Creators, Influencers, and Everything In-between: Rethinking Influencer Strategy in 2025

Join host Molly Baker and her two guests, as they unpack what is really happening in the influencer and creator world and how Indie is stepping into the space. From defining the difference between creators and influencers to talking through full funnel strategy, pricing, and measurement, they share how brands can move beyond one off posts into programs that actually drive impact. Along the way, they debate AI influencers, cold plunges, rage bait marketing, and low rise jeans, and dig into how AI can be both a helpful tool and a real risk to the human side of creativity. Whether you are a marketer trying to get more from your influencer budget or a brand leader wondering where to start, this conversation breaks down the noise and offers a clear, practical view of what comes next.

MB (Molly Baker): Without telling us who you are yet, what’s top of mind professionally today?

MC (Melissa Culbertson): Brands are fighting for attention in a world where everyone is scrolling nonstop. The big question is how you actually break through the noise now that there are more platforms, more content, and culture moves faster than ever.

MB: It’s constant.

BF (Becca Fair): For me it’s AI in creative, and what it means for photographers, videographers, and creators over the next three to five years. It’s changing quickly already. I keep thinking about how to use it ethically and how it can support the human element instead of replacing it, because people connect most with content that feels human.

MB: Are you optimistic or pessimistic about AI? Does it feel additive?

BF: I’m realistic. It’s not going away. I want to be optimistic, and I hope it doesn’t eradicate creative work. The move right now is learning how to use it in ways that work for you while still keeping the analog, human side alive.

MC: We’ve been testing it a lot, and we’ve had some funny creative fails.

MB: Part of the process.

MC: Total test and learn.

MB: Brag about yourself. What are you really good at?

MC: Teaching. I first discovered it through teaching group fitness, and then it carried into leadership roles. I love helping people make sense of complicated things and guiding teams through it.

MB: That’s a great one.

BF: Mine is ideas. I thrive at the beginning of projects, brainstorming and thinking about what people actually want to see. I’m chronically online, so I’m constantly clocking trends and cultural moments and using that as fuel.

MC: I can vouch. Becca is really, really good at it.

MB: What’s advice you got early in your career that you still think about?

MC: Do the hard thing first.

MB: Eat the frog?

MC: Exactly. If you avoid the hard thing, it hangs over you all day. If you do it first, everything else feels lighter.

BF: And it’s almost never as bad as you imagined.

MC: Never.

BF: Mine is something my dad has said forever: don’t give up what you want most for what you want in the moment. It’s a good filter for decisions, work ethic, and how you show up day to day. It keeps you focused on the bigger picture.

MB: Both are so good.

MB: What relationship has been most impactful professionally?

MC: I don’t think it’s just one person. I’ve worked in different industries with a lot of different people, and I’ve learned something from almost everyone, coworkers, bosses, mentors. You stack those lessons over time and it shapes how you work. It also proves there’s no single right way to do things.

MB: That’s the beauty of a career if you’re open to it.

MC: Totally.

MB: Becca, what about you?

BF: A professor in my last semester of college. I studied broadcast journalism, and we were making traditional news packages, but I was pushing to cut everything into 9:16 for Instagram and Twitter. This was 2020 or 2021, and social was huge, but news wasn’t adapting the same way yet. He told me I was good at it and to lean into short form video. That gave me the confidence to take what I was learning in broadcast and apply it to social, and it changed my path.

MB: I love a professor moment.

BF: Professors get a bad rep sometimes.

MB: They do, but the great ones really stick with you.

MB: Okay, now tell us who you are and what we’re talking about today.

MC: I’m Melissa Culbertson, director of creative services at Indie.

BF: I’m Becca Fair, a creative specialist at Indie.

MB: And we’re talking about Indie’s influencer services. Melissa, what does that actually mean?

MC: We’re launching influencer services to help clients figure out the best approach based on their goals, and then integrate influencer into the broader marketing ecosystem. Brands know they need to be in the space and they’re spending money, but they aren’t always sure how to do it, how much to spend, how to measure impact, or what to pay creators. We bring structure to all of that. It’s not a one off campaign, it’s how influencer fits into the consumer journey.

MB: Influencer used to be simple. Send product, get a post, move on. Now it’s micro and macro creators, niche communities, audience specific spokespeople. It’s a lot.

MC: Exactly. It’s moved from one off to evergreen. I’ve been in this space since 2009, and it’s evolved so much, but it still feels like we’re early in what it can become.

MB: Becca, from the consumer side, what are people expecting from influencers and creators now?

BF: People are very tuned in. They know what influencer marketing is and they’re following people intentionally. It’s not the Wild West anymore where you’re guessing if something is sponsored. Audiences are more aware, so marketers have to be smarter. Products need to fit the creator’s lifestyle and content, and brands need to choose partners strategically, not just chase big follower counts. People aren’t over influencers, they’re just more selective about who they trust.

MB: They can smell inauthenticity.

