Creator industry insights and best practices

A real person telling someone they know that a product actually works is still the most trusted form of marketing in South Africa. It is also the most under-deployed. Here is the gap, the proof, and the product purpose-built to close it.

SA brands using flat rate creator models can redirect 40-50% more budget to paid amplification, capturing the fastest-growing segment of the $37.1 billion creator economy.

For years, brands optimised for convenience. Faster checkouts. Frictionless journeys. One-click everything.

If your marketing feels like yelling into a noisy room while everyone scrolls on their phones… you’re not imagining it. Audiences are tired. They’re sceptical. They’ve learned to swipe past ads in less than a second.

Pierre Herubel recently made a sharp observation in his article, “Content Is Now a Red Ocean.” He captured what many marketers are quietly realising: content isn’t broken, it’s just overcrowded.

For years, marketing has been obsessed with shortcuts: the viral tweet, the perfect ad, the one weird trick that unlocks endless reach. But as Brian Morrissey, founder of The Rebooting and former editor-in-chief of Digiday, bluntly puts it, “everyone’s been peeing in the pool.”

When it comes to influencer marketing, relatability often works hand-in-hand with reach. Our latest campaign with a leading pet retailer tested this balance by comparing the performance of micro influencers and nano influencers — and the results showed how each can play a distinct role in driving impact.

If you can’t ensure traffic from paid ads on Google, how do you ensure you feature in the recommendations from the various AI engines like Gemini, ChatGPT and Claude?

theSalt has just hit a huge milestone—we now manage and train over 500,000 real creators across South Africa! This isn’t just a number; it’s a movement. It’s half a million content creators, storytellers, and digital entrepreneurs helping brands connect with their audiences through real, trusted voices.

In recent years, Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services have revolutionised consumer purchasing behaviour, particularly among younger generations. These services allow consumers to acquire products immediately and defer payments over a set period, often without interest. This model has resonated deeply with Millennials and Gen Z, aligning seamlessly with their financial preferences and digital engagement habits.​

Brands venturing into the African market are quickly discovering one thing: you can’t buy authenticity. You must earn it. Award-winning influencer agencies, like theSalt, in South Africa, have explored far and wide to deepen its African influencer roots, and are now spearheading the way for others to follow.

The media landscape is undergoing a radical transformation, and at its forefront are the most unexpected of players: nano influencers. Unlike their micro, macro and celebrity counterparts, these everyday creators are reshaping how information is shared and consumed, offering a level of trust and authenticity that traditional media and larger influencers often lack.

To fully appreciate the impact of CGC, it’s essential to distinguish it from user-generated content. CGC allows consumers to share their real-life experiences with brands on social media, creating powerful, authentic content that resonates with their peers.

In the vast landscape of influencer marketing, the rise of nano-influencers is hard to ignore. While mega and macro influencers, with their celebrity status and massive following, have dominated the space for years, brands are now recognizing the unique value nano-influencers offer.

In today's digital age, influencer marketing stands as one of the most effective strategies for brands looking to boost their online presence. But as this domain evolves, so does the strategic approach behind it.

In today's digital landscape, influencer marketing has emerged as a formidable strategy for brands to connect with their target audience in authentic and impactful ways.

OPPORTUNITY BOOM: Pieter Groenewald, CEO of Influencer Marketing Group, Nfinity Influencer, which includes theSalt, says online, digital media advertising is increasingly

In the ever-evolving realm of digital marketing, brands are constantly seeking innovative strategies to maximise their return on investment (ROI). One such strategy that has been gaining significant traction is nano influencer marketing.

Enter, the nano-influencer — the rising influencer who both markets (influences) and sells (via social commerce): the savvy tactic that every SME will adopt in a matter of time. The question is: Why not now?

Marketing is undergoing rapid changes, and 2023 promises to be an exciting year for marketers. The world of marketing is being shaped by the growth of personalisation, AI and machine learning, and the increasing role of influential people. These trends are expected to have a big impact on marketing strategies in the year ahead.

In recent years, the term “influencer” has become a buzzword in the marketing world. Social media influencers have been instrumental in promoting brands and products to their followers, with many marketers seeing it as a surefire way to boost their reach and bottom line. However, the rise of de-influencing is a game-changer that brands can't afford to ignore.

With the rise of influencer marketing, there has also been a growing concern about the authenticity of influencer content. Brands and influencers alike are under increased pressure to ensure that their content is transparent and authentic. Influencers are now required to clearly disclose sponsored content, and brands are being more selective about the influencers they work with.

The FNB Stadium, also known as Soccer City, is a multi-purpose stadium located in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is the largest stadium in Africa and has a capacity of 94,736 spectators. The stadium is primarily used for soccer matches and was the venue for the 2010 FIFA World Cup final.

In recent years, social media has taken the world by storm, and it's not just about connecting with friends and family. Brands have caught on to the trend and are allocating a larger chunk of their marketing spend to social media. Within that ad spend, influencer marketing has been on a steady rise.

When people use the word 'influencer', it's likely that it conjures up the name or face of a celebrity or social media star with a huge following and a reputation for specialised knowledge, authority, or insight, into a product, service, or subject, that gives them significant sway with an audience. And that sway makes them the ideal candidate for collaborations with brands looking for a way to launch their product or presence with a higher degree of credibility through the advocacy of, and affiliation with, an influencer.

