The 8 Stages of The Creator Lifespan
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From beloved obscurity to superstardom – How do creators avoid the “Crash”?
By: Anabelle Gilliam
Phase 1: Niche Micro-Influence
Most creators are born inside of a niche. They differentiate themselves from other accounts by having some knowledge of a specific topic that people are interested in. Whether it be crocheting, cooking, storytelling, or even more obscure topics like this creator who scours the depths of Wikipedia, these accounts find their charm in being just like everyone else on the app, someone who would reply to your comments and engage with their following just as strangers on the internet do every day. At this stage, fans are “gatekeeping” your account, and believe in its value– and its potential to become huge.
Phase 2: Nurtured Community
The creator has established herself as a valuable part of a niche community, and gains a medium-sized following of viewers who see her as a friend. The same people start leaving comments in reference to other videos, developing inside jokes. The relationship between creator and audience remains communicative, and there aren’t yet enough interactions to overwhelm the creator. She has a pleasant popularity among people who are there for the creator’s specific niche interest. This is a great stage for creators.
Phase 3: Growing Discovery + Superfans
When more people begin to rapidly discover the creator, they bring along Superfans: followers who show up to every video, stitching and duetting them, and spread the word about their new favorite account. By now, the creator’s scope has gone beyond that of their niche community and is popping up on the average user’s FYP. While this is the period with the most rapid growth, here is where we start to see the overall sentiment begin to split – more exposure means more opinions, and not everyone will have positive ones past this point. Barring any scandals or missteps in posting, creators move on to Phase 4.
Phase 4: Broad Discovery + Cult-like Following
Now that they’ve become a trending topic, their fanbase consists of both average viewers plus the cult-like followers that were fans way back when. When viewers comment with criticism, these followers come to the creator’s defense in conversations across Tiktok. They believe in and look up to the creator for influence. Think “Swifties”, whose undying allegiance to their idol creates a large community in itself. At a bit of a larger scale, of course.
Phase 5: Supernova Stage
Because of that social buzz generated online through controversy and conversation between viewers, the creator’s relevance has skyrocketed. This is the explosion! Our creator’s getting brand deals, being invited to the Met Gala and creator industry events, and even having modeling contracts thrown their way. The creator has reached at least C or B-list celebrity status, and they’ve found out how to monetize their internet following. While this is a fruitful phase, the next step is CRUCIAL in determining the rest of the creator’s career – As an internet personality, you never want to “peak”. If they aren’t strategic enough, they can easily fall into this next stage.
Phase 6: Novelty Fades
As the creator continues to post, the world’s attention span dwindles. When repetition is not paired with innovation, fans begin to reevaluate their loyalty to the creator. If the creator doesn’t meet the demand for diverse, engaging, interesting content at the rate their career is growing, they wind up looking like a one-hit wonder, and risk being tagged as passé. The speed at which the internet pedestals and discards creators is head-spinning and waits for no one. If the creator is strategic, they will begin to diversify their content, because by now, the “BFF” dynamic between creator and audience is long gone, and fans can start to resent the creator, feeling owed something as they feel they contributed so heavily to her success. Psychologically, the internet sees the creator as a performer. If the performer only has one gimmick, they will lose interest quickly.
Innovation is the bread and butter of a Creator’s career, because it mirrors the patterns of the Internet itself.
Phase 7: The Crash – Resentment due to Unrelatability
Paradoxically, the very reason for the creator’s initial success (relatable content) is the element that changes the most throughout the Creator Lifespan. Now that she’s getting all these brand deals and exclusive invites, how can ordinary fans relate to her? Without our creator showing her hard work and gratitude for how far she’s come, fans feel left out of the loop, disconnected. To avoid this sentiment, creators must go deep. By that I mean that they must continue to treat their audience like close friends – showing more personal sides of themselves to the fans that craves that connection – and make the parasocial relationship feel more properly social. Fans want to feel like they know creators, and that takes vulnerability (see below).
Phase 8: Internet Professional
If a creator can successfully navigate the rocky first stages of newfound fame, they have a chance to break out of the cycle of pedestal-and-discard. This last stage happens when the creator learns how to successfully monetize social media WITHOUT having to be someone to constantly watch and look up to. People should know what she’s doing without having to scroll through her account. The followers are already there, the work is done for building awareness. Now our creator has to decide what to do with her platform. If she’s smart, she’ll diversify her content, pivot to another industry, and always keep authenticity at the forefront of her endeavors. People can sniff out falseness; Influence comes from real relationships. If she can help her audience see her as a multitalented, multidimensional PERSON, not just a prop for brands to use for advertising, she can thrive in her role as an Internet Professional. My advice to creators out there in Phase 2 or 3: Diversify NOW, create meaningful relationships, and always keep your eyes on what’s next. Innovation is the bread and butter of a Creator’s career, because it mirrors the patterns of the Internet itself. So get out there and make the dang video!
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