BF: Completely. But if you’ve followed someone for a long time and you trust them, their recommendation is powerful. That’s when influencer marketing really works.

MB: So why did Indie decide to build this out now?

BF: Because we already serve clients full funnel through paid media, creative, and strategy. We’ve done influencer work in one off ways, but clients kept coming to us asking for more formal support. They often thought it lived under creative or paid, but it’s really its own discipline. Since we’re already integrated into their marketing, we can connect the dots and make influencer work harder. We also have real experience on the brand side, agency side, and creator side. Melissa has led influencer programs and has creator experience, and I’ve been a fractional influencer resource for a client for years. Now we’re packaging all of that into a robust service offering.

MB: Are you focusing on a specific tier of influencer, or is everything on the table?

MC: Everything is on the table. It depends on the business goals. Micro and nano can be incredibly valuable because audiences are smaller but more engaged and there’s real trust. Macro still has a place too. The big shift is moving away from the idea that one large influencer will change everything. You need the right creators at the right points in the funnel.

MB: How do you measure success and impact?

MC: Data is central. We use it to select creators and to evaluate performance. Up front we look at audience demographics, engagement rate, content quality, and audience authenticity. Are followers real or inflated? For measurement, earned media value is one way we benchmark ROI, because it helps quantify the value of exposure generated. It also helps us see who over delivered and who we should keep working with.

BF: And because influencer marketing is expensive, budget strategy matters. We want to use dollars wisely, which often means mixing tiers and knowing when you need an influencer versus when you need a creator. Sometimes you need UGC creators who can make beautiful content without influencing an audience directly. Sometimes you need niche creators. If a client is in the bread making world, you work with someone who makes bread content daily, because their audience is already primed to care about products that support that hobby. The job is matching the right people, expectations, and spend.

MB: If someone is brand new to this, what’s the simplest way to define creator versus influencer?

BF: Creators create an asset. Influencers influence purchase.

MB: Perfect.

BF: Influencers are authority. You’re paying for the trust and persuasion. Creators are production. You’re paying for the content itself. Both matter. Someone can have messy hair and bad lighting and still drive sales because their audience trusts them. Someone else can have incredible visuals and never show their face and still create high value assets for a brand.

MC: All influencers are creators, but not all creators are influencers.

MB: Becca, you brought up AI earlier. How is AI showing up in influencer marketing right now?

BF: You’re seeing experiments like the Sora project with Jake Paul, where he licensed his name and likeness and shows up in AI generated content on TikTok. People know what it is and it’s framed as a social experiment. What worries me is when the line gets blurry and a new “person” grows fast, people connect with them, and then realize they aren’t real. Influencing at its core is human connection. If you remove that, what’s left besides entertainment and brain rot?

BF: I also saw news about an AI musical artist charting in the UK and getting a record deal. Music and art are human expression. If it’s perfectly generated with no human element, it starts to feel hollow.

MC: And people do feel deceived when they find out something is AI. Where AI can be helpful is behind the scenes: tools that use AI to find creators, match brand needs, and make the selection process smarter. That’s where it should live, not as fake people.

BF: Early on, AI was marketed as a way to automate tedious tasks. Now it’s entering roles that always felt inherently human. I’m pro tools that make work easier, but it’s a slippery slope when it starts replacing the parts we never wanted to hand off.

MB: On the flip side, it does raise questions about how we define an artist or creator if the skill becomes knowing how to train and direct AI. It’s a rabbit hole.

MC: It’s like pet influencers in a weird way. The person behind it is doing the work, but the face is something else.

BF: I’m reading The Creative Act by Rick Rubin, and he talks about a Go grandmaster who was beaten by an AI. It’s sad at first, but then you learn the AI won by making moves the human would never make. It learned from scratch without interference, and it became creative in its own way. The takeaway is that humans can use that idea too. Beginner mindset, fewer assumptions, less noise. AI can inspire better thinking if we treat it as a tool, not a replacement.

MB: I love that framing.

MB: If you had to predict what’s next in influencer marketing, what would you bet on?

MC: True full funnel influencer strategies. Influencer has lived in awareness for a long time, but brands want return. We need creators throughout the funnel, not just top of funnel. That includes affiliate, product seeding, events, and longer term programs, not just one campaign and done.

BF: I think we’ll see more niching down and more premium content. Tastemakers will keep growing. Substack is growing because people want thought leadership. Patreon, Instagram subscriptions, paywalls, all of it. People want exclusive content from creators they trust, and creators will get smarter about monetizing through premium and subscription models.

MB: Where can people learn more about Indie’s influencer services?

MC: You can learn more on our website, or reach out directly on LinkedIn.

You can find Becca and Melissa on LinkedIn. For additional information, visit indie-consulting.com or connect with the Indie Consulting team on LinkedIn.

As for us, follow @namedrop.pod on Instagram & LinkedIn and@molbakes on Instagram for all future episodes and insights.