As access to technology and social media platforms has diversified over the years, users have been exposed to various forms of content creation and influence that may impact their purchasing decisions.
A debate arises when trying to distinguish between the digital content creator and the influencer seen online. An array of creators involved in the industry spoke toThe Citizen about what they think, based on their experience.
Nthabiseng Mabale, both a lecturer at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) and a well-known figure on social media, breaks down the tiers of influence by follower count.
Lifestyle creators
Refilwe Maraga (@refilwediam) is a student with a large following of 14 700 on Instagram and 29 100 on TikTok.
Speaking to The Citizen, she shared that she considers herself a content creator because her content focuses on fitness and lifestyle routines that reflect her daily life, “including running, gym workouts, and moments from my everyday life”.
To her, a content creator focuses on producing and engaging with the audience, just making sure that each and every video or picture is creative and relatable content that connects with the audience, whether it’s through storytelling, fitness, lifestyle, or brand campaigns.
“My content is authentic, relatable, and aims to inspire others to stay active, confident and consistent.”
‘Without content creation, influence doesn’t exist’
Refilwe said that she believes an influencer is more focused on using their platform to influence purchasing decisions or promote brands.
“I could be wrong cause hey man, I’m not an influencer.”
“But I do believe content creation comes first, because without strong, relatable content, influence doesn’t really exist.”
Digital content creation
Although Nthabiseng Mabale is a lecturer at UJ, she also garnered a large following during her years as a student.
“My social media platforms were originally created to document personal experiences, particularly travel. From time to time, I share aspects of my research, though not in depth; I try to maintain a level of privacy,” she said.
“I know…why have social media in the first place?” she rhetorically asks.
What do you value most?
Mabale currently has a following of 25 500 on Instagram and says that the terms ‘content creator’ and ‘influencer’ are used interchangeably.
She says the practical difference comes down to orientation.
“A digital content creator and an influencer are closely related but not identical roles within the platform economy. The distinction lies in intent and impact: creators make content; influencers leverage audiences,” she said.
Based on her research she highlighted that it mainly depends on what is valued most based on her research.
“For a content creator, it sits in the work. For an influencer, it sits in the relationship they have built with an audience and the access that relationship provides to brands.”
Nthabiseng said that neither is a rigid category because someone can start as one and drift into the other, or operate as both simultaneously, which is increasingly the norm lately.
The influencer tier system
Mabale said the standard breakdown of the influencer tier system is based on follower counts:
- Nano-influencers (1 000 to 10 000 followers)
- Micro-influencers (10 000 to 100 000 followers)
- Macro-influencers (100 000 to 1 million followers)
- Mega or celebrity influencers (more than 1 million followers)
Although the number of followers tells you one thing about a person’s digital presence. She asserts that it does not tell you whether that presence translates into anything meaningful, like the rate of engagements and perceived authenticity, which is the degree to which the audience trusts the person they are following.
“A large account with low engagement is, in most cases, less commercially useful than a smaller account where the audience is genuinely paying attention.”
Influencing
Ayesha Abrahams runs her online business, ScrubsZA, by creating content to promote craft scrubs, uniforms and other work accessories based on clients’ body measurements.
“We built a TikTok following of nearly 13k in the space of just over two years.”
From her perspective, an influencer is someone who creates videos that promote other brands, businesses, products and events.
“In a nutshell, an influencer literally tries to influence you to spend your time and money on something.”
Trust and Credibility
She acknowledges a stark contrast with viewers trusting influencers who have not been paid by a brand and are using their own money to buy products and review them on the platform.
“In recent months, influencers with brand deals seem to be losing credibility, because as followers go to places and try products, they quickly realise that influencer x hadn’t been completely honest in their review, so influencer accounts that are self-funded tend to be more trusted these days.”
“This is especially true when it comes to restaurant and food reviews.”
“Many people who use TikTok have said outright that they no longer trust some of the food reviewers and influencers.”
Ayesha describes content creation as an interesting and compelling way to engage with people on a platform.
“You may be teaching them a skill, sharing your experiences online (like a kind of online journal), or you could be creating niche content, like in the ASMR or scrapbooking fields, for example.”
The divide
Abrahams asserts that it is complicated to tell the difference between content creators and influencers.
“I think the divide between them used to be much clearer, but influencers are getting more creative with how they promote other brands now.”
“For example, many of them no longer say ‘x brand sent me this….’ They say something a bit more evasive like, ‘I’ve been dying to taste this x product, and today we’re gonna be doing that.’
“Or they just jump straight into the review, without explaining whether the food was free or not.”
“Many influencers used to announce that they got the food for free or they were ‘invited to try’, but there’s been a move away from this.”
She said that if someone is an influencer, you may find tons of different brands and products on their page. While a content creator may just have a few different topics, or the types of videos they create could have one or two different themes.
It is intertwined
“With the accounts I run, I mainly showcase our products, doing a slow pan across the piece of clothing to show potential clients what we’re selling as if they were looking at it in the shop.”
“And then I also use real client photos and reviews in our videos. But I often weave it together and tell a little story about the client’s order (with their permission, of course.).”
She explained an example where there was a request to make a pair of scrubs for a one-year-old boy who really wants to be a doctor.
“It was our first pair of mini scrubs.”
Viral Video
To launch this piece they created a video that surprisingly went viral, comparing the size of an adult scrub versus one made for “the youngest doctor” who was around 12 months old at the time.
“It was one of our first videos to go viral, and it brought many people to our page by convincing them that we do actually make ‘any size under the sun’.
“So, in a way, I guess I’m also trying to ‘influence’ people to buy our products, but I’m a little more subtle with it compared to an influencer – I think!” she says.
More followers = More money?
Ayesha struggled to run an account with less than 10 000 followers because TikTok does not allow you to categorise your videos or display clickable links in the bio unless you have reached a certain follower count.
“As your follower account increases on TikTok, new features become available to you.”
“Your interface changes quite a bit after the 10k milestone.”
“But I don’t think there’s a set number or milestone you must reach to be considered a content creator or an influencer. “
“Though, for influencers, I think they get to up their prices based on the follower count they have.”
ScrubsZA
Abrahams considers the ScrubsZA account at a micro level, because her account has around 12 700 followers on social media. It recently launched a sister brand, SnuggleZA, which has amassed 700 followers in two weeks.
“But, I think, because we already had a brand when we launched the second one on TikTok, the new account grew faster and resulted in sales much quicker than our ScrubsZA page did.”
Frustrations with TikTok
Ayesha expresses that the frustrating thing about using TikTok, and other social media platforms, is that a viral video doesn’t always result in sales because your content ended up in the ‘For You Page’ of many people, but they might not have been your target audience.
“It just means you managed to hook many viewers with your visuals and your narration/trending sound in your video.”
Keagile Makgoba from TikTok SA said the company mainly focuses on supporting creators in finding ways to use their creativity to spark a creative career and contribute positively to the creative economy, using the platform for social good and less about defining the difference between the two.
