There's probably more nuance to it, but I consider someone an influencer if they try to sell me something other than their own product. Such as if they try to sell me their merch, that's still a content creator. Once they take sponsors and try to sell me something else not made by them, then they are an influencer. That's where I usually draw the line.
I'd say influencers business model is to sell stuff (sponsored content/merch) while creators goal is to live from sharing their content, by the means of selling their own merch or using sponsors.
I think it muddies the definition to apply a "goal" relative to their income to either of them. If someone makes content, they are a content creator, without question. Some want to make a living doing it, some just do it because they want to. Both are content creators, regardless of the income. Influencer/CC is a rectangle/square categorization. Influencers are akin to advertisers.
I completely disagree that a content creator who takes sponsors from other companies, are NOT influencers. If they are acting as an advertiser, then they are influncers, they are still content creators however. If a content creator is just making content and selling their own wares, they are effectively advertising themselves; which is totally fine. If I am engaging with their content, I am already interested in their work.
Content creator is also a dumb term. Everything is content. We have filmmakers for people who make videos, vloggers for more casual ones, streamers for live video. Writers and bloggers are better words than "content creator"
This. Its a term from the marketing world.it literally says "able to influence people for marketing purposes" for whatever the threshold of followers is that makes them attractive for marketing purposes.
Once a content creators content could infuence their viewers purchasing decisions.
Jay of Jayztwocents hates the term influencer, because (and I'm heavily paraphrasing) thats what the marketing people refer to content creators as. He does have influence as a content creator but the difference to him is that his "influence" is that his content is honest reviews and opinions. If his influence is that he tells you its shit and dont buy it. So be it, the company needs to make a better product.
I'm a content creator. I do influence people in a way. But since I'm light-years away from being able to live from that, and I won't sell Squarespace or shit like that on my show, I guess I'm not an influencer really.
A content creator is someone who produces and shares content online, such as videos, blog posts, or social media posts. An influencer, on the other hand, is a person who has the power to affect the purchasing decisions of others because of their authority. knowledge, position, or relationship with their audience. While content creators may also be influencers, not all influencers are content creators. Some influencers may simply share their opinions or experiences with their audience to influence their decisions.
It's unlikely that there is consensus on where the line that separates them is, but to me influencers are showing their overall lifestyle (day in the life, vlogging, sharing their meals, routines, that kind of thing) and content creators are primarily generating something else that is not necessarily dependent on their lifestyle. I see it as educational content, creative content (arts, DIY, movie commentary, etc) news... I know content creators often expand into what I described as "influencer content", but that is often not their primary way of getting followers or focus of their attention, so I still think they are content creators.
'Influencer' is the business side word for content creators, because that's how companies see them. Content creators are able to influence the thoughts and buying decisions of their audience.
I'm pretty sure that just being big enough to have some influence makes them an influencer. Most names I hear about are definitely influencers by the time I hear about them.
I guess all content creators are influencers to some degree. Personally, I feel the word influencer doesn't apply to people I follow. Yet this may be because of me; I find it that ads really don't work on me. And I don't worship internet content creators like some people do.