Creator fit beats follower count for brands: Here’s what the numbers say

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As the creator economy booms, audiences and brand partners want different things out of the content that creators produce, per new CreatorIQ research.

The creator economy is expected to hit nearly half a trillion dollars by 2027 and has become a key part of the marketing ecosystem. In some cases, creator content is repurposed and used in paid media. Despite this seemingly symbiotic relationship, 53% of creators with at least 500,000 followers experience tension between what audiences want and what brands demand, according to data from CreatorIQ.

“As a brand, you have to take a step back and know that it’s not a one size fits all for your influencer strategy,” said Jennifer Cho, chief customer officer at CreatorIQ.

“The State of Creators” report, which was conducted in partnership with Influencers.club, includes responses from 5,095 respondents across 100 regions. Data was collected between May 29 and June 29, 2026, and the survey has a margin of error of +/- 1.4 percentage points.

Suitability ranks as the top consideration for brands when partnering with creators, even above content performance, which came in second. Follower count is in eighth place, the lowest on the list, with campaign fit just one above it. Despite its low ranking in overall importance, follower count is closely tied to pay.

The number of followers and subscribers a creator has is the strongest indicator of income on Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. Views also have a closer relationship than engagement when it comes to income on the same platforms. This indicates that while brands are saying follower count isn’t as important to them, it still holds tremendous value when determining compensation.

“I think we’re in this world where you have to look at everything. You have to look at the share of influence, like position within the community, cultural reference [and] impact beyond the initial transaction,” said Cho.

Financial compensation is the top driver of creator satisfaction with brand partnerships (35%), jumping 16 percentage points since 2025. This puts compensation ahead of growth opportunities, which was the most important factor in 2025.

The majority of influencers, 67%, make under $10,000 a year and 62% say content creation is not their primary source of income. Just 1% of influencers make over $250,000 a year, and 10% make $50,001 or more. One quarter of creators say their income has increased slightly year over year, while 7% say it has decreased significantly. Approximately one-fifth of respondents said 2026 is their first year working with brands.

Brand partnerships are also not the main source of income for most creators. The majority, 53%, of creators say less than 25% of their annual income comes from brand partnerships or sponsored content.

The higher the subscriber count, the greater the friction between the content that subscribers want and what brands want. Seventeen percent of creators with at least 500,000 subscribers on Instagram report not feeling this tension, compared to the 53% who do. When looking at creators overall, 42% feel the tension while 19% say they do not.

Audience demands aren’t the only thing creators are split on. Instagram is the go-to platform to post branded content for creators earning more than $250,000 a year, with 60% of survey respondents saying they prefer Instagram while 30% chose TikTok.

TikTok is still the sun in the creator economy solar system. When looking at creators overall, 52% say the short-form video platform is their go-to for branded content while 43% choose Instagram. TikTok is also the most lucrative platform for 48% of creators and the best in terms of content performance for 51% of creators.

Despite TikTok’s popularity, Instagram is seen as having the greatest potential for building a sustainable business at a rate of 38%. TikTok came in second at 35%, while YouTube came in third with 23%.

“Creators are human beings that are leading their own small businesses,” said Cho. “I think it’s really important to understand that within this new marketing channel, you are dealing much more with human beings than just an ad or one metric.”

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