Creator content generates up to 12x more engagement than brand-produced content.
Today, 48% of US consumers have made purchases directly through social media platforms and this is largely driven by creator endorsements and content.
It’s a clear sign that Influencer Marketing is evolving, and it's not just about awareness, but performance too.
YouTube is the OG platform for creators, launching in 2005 before Instagram in 2010 and TikTok in 2016. Influencers can upload long-form videos on the platform, incorporating detailed storytelling to deepen audience engagement, while its searchability ensures content remains discoverable over time. For example, if you're searching for a swatch of a new lip product or a review of a designer bag, you might come across a sponsored video from years ago that still influences your purchasing decisions. This means sponsored content on YouTube can continue converting customers long after it's uploaded.
Additionally, YouTube supports higher-quality production, diverse content formats for brand partnerships, and strong monetization options, incentivizing creators to consistently deliver valuable content.
Google states that 68% of YouTube users watched content on the platform to help make a purchase decision.
There are multiple ways that you can put creator-led sponsored content on YouTube.
First of all, there’s organic creator content that speaks authentically about your brand. This is the ideal way for DTC and retail brands, from beauty to food and beverage, to educate their audience on a product and show audiences how it fits into the daily lives of their favorite creators.
Popular organic content formats include:
To drive conversions, creators can add direct product links through the description box, QR codes, or YouTube Shopping. YouTube Shopping is a feature that allows brands to team up with e-commerce partners like Shopify to connect their stores to their YouTube channels and drive conversions.
YouTube shopping allows you to:
On-screen QR codes that link directly to your website, a landing page with the creator’s favorite products, or an automatic discount applied at checkout are other ways to drive conversions through organic content – especially as more users are streaming YouTube on their televisions.
In fact, in 2025, an estimated 68.8% of YouTube's 248.6 million monthly viewers will watch on CTVs. With the knowledge that 94% of consumers have mobile devices in hand while watching TV, they can raise their phone and scan a QR code on the television screen with ease – no need to exit the video.
Without paid amplification, it’s essential to optimize organic YouTube content for SEO. To do this, you should conduct thorough keyword research to write the video title and description, add tags with relevant keywords, and create thumbnails that encourage viewer interaction.
Influencer integrations that we work on with Surfshark consistently drive conversions. In fact, 65% of Surfshark’s product sales can be linked to YouTube influencer partnerships.
Organic creator content on YouTube is a great way to educate your audience on a product through in-depth storytelling. But to increase the likelihood of conversions, you also need to flood your target audiences’ feeds with reminders of your brand, new product launches, and exclusive discounts.
Meta cites a 15% increase in ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) for brands running Creator Ads over brand-produced ads. Creator Paid Ads use creator-style content in paid media placements and focus on what consumers truly value about video content – appealing to personal interests, being relevant, and reflecting their identity. Creators film the content following precise talking points so it can be run through the brand’s official handle/page. Instead of using creators to reach their audience, you collaborate with them to produce ads that feel platform native.
Here’s how they compare against brand-produced ads…
Commissioning Creator Paid Ads is more affordable than producing content via traditional routes of production. Creator Paid Ads also allow you to commission content from a wider variety of verticals, and test different creative approaches, which can be used to benchmark what delivers the most success.
You can also partner with multiple creators to produce content at the same time, allowing you to have a consistent stream of videos going live on your brand channels – this is especially useful for teams with low bandwidth and limited resources.
Once you identify what works for your product and which Creator Paid Ads are delivering the most success, you can quickly scale activity by identifying creators who produce similar content and access lookalike audiences.
To understand more about driving conversions with Creator Paid Ads, we produced a report with success stories, cheat sheets, and more.
Getting your Creator Paid Ads, SEO, and QR codes right doesn’t mean that your influencer collaborations on YouTube with automatically convert - you first need to understand the value of creators and how to work with them efficiently.
It's essential to focus on strategic collaboration when selecting your partners rather than just focusing on large follower counts or viral moments. Instead, prioritize engagement rates, audience alignment, and brand fit. The most authentic influencer partners are those who are already using your products and services.
Cosmetic brand Collection is proof that partnering with your brand longest longest-standing influencer fan pays off. Legacy YouTuber, Zoe Sugg, has been speaking organically about Collection’s lasting perfection concealer in her YouTube videos since she started posting in 2009.
With this knowledge, the brand collaborated with Zoe on a sponsored integration in a recent vlog, and in the sponsored segment, Zoe included snippets of all of the times she has mentioned her favorite Collection product over the past decade.
When the brand posted that its newest product release was Zoe Sugg-approved, it received comments such as:
“Iconic!!!! She’s the reason I use the og concealer.”
“Who didn’t buy this because of her?”
“not me buying the Lasting Perfection concealer when I was 15 because of @zoesugg and still use it now to this day in my late twenties.”
“Literally looked this up after watching the vlog yesterday.”
You should also look for creators who maintain active conversations with their communities. See how they interact with their audience in their comments and analyze their audiences’ responses to their sponsored content.
To further deepen your connection with an influencer and their audience, be a part of their community. Leave comments from your brand-owned channel in the comments to champion the collaboration, and also respond to audience feedback.
Influencer content is a proven driver of conversions on YouTube. Whether you’re partnering with influencer partners on an organic basis, optimizing your brand-owned content for SEO, incorporating shoppable features like YouTube Shopping and QR codes, or running Creator Paid Ads, brands can create a seamless journey from discovery to purchase.
Here’s what to do next:
To learn more about leveraging YouTube in your Influencer Marketing strategy, reach out to us at hello@digitalvoices.com.