January marks the start of a new year and with it, new possibilities! With the rising popularity of nano- and micro-influencers, you may be asking yourself if you have what it takes to start a side hustle and become an influencer. The good news is it’s easier than you think – if you keep a few things in mind!

Nano and micro-influencers, which are broadly defined as those people online with less than 1,000 followers, and less than 10,000 followers respectively, have a golden opportunity that bigger mega and celebrity influencers do not – that is, higher levels of organic engagement and trustworthy authenticity.

It’s no secret that the influencer marketing scene is has exploded in recent years. Every industry has had a fair amount of constant development and innovation that can be really tricky to stay on top of. We live in a digital world, and new things are coming our way constantly, the one thing that is essential, though, is a clear grasp and understanding of the fundamentals of an industry, or in our case, a media channel.

Brands are increasingly opting to partner with nano-influencers for a better return-on-investment using real brand fans – a trend that’s set to increase in the year to come.

The biggest news at the moment has to be the Twitter Acquisition by Billionaire meme lord, Elon Musk. Musk paid $44 billion for his stake. Yes, billion.

Influencer marketing is often equated towards the glitz and glamour of celebrity lifestyles, but authenticity is increasingly where the actual power of influencer marketing rests. Holidays and lifestyles that are out of reach are not appealing to consumers.

Influencer marketing has become one of the most frequently discussed topics in boardrooms today. These discussions vary from the evolution of influencer categories; how nano influencers can be best described, to additional categories being developed as new niches evolve, to how the various social channels are changing and offering influencers new and innovative options to use in brand campaigns.

For the near future, the opportunity to tap into the social tribes of influencers of all types will remain attractive. This article is not going to espouse all the benefits and advantages of that as many published articles do that (and do it better than this author can). Rather, it is this thing called the metaverse - that place where reality and the internet collide – that poses interesting questions for all types of marketing, and influencer marketing is no exception.

When people learn that I work in the world of influencer marketing, I usually get asked a few questions, like what IS influencer marketing? And does it really work? Over the years, I’ve written a number of OpEds that detail my views on such queries (and if you ever want to grab a coffee and discuss the potential benefits of influencer marketing for your business, the teams at theSalt and Webfluential are always willing).

Recent years have seen the progression of influencer marketing from a tactical element to an essential part of a comprehensive - and successful - strategy. This establishment of influencer marketing as a necessity is the direct result of it proving its effectiveness time and time again in a variety of industries, meeting an array of objectives.

Greg Bailie, Head of Growth and Innovation at Nfinity Media, says consumers are gearing up to spend their hard-earned cash, but instead of idly walking through malls and hoping to find the perfect gift, much of this year’s discovery will be done online. This is partly because of the ongoing pandemic, which continues to influence foot traffic through shopping centres, but mostly because how consumers engage with social media has shifted and social commerce is the result.

Nano-influencers – generally defined as content creators with a following below 10,000 – are a good fit for SMEs because they offer an affordable and authentic way to engage with new and existing customers.

From Creators to the metaverse, social commerce is set to dominate the way we shop (and sell). The Creator Economy isn’t new. Traditionally, anyone who created something and sold it as a freelancer has been classified in this economy, from writers and designers to painters.

Big brands used to tell us what was cool. Today, consumers expect brands to be more human. In fact, the higher a brand’s emotional intelligence, the more it wins.

Famous celebrities endorsing big brands has been a staple of marketing for over two centuries. The only real difference between 2021 and 1921, is that instead of large billboard advertisements, stars have taken to Instagram, Facebook and TikTok to promote products. And, theoretically, the reach of social media means that more people are being exposed to big-name celebrity marketing than ever before.

Micro- and nano-influencers offer unfiltered insights into their lives, the products they use and how they make purchasing decisions – and their opinions matter to social media users

The rise of the side hustle began well before the pandemic. Partly a response to the unemployment crisis, and an increase in recognition of the potential to earn additional income (and make life a little easier), South Africa has seen a steady rise in the number of people earning an income outside of formal employment over the last ten years.

Big brands used to tell us what was cool. Today, consumers expect brands to be more human. In fact, the higher a brand’s emotional intelligence, the more it wins.

In February 2021, a UK-based frozen dessert brand - Little Moons - experienced a 700% increase in sales - during winter. The reason? TikTok. Users were filming themselves buying (and trying) these delectable little mochi balls, and soon the craze was on.

Influencer marketing is a rapidly evolving landscape. When it first started gaining traction through social media platforms, it followed the more traditional format of macro influencers – large sports and celebrity names with brand endorsement deals.

Influencer marketing is no longer only for consumer brands or FMCG products. Gone are the days when influencer niches were predictable like beauty, fashion, food and travel because of how they lend themselves to beautiful imagery on social media.

The influencer marketing space has grown in leaps and bounds over the last decade. I’ve seen exciting developments over the last three and a half years that I’ve been involved...

I sit here today, as all of you, in the middle of yet another “semi-quarantined” state halfway through the 2-weeks of the new lockdown...

Lockdown, the global pandemic and the shift to remote working all accelerated the digital economy. Side-by-side with heightened social media use was an increase in influencer marketing.

Google trends show how, over the past 5 years, the term “influencer marketing” has steadily been used more and more by curious web surfers. Fortunately, a deeper understanding by marketers of the topic has also grown...

Marketing has always been consumer-led. Since the birth of marketing in the early 20th century, brands have spent enormous resources trying to understand what people...