Female Creators and User-Generated Content Are the Backbone of the Creator Economy

Woman creating content for her internet podcast.
Shutterstock/Grigoreva Alina Shutterstock/Jacob Lund

Collabstr, the influencer marketing marketplace, has just dropped its annual influencer marketing report. In it, Collabstr analyzed data from 35,000 brands and 80,000 influencers. But what are its key takeaways?

First of all, the influencer marketing market (I know, it’s confusing) is projected to reach $19.8 billion in 2024, up 13% from 2023. It’s also predicted to grow by 133% between 2020 and 2025, with the creator economy as a whole being projected to reach over half a billion USD by 2030.

Instagram and TikTok have also been found to be equally popular for paid collaborations on Collabstr, making up 42% of collaborations each. 

Despite how lucrative YouTube seems from the outside, it only occupies a 2% share of collaborations on Collabstr. User-generated content (UGC), which refers to ads made by creators, is also proving to be widely popular, with over 50% of creators offering UGC services in 2023. 

This is a 93% increase from 2022. The beauty of UGC is that it’s meant to look a little bit amateur and a little less polished because that makes it all the more true to life, and in turn more relatable. And you’re much more likely to trust the recommendations of someone a little more human and relatable than an airbrushed, soulless studio commercial. 

So, it makes sense that the market for UGC is expanding at a rapid rate, and is projected to reach $71.3 billion by 2032 from $4.7 billion in 2022.

But arguably the most interesting point of this report is that female creators dominate, as they make up 70% of Collabstr’s influencer profiles. Despite there being fewer men, however, men make 30% more per post compared to their female counterparts.

So maybe, since women are the backbone of the creator economy, we can start paying them fairly? Just a thought.

Content for Creators.

News, tips, and tricks delivered to your inbox twice a week.

Newsletter Signup

Top Stories