has multiple objectives during the Q&A. Tansill took the question, leaving the audience with a helpful tip: Depending on the budget, prioritize within the four C’s of culture, conversation, consideration, and conversion.