How Brand Size Affects Your Creator Pay

As a creator, there are a multiple things to take into consideration when pricing your work. Between trying to calculate how much to charge based on your reach, experience, and the job requirements did you know the size of the company also affects your creator pay? When we analyzed thousands of pieces of data for our sponsored post calculator, we found some surprising insights- namely that, brand size matters and it's not always the biggest brands that pay the most.

In this post we're going to walk through the different brand sizes, how to determine brand size, and how we can help you figure that out for your next brand deal.

How many brand sizes are there? 

For our calculator we have 5 classifications of brand sizes: Mom & Pop, Startup, Small Business, Medium Business, and Large Enterprise. We've borrowed these terms from the corporate world but with a creator twist to help you determine what size brand is hiring you. Source & the Small Business Administration

Mom & Pop: most likely local small business not known outside of your area. These may also be etsy shops, local area restaurants NOT affiliated with a restaurant group, and independently owned retail stores. Very rare to see paid brand deals from them, they're a small business too- consider a product trade. In full transparency, of the data we have from Mom & Pop sized businesses paying influencers, the highest value was $200 for a TikTok by a mid-tier sized influencer.

Startup: While there are many classifications of startups, our data set recognizes a start up as a high-growth companies with outside (venture capital) funding. Early startups with low-funding (i.e. under $2M) operate much like a Mom & Pop classification, so our Startup classification is any high-growth business with outside funding over $2M.

Small Business: Is not the "small business" that you are as a creator. These are actually self-sustaining companies with significant revenue and up to 100 employees. Their revenue is between $5M-$20M and generally serve a regional area (like the Southeast) or a niche online market (like clean beauty). They're likely to have a small dedicated marketing team that works internally or hire a local agency to help them execute social media campaigns.

Medium Business: 100-1000 employees with up to $1B in revenue but not the international brand recognition of a large enterprise. Like your Dick's Sporting Goods, Restoration Hardware, Crocs, Shutterstock, LL Beans.

Large Enterprise: Big household names that have billions (if not trillions) of dollars in annual revenue and employee 1000's of people. Your Facebook's, Target's, Coca-Cola, banks, and etc.

Why does brand size matter to a creator? 

Brand size matters because it lets creators know who spends more on marketing each year and during each promotional period. Meaning, the larger the marketing budget, the more the brand is willing to pay a creator for the campaign.

How can Hashtag Pay Me help me figure out brand size? 

By using our platform, you can browse our list of brand contacts to see what size brand the contact is and then use our calculator to determine the best rate for that campaign. We make it incredibly easy to make sure you are getting paid right for the work being asked of you by the brand that's hiring you. If you still have further questions on a certain brand, you can always email us to help you determine the best fit.

So there you have it. A *brief* introduction to brand size and why it matters for your creator pay.

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