{"id":4138,"date":"2026-07-24T19:40:45","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T19:40:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=4138"},"modified":"2026-07-24T19:40:45","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T19:40:45","slug":"influencer-marketing-isnt-an-experiment-anymore-as-companies-expand-their-creator-advertising-budgets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=4138","title":{"rendered":"Influencer marketing isn\u2019t an experiment anymore as companies expand their creator advertising budgets"},"content":{"rendered":"
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What began as an experimental marketing tactic has become one of advertising\u2019s most dominant strategies: nearly every consumer brand is now working\u00a0with creators to reach an even greater customer base than traditional advertising would have reached before.\u00a0And a lot of that has to do with just being personable.<\/p>\n

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That sentiment seems to be shared across the whole advertising industry as companies increase their creative marketing budgets. A 2026 Influencer Marketing Hub survey found 72.2% of respondents expect influencer marketing budgets to increase by at least 50% this year, underscoring how creator partnerships have become a core part of brands\u2019 marketing strategies.<\/p>\n

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\u201cStarting about 20 years ago, we began trusting individuals more than institutions,\u201d Lia Haberman, creator economy expert and author of the ICYMI newsletter, told Fortune<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cA faceless corporation has never fit as naturally alongside social posts from neighbors, friends, family and community leaders,\u201d Haberman said.<\/p>\n

The uptick in creators changed who consumers trusted<\/h2>\n

Social media expanded word of mouth from conversations between friends into communities built around shared interests. In turn, consumers increasingly looked to creators whose recommendations felt more personal than traditional corporate advertising.<\/p>\n

Bloom Nutrition is one example. Founded by creators Mari Llewellyn and Greg LaVecchia, the company built creator partnerships into its business from the beginning. \u201cWe\u2019re a creator-founded brand,\u201d Craig Heyne, VP of Performance Marketing at Bloom Nutrition, told Fortune<\/em>. \u201cIt\u2019s really been a major pillar of our marketing mix overall.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Beauty, wellness and fitness became early proving grounds because their products naturally fit into creators\u2019 everyday content. Makeup tutorials, workout videos and \u201cget ready with me\u201d routines blurred the line between entertainment and advertising, convincing marketers that creators could build brands, not just sell products.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That shift also changed how brands work with creators. Instead of handing influencers scripts after campaigns are finished, many now bring them into the creative process earlier, from product feedback to campaign concepts. \u201cA lot of brands say, \u2018We want you to be authentic,\u2019 and then they give you all their talking points,\u201d Heyne said.<\/p>\n

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Instead, he said, Bloom gives creators room to make content in their own voice because audiences can tell when recommendations feel genuine. That\u2019s because, Heyne said, social media platforms have made it easier for creators of all sizes to reach audiences, and they\u2019ll elevate sincere reviewers.<\/p>\n

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\u201cOne of the major transitions we\u2019ve seen, one of the most exciting ones we\u2019ve seen, is just how these social platforms are empowering creators of all sizes and types,\u201d Heyne said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter if you have 1,000 followers or 100,000 followers. Great content gets served out to everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

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With creator marketing becoming the norm, competition has shifted from convincing brands to invest in influencers to helping creators stand out once they do.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe bar will be much higher for people who make it because they\u2019ll need to be really unique and have a very interesting point of view,\u201d Lindsay Brillson, executive creative director at Pika, told Fortune<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Brillson said AI is helping creators meet those higher expectations by speeding up editing, scripting and production rather than replacing them. \u201cPeople just need to become more creative in order to be successful,\u201d Brillson said.<\/p>\n

Success, however, has introduced another challenge: going viral means they\u2019re no longer seen as your next door neighbor or someone you know and trust.<\/p>\n

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\u201cMega creators, like MrBeast or Alix Earle, are turning into the institutions they disrupted in the first place,\u201d Haberman said.<\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t mean influencer marketing is losing relevance. If anything, Haberman believes its next chapter will reward expertise and trust over sheer scale. \u201cThe recommendations from trusted sources, influencers who are subject matter experts and employees, will be the ones that actually stick.\u201d<\/p>\n

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As creator partnerships become standard, marketers are rethinking authenticity, AI and how to stand out in a crowded creator economy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4137,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[126],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-media"],"yoast_head":"\nInfluencer marketing isn\u2019t an experiment anymore as companies expand their creator advertising budgets - Cross Country Moving Team<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=4138\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Influencer marketing isn\u2019t an experiment anymore as companies expand their creator advertising budgets - 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