DMi’s reputation as a great partner – to our clients, to our partner network, to the range of creators we work with on client campaigns – is one of the agency’s not-so-secret weapons. Looking out for everyone’s best interests tends to make people want to work with you for the long term, and the more partner options we have to flex for our clients, the more opportunities for growth we can offer.

Fair and strategic creator compensation is a critical component of being a great partner. That said, each brand and agency has a different approach; there is no one established structure of compensation.

Here are the main considerations the DMi team includes when structuring creator compensation (hint: it’s inseparable from the value the creator drives for our client):

1. Deliverables, not follower count, are where we start: Building a brand takes great storytelling. Creators who can tell rich stories that truly influence the way users think about a brand carry tons of value. Yes, follower count and scale are important, but creators who are skilled at influencing purchase decisions beyond impulse buys should be rewarded.

2. We consider relative value: We compare our creators’ CPMs and engagement rates to traditional upper-funnel paid media channels. Creators who outperform benchmarks from other channels give us reason to increase rates and/or plan future investments.

3. We love multiple touchpoints: A TikTok post is great, but it’s even better when the content is repurposed for retargeting, paid amplification, email flows, landing pages, etc. One post is a tactic, but a multi-channel plan is a strategy that we reward by increasing compensation. When we can extend the shelf life and the value of creator content by repurposing it, we build that into contracts and rates.

4. We leverage advanced performance data to gauge business impact: Great creator content has profound down-stream ripple effects like increased site traffic and brand search lift. When we see quantifiable evidence of impact beyond post metrics, we’re willing to pay more.

In a nutshell, although audience size is a factor, it’s not a true measure of the value a creator provides to our clients. When our creator partners work to help our brands hit their goals, we make sure to compensate them for the value they provide. This keeps brands and creators happy – which helps DMi build an industry-best base of options to deploy for client growth.