If you’ve been in the Creator Economy for a while now but feel like you need more of a push, or if your substantial Instagram following seems to have plateaued out, then it may be time to revamp your social media strategy. One innovative tool that many savvy content creators use is Linktree, which has already released its Creator Report for 2022. In this blog post, we’ll talk about some of the insights from this report and explain how these can help give your brand or business a boost in the right direction.

Who is Linktree?

You may already be familiar with the value of social media linking in enhancing your marketing efforts and expanding your reach. It’s so significant that it can either be your campaign’s deal-maker or deal-breaker. Many link-in-bio platforms have therefore emerged in the market. Linktree is one of the pioneering leaders in this category. 

Early on, the brothers Alex and Anthony Zaccaria and their buddy Nick Humphreys saw the difficulty of many companies in sharing content. Multiple links were typically used, making the process tedious and inefficient. So in 2016, they launched Linktree, the first interactive tool of its kind that empowers individuals and businesses to place multiple links together on a single landing page. As the number of platforms increased, so did Linktree’s growth. To date, the link-in-bio company is mainly prominent on Instagram (IG).

With a 24M+ user base, the platform now averages more than 500M visits monthly and 30K sign-ups daily. Influential personalities from chef Jamie Oliver to singer Pharrel Williams tap Linktree to connect their audience to all their content with just a single link. Be it on IG, TikTok, YouTube, etc., content creators everywhere can reach their full online marketing potential regardless of what platform their followers are using.

What Survey Methodology Was Used for the 2022 Creator Report?

To help individuals and enterprises make sense of the rapidly expanding Creator Economy, Linktree releases an annual creator report. They use and analyze their own information, industry data, and survey results to make this happen. 

For the 2022 Creator Report, they enlisted the help of 9,500 participants to ensure depth of data. This year’s report highlights key industry trends and insights that impact the creator economy. 

The 2022 Linktree Creator Report: 3 Key Takeaways

We’ve taken out three of the most salient conclusions to help you grow your creator journey. 

1. Niching: Should You or Shouldn’t You? 

Even if you’ve been at it for some time, you may still be uncertain whether to be a generalist or a specialist. It’s easy to assume that the initial option would be better. After all, “the more, the merrier,” right? According to the report, not exactly.

What the survey says: A specialized content strategy tends to fare better than a generalized one. 

• There are about 50 million content creators, with 66% considering themselves specialists. So, when the 2022 Creator Report indicates that 62% of nichers believe in the relevance of their strategy in driving traffic and engagement, this would be no mean number at 20.5M. 

• The report further shows that the percentage of niche creators with an annual income of $100K is more than that of non-niche influencers. 

• The number of brand collaborators among niche content creators was also seen to be significantly higher than among generalist creators.

What This Means to You: Invest in niche content creation.

Creating niche content (if you aren’t already) may be the way to go if you want to level up your influencer career or business. Focusing on just one specialty will keep you from spreading your precious time, talent, energy, and money too thinly. Not only will it make you more efficient, but it will also enable a deeper connection with your target audience and help you stand out from the competition.

2. The Correlation Between Hours Invested and Annual Income

What the Survey Says: The time you invest in content creation isn’t directly proportional to your earnings. 

Looking at the numbers from the 2022 Creator Report may leave you wanting a clearer formula for success. Because the reality is, there seems to be none. If you’re looking to spend fewer hours on content creation, the survey figures indicate that you should earn less than $100 annually or between $50K to 100K a year but not more than that! 

What This Means to You: Working smarter may cut it more than working harder.

Sure, many content creators will need to put in the time necessary to achieve their social media goals. But as to the exact number of hours, there seems to be no precise science at this point. So, even if you bust your brains with a 24-7 schedule, this won’t guarantee that you’ll become a resounding success. What may be a better idea is working smarter by leveraging tools, such as the 2022 Creator Report, to keep you from making time-consuming mistakes and get you up to speed on the latest content creation hacks. Once you get to the top of your game, you may not have to work as much.

3. The Importance of Brand Partnerships

What the Survey Says: Bagging brand partnerships isn’t the only way to earn.

The 2022 Creator Report reveals that more than two-thirds of all content creators say they’ve never had brand collaborations on social media. The report goes on to show that a quarter of all content creators get the largest chunk of their earnings from their own web pages.

What This Means to You: Invest in growing your own products.

Brands typically engage with content creators who already have a large following. Yet there’s no need to despair if brands aren’t paying you much attention. Instead, focus on growing your own platforms, such as paid downloadable resources, e-courses, newsletters, and even physical products.

Empowering Your Content Creation Journey

Content creation can be one of the hardest yet most rewarding careers one can have. If you’re truly passionate about curating and growing your social media career or business, then take the advice we’ve shared to heart. Specialize, work smart by using all the available helpful tools like the 2022 Creator Report, and maximize the monetization potential of your own products or platforms.