TLDR Tech / Marketing
Brands are all in on creators. Meanwhile in reality, the economics crash
US brand spend on influencer marketing keeps climbing, but the industry's own numbers are questionable. Its $5.78 return per $1 spent is earned media value, not real revenue, based on estimated impressions and rate cards. A third of followers on the average creator account show signs of being fake or purchased, while more than half of creators earn under $15,000 a year. As brands shift toward nano-creators, Americans are also posting less than they did five years ago. What's left is a reach channel, not the trust economy it promised.
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