BRANDS ARE ALL IN ON CREATORS. MEANWHILE IN REALITY, THE ECONOMICS CRASH

Summary from the TLDR Marketing newsletter

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.