January 17th, 2023, Bhavika Bansal
Where there used to be significant cost and technological barriers to content creation, it is now accessible like never before. Greater internet connectivity, widespread adoption of smartphones, ease of access to basic but good quality equipment (lighting, sound, recording, etc.) and consumers’ growing hunger for authenticity have together contributed to the creation of a sizeable ‘’creator economy’’. With the creator industry valued at an estimated USD 100 million, content creation can no longer be written off as a fad. But how do social content creators fare across international markets and which type of creators are most popular?
Data from a recent YouGov poll reveals that just above a third of global consumers (33%) say they do not follow any of the given types of content creators. This, however, still leaves a majority of consumers who follow some types of social content creators, which spells good news for the approximately 50 million people around the world who identify as content creators – professional and amateur.
There is mixed news in different parts of the world, however. Almost half of North American respondents (47%) and two-fifths of Europeans (41%) say they do not follow any of the given types of social content creators, significantly outpacing the global average. On the other hand, less than a fifth of APAC consumers (19%) and fewer than one in ten consumers in the UAE (8%) say the same, indicating a much greater appetite for such content and more growth opportunities for social content creators in these markets.
Despite having a significantly larger following in the UAE and APAC markets as a proportion of the population, the top three spots across all regions are occupied by food content creators (Europe, 22%; North America, 19%; UAE, 42%; APAC, 37%), lifestyle content creators (Europe, 16%; North America, 15%; UAE, 35%; APAC, 31%) and travel content creators (Europe, 15%; North America, 12%; UAE, 34%; APAC, 29%).
Similarly, skincare and beauty content creators (Europe, 13%; North America, 11%; UAE, 25%; APAC, 23%) and movie/music content creators (Europe, 13%; North America, 12%; UAE, 22%; APAC, 25%) sit in the middle of the pack across all regions.
Followed by less than a tenth of European (7%) and North American (7%) respondents and less than a fifth of APAC respondents (14%), automotive content creators are the least popular social content creators in all global markets except for the UAE – where this spot is taken by video game content creators (18%).
More interesting nuances are revealed when we take a gendered look at the types of content creators followed by global respondents.
Though one of the most-followed social content creators amongst both male and female respondents, food content creators are significantly more popular amongst female respondents (32%) than males (22%).
And while they are least popular type of social content creators among both genders, automotive content creators find more takers among male respondents. About fifth of male respondents (15%) follow the genre compared to a twentieth of female respondents (5%)
Our male and female respondents have differing views when it comes to most other categories of social content creators. However, travel content creators (male, 19%; female, 22%) and music/movie content creators (male, 18%; female 17%) are almost equally popular in both groups.
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Methodology: YouGov RealTime Omnibus provides quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. The data is based on surveys of adults aged 18 and over in 18 markets with sample sizes varying between 1,86 and 9,155 for each market. All surveys were conducted online in November 2022. Data from each market uses a nationally representative sample apart from Mexico and India, which use urban representative samples, and Indonesia and Hong Kong, which use online representative samples. Learn more about YouGov RealTime Omnibus.
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