Creators Rule

Video Platforms and Brands Are Rolling Out the Red Carpet to Attract (and Retain) Digital Talent.

- T.L. Stanley

As an up-and-coming actress comedian, Laura Clery spent more than a year doing “free work,” posting on Facebook every day without fail, building an audience for her sketches, characters and video blogging.

Those days are over, as Clery is now one of the first digital influencers to take part in Facebook’s new revenue-sharing program, while also in discussions to make original content for the social media behemoth.

With her 3.1 million Facebook followers, dwarfing what she’d amassed on YouTube, Clery is part of the current crop of internet stars that’s set off a talent grab by Facebook, YouTube and other distribution platforms and brands like AT&T and Verizon’s go 90.

“There’s never been a better time to be a content creator because we’re being taken seriously,” said Clery, who’s turned her Facebook popularity into merchandise and advertising deals. “Brands and platforms are realizing the power, reach and connection we have with our audiences.”

At the recent VidCon industry gathering in Anaheim, Calif., and in the weeks since, these players have accelerated their pitches to content creators like never before, offering more support, state-of-the art production facilities and other tools for higher-quality videos, not to mention financial incentives.