How to know if you need an influencer or a creator

But they aren’t quite the same — and the differences could have big implication for your next partnership campaign.

During Ragan and PR Daily’s recent Social Media Conference, Rachel Vandernick, founder of The Vander Group, discussed just how these two groups vary from each other.

“A creator is relatable by nature,” Vandernick explained “These are the people that are your personality hires for your brand. These are the people that add oomph and zest and vivaciousness and social commentary. An influencer, at their core, is aspirational. There is something about them that is intriguing that someone is trying to replicate or emulate and reproduce in their own life.”

In other words, a creator is someone who is like us. An influencer is someone we want to be like.

Vandernick argues that both have their place in marketing and can be a great fit for your brand. But it’s vital to understand how they both are viewed by the audience and what the broader implications of that mean for a potential partnership.

“For a creator, you are hiring them for their personality content. You are hiring them for their point of view,” Vandernick explained. “For the influencer, you are selling to their core audience and monetizing their lifestyle as it is attached to your brand.”