Before “link in bio” became one of advertising’s most valuable calls to action, brands depended on television commercials to sell products across nearly every category. A toy might be demonstrated by laughing children, a luxury fragrance promoted with sweeping images of the Amalfi Coast, or a celebrity endorsement aired during primetime. Advertising was mostly a one-way conversation: companies shaped the message, and consumers watched.

That model has changed. The messenger now looks different, and so does the advertising business around it. What started as an experimental marketing tactic has become one of the industry’s dominant strategies, with nearly every consumer brand working with creators to reach audiences that may exceed what traditional advertising once delivered. Much of the shift is tied to the personal nature of creator-led content.

The trend is also reflected in spending plans across the advertising industry as companies expand creator marketing budgets. A 2026 Influencer Marketing Hub survey found that 72.2% of respondents expect influencer marketing budgets to rise by at least 50% this year, underscoring how creator partnerships have become a central component of brand marketing strategies.

As those budgets grow, creator marketing is increasingly being treated less like a one-off social experiment and more like a formal advertising channel. That puts more emphasis on how brands select partners, brief campaigns, measure performance, and maintain audience trust when paid promotions appear inside everyday social content.

“Starting about 20 years ago, we began trusting individuals more than institutions,” Lia Haberman, creator economy expert and author of the ICYMI newsletter, told Fortune.

“A faceless corporation has never fit as naturally alongside social posts from neighbors, friends, family and community leaders,” Haberman said.

Creators reshaped who consumers trust

Social media broadened word of mouth from private conversations between friends into large communities organized around shared interests. As a result, consumers increasingly turned to creators whose recommendations appeared more personal than conventional corporate advertising.

Bloom Nutrition illustrates that shift. Founded by creators Mari Llewellyn and Greg LaVecchia, the company incorporated creator partnerships into its business from the start. “We’re a creator-founded brand,” Craig Heyne, VP of Performance Marketing at Bloom Nutrition, told Fortune. “It’s really been a major pillar of our marketing mix overall.”

Beauty, wellness, and fitness became early testing grounds for creator marketing because their products fit naturally into everyday creator content. Makeup tutorials, workout videos, and “get ready with me” routines blurred the boundary between entertainment and advertising, helping persuade marketers that creators could help build brands rather than simply sell individual products.

The rise of creator marketing has also changed the way brands collaborate with influencers. Instead of handing creators scripts after campaigns have already been completed, many companies now involve them earlier in the process, including product feedback and campaign concepts. “A lot of brands say, ‘We want you to be authentic,’ and then they give you all their talking points,” Heyne said.

Heyne said Bloom takes a different approach by giving creators space to produce content in their own voice, because audiences can recognize when recommendations feel genuine. He said social media platforms have made it easier for creators of many sizes to reach audiences and can elevate sincere reviewers.

“One of the major transitions we’ve seen, one of the most exciting ones we’ve seen, is just how these social platforms are empowering creators of all sizes and types,” Heyne said. “It doesn’t matter if you have 1,000 followers or 100,000 followers. Great content gets served out to everybody.”

Standing out as creator marketing becomes mainstream

As creator marketing becomes standard practice, the challenge has shifted. Brands no longer need as much convincing to invest in influencers; instead, creators face more pressure to distinguish themselves in a crowded market.

“The bar will be much higher for people who make it because they’ll need to be really unique and have a very interesting point of view,” Lindsay Brillson, executive creative director at Pika, told Fortune.

Brillson said AI is helping creators meet those rising expectations by accelerating editing, scripting, and production rather than replacing creators. “People just need to become more creative in order to be successful,” Brillson said.

The same pressure applies to brands. As more sponsored content competes for attention in social feeds, campaigns that look interchangeable can be easier for audiences to ignore. That makes the relationship between a creator’s point of view and a brand’s message more important than simply buying access to a large follower count.

But success has created a separate challenge. Once creators go viral, they may no longer be viewed as a next-door neighbor or someone familiar and trusted.

“Mega creators, like MrBeast or Alix Earle, are turning into the institutions they disrupted in the first place,” Haberman said.

Haberman said that does not mean influencer marketing is becoming less relevant. Instead, she believes its next phase will reward expertise and trust more than scale alone. “The recommendations from trusted sources, influencers who are subject matter experts and employees, will be the ones that actually stick.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com.