Creators are no longer just for buzz in 2026; they’re hired to sell

New Delhi: Influencer marketing is entering 2026 with a clearer job description. Brands are no longer treating creators as a top-of-funnel add-on. The expectation now is that creator activity should move audiences from discovery to action, with measurable outcomes tied to commerce, sign-ups, and revenue.

That shift is a central takeaway from AnyMind Group’s “State of Influence in APAC 2026” report, built on first-party data from its AnyTag platform. The report argues that as the creator economy matures, influencer marketing is moving from awareness-heavy spends to full-funnel programmes where creators function as conversion pathways, not just media placements.

The structural change is also visible in how brands are building creator mixes. The report notes that micro-influencers make up the largest share of the creator pool across markets, often exceeding 40%, while top stars remain the smallest segment. 

The implication is straightforward: scale increasingly comes from volume-led, networked creator programs rather than a handful of celebrity partnerships. For marketers, that is changing how briefs are written, how content is commissioned, and how success is defined.

From “influence” to performance systems

One of the report’s core observations is that more influencer campaigns are becoming performance-focused, with creators acting as conversion funnels. It also flags a parallel rise of creator-owned brands, suggesting the boundary between “creator as media” and “creator as merchant” is thinning fast.

In practice, this is pushing brands to treat creators less like one-off collaborators and more like repeatable distribution and sales partners.

This is where measurement expectations are tightening. AnyMind’s report signals a broader pivot away from engagement as a primary KPI, toward revenue-linked metrics that connect creator activity directly to ROI.

In its future outlook, it describes influence becoming “transactional” as social platforms evolve into direct sales channels through live commerce and shoppable content.

That shift is also visible in platform behavior. Short-form video continues to dominate discovery, while longer niche content is growing as a monetisation layer. The report frames this as a dual-speed ecosystem: fast content to win attention, deeper formats to build trust and drive consideration.

For creators, this changes content strategy. For brands, it changes creative planning, because a single “hero” film is less useful than modular assets designed to travel across formats and time windows.

Why “small creators” are getting bigger budgets

The report’s repeated emphasis on nano and micro creators is not just about authenticity. It is also about cost structure and controllable experimentation. Smaller creators offer brands a way to diversify risk across many communities, while still maintaining a coherent narrative through better briefing and platform-native production.

AnyMind flags a consumer preference trend here: audiences increasingly prefer nano and micro creators over mega influencers. It also highlights that sponsored content disclosure is now expected by audiences, signalling a maturity shift where transparency is no longer optional if brands want trust to sustain performance.

The playbook this creates for marketers is less glamorous but more scalable. Instead of “one big creator, one big burst,” campaigns now look like creator ecosystems that run continuously, with clear role allocation across the funnel.

That approach also aligns with how creator platforms and agencies are increasingly operating: as managed networks with repeatable processes, rather than purely talent-led relationships.

Live commerce moves from format to infrastructure

A second major theme is the tightening link between creators and commerce, especially through live shopping and affiliate-led conversion pathways. AnyMind’s report calls out the rise of commerce-forward creator behaviour, including the growing role of KOCs and KOS, particularly around live commerce activity.

This is where AnyMind’s own thinking in its live commerce content adds context. In a blog post on scaling live commerce with influencer networks, the company describes live commerce as a format that blends real-time interaction with instant purchasing and positions influencer networks as a way to streamline creator discovery, campaign operations, and multi-creator execution.

The point is not only reach. It is operational reliability: getting the right hosts, building repeatable show structures, and sustaining a schedule that audiences can return to.

Another AnyMind blog post frames live commerce as a compressed funnel, where awareness, product education, objection handling, and conversion can happen in a single session, driven by the host’s storytelling and real-time responses.

For brands, this is attractive because it makes attribution cleaner and outcomes more immediate. For creators, it turns content performance into commercial leverage.

Influencer marketing is being re-engineered as a measurable growth channel, not a brand campaign accessory. Creator selection is moving toward network strategies built around nano and micro density, with platforms chosen for specific roles in the journey. Content planning is shifting toward short-form discovery plus deeper trust formats.

Commerce integration is no longer a bonus layer; it is becoming the route to proving ROI. And as live shopping expands, the operational stack behind creator commerce, from host management to analytics, is becoming as important as the creative itself.

The most meaningful change is that creator marketing is starting to behave like a system. In 2026, the winners are likely to be brands that treat creerformance influence” at a premium.