Digiday Releases Creator Marketing Index For Brands
Digiday's research provides insights into creator marketing strategies, helping brands make informed decisions about social media campaigns. The index analyzes engagement levels on leading creators' social media campaigns.
Original reporting · digiday.com
Original: “Digiday+ Research 2026 Creator Marketing Index: A brand guide to social media campaigns”
Read “Digiday+ Research 2026 Creator Marketing Index: A brand guide to social media campaigns” at Digiday →
How this was written. Content Catalyst wrote this article with a language model from Digiday’s reporting (model: @cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast); it describes that reporting rather than adding to it. The original, linked above, is the full story.
Key points from Digiday’s report
- Creator marketing is becoming a key component of many brands' marketing strategies.
- Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok are the most popular platforms for creator partnerships.
- The average engagement rate varies by platform, with Instagram Reels performing well.
- TikTok posts generate higher average engagement than posts on other platforms.
- Brands should consider their campaign goals and budget when choosing a platform for creator marketing.
As brands increasingly incorporate creator marketing into their strategies, the role of creators is evolving. Brands are using various approaches to partner with creators, including sponsored content and product gifting.
A recent survey found that nearly all brands and agencies partner with creators to produce social media content. The most popular platforms for these partnerships are Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok.
To better understand the impact of creator content on brand campaigns, Digiday conducted research analyzing engagement levels on social media campaigns. The research focused on the top posts associated with each campaign's hashtag.
The study collected data from a large number of social media posts and branded campaigns, scoring them based on key dimensions. The results provide a snapshot of the creator marketing landscape at a specific point in time.
The research found that platform performance varies across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Instagram Reels received more video views than YouTube's Shorts and long-form videos, while TikTok videos had higher average engagement.
The average engagement rate was highest on Instagram, with Reels performing the best among Instagram's formats. Still posts and Carousel posts also generated significant engagement, although at lower rates.
The top-performing posts were identified based on overall engagement, including likes and comments across platforms. Instagram accounted for the largest share of posts associated with campaign hashtags, but TikTok posts generated higher average engagement.
Questions and answers
What is the purpose of the Digiday Creator Marketing Index?
The index provides insights into creator marketing strategies, helping brands make informed decisions about social media campaigns.
Which platforms are most popular for creator partnerships?
Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok are the most popular platforms for creator partnerships.
How do brands typically partner with creators?
Brands partner with creators through sponsored content, product gifting, and other approaches.
