There’s over three million creators in the YouTube Partner Program. Add Instagram, TikTok, and Twitch, and suddenly that talent pool starts to look more like an ocean. With that much choice, the wrong metric can bury the right creator.
The patterns we’ve been seeing? Brands have traditionally gone all-in on the signals that feel safest. Follower size, audience demographic and engagement rate will always tell a story. The mistake is treating any one of them like a bible.
Brands have been a bit too obsessed...
1. OBSESSED WITH FOLLOWER SIZE
Bigger doesn’t always mean better. Short-form is increasingly driven by discovery, where Shorts, Reels and the FYP surface content based on interests and behaviour instead of follower count. When 74% of YouTube Shorts views and 55% of Instagram Reels views come from non-followers, a creator’s existing audience is only part of their potential reach.
The HALLS partnership with VaynerMedia and TRIBE saw two comedy creators with a combined following of 1.2 million generate over 10 million views on a single campaign, 8.3 times their own audience size.
CONSIDER: FOLLOWER GROWTH
Follower count shows the audience a creator has built. Growth rate shows how much new attention they're earning. Brands routinely pay premium rates for creators coasting on legacy reach from an audience that peaked two years ago, while smaller creators on a faster climb are pulling in more new viewers because audiences are actively choosing them now. The right creator fit often lives in momentum, not milestones.
2. OBSESSED WITH AUDIENCE DEMOGRAPHICS
Demographics are a good starting point, but they’re a dangerous finish line. Google found that marketers relying only on demographics risk missing more than 70% of potential mobile shoppers, because audience demographics don’t always reveal intent. For brands choosing creators, the same risk applies: chase the perfect demographic match too hard, and you cut the creators who can move your audience.
"Only 31% of mobile searches for video games are men ages 18-34. Target demographically and you’d miss out on the other 69% of users expressing interest." – think with Google
CONSIDER: BRAND AFFINITY
The strongest creator partnerships start before the brief has been written. Creators who already use the brand, follow the category or share its values bring something a paid endorsement can't fake: existing relevance. And audiences can spot the difference between a genuine recommendation and a creator who's just playing the part. When assessing brand affinity, the strongest fit often comes from creators who feel like they could already be part of the brand’s customer base.
3. OBSESSED WITH ENGAGEMENT RATE
A high engagement rate can make any creator look like an obvious choice, but a single number flattens a lot of different signals. A like, a comment, a share and a save don't show the same intent, and counting them the same way buries the more important question: what kind of response does this creator generate? The best fit for sparking conversation isn't always the best for driving reach, recall or action. Chase the highest engagement rate too hard, and the best creator for the brand's objectives gets missed.
CONSIDER: STORYTELLING ABILITY
A strong creator does more than drive engagement. They make a brand impossible to scroll past. Good storytelling helps a brand message land by giving it a hook, voice and payoff. Moonpig's Father's Day campaign with TRIBE saw @bamcomedyuk generate 2.6M views by exploring the father-in-law dynamic in their own comedic style. Finding the right fit means choosing a creator who can speak to your target audience, keep them watching and move them closer to an action. Thirty seconds of legitimately earned attention will always outweigh a flattened engagement rate.
BONUS POINTS: COMMERCIAL FIT
Creator fit has to make commercial sense. Spending an entire budget on one creator may buy an established voice, but if that voice doesn’t land, there’s nowhere for the message to go. Thorne's YouTube Shorts campaign with TRIBE saw seven wellness creators, each with their own angle, out-convert Thorne's brand-led ads by 38%.
Backing a mix of creators allows the brand to show up through different faces, formats and audience relationships, offering more ways to test, learn and build on what works.
The final call
In an ocean of creators, it’s easy to get lost chasing the biggest fish. But as creator selection becomes increasingly data-led, brands need stronger strategy behind every choice. The right creator isn't found in a single metric or a demographic filter. That call comes from weighing every signal available against the brief.
TRIBE brings the data, creator knowledge and campaign experience to make those calls with confidence, turning creator selection into a strategic mix built around outcomes. Ready to put the right creators to work for your brand? Talk to TRIBE.
