How to Measure Creator Marketing (Without Follower Count)

Creators aren’t a channel to buy.

They’re people to partner with.In this episode of Your CMO Mentor, we’re joined by Brit Starr, CMO at CreatorIQ, to break down what marketers need to understand about the creator economy and how to build creator programs that drive brand love + measurable business outcomes at the same time.

We talk about:

• Why follower count is “out” (and what matters more)

• How to pick creators using brand suitability + content performance

• Why creator retention is the biggest lever for sustained growth • How to report creator impact to leadership (from share of voice to revenue)

• Where AI helps and which “messy human bits” you should never automate

If you’re trying to balance CFO pressure with long-term brand building, this one’s for you.

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About the series - Your CMO Mentor

To help you level up, we get marketing’s brightest brains to open up! In this new series, we bring you honest, practical marketing mentorship from the people running the world’s biggest brands.

From Meta to LinkedIn, Adobe to Formula E, these leaders share insights, tactics, and real answers to your marketing challenges.

This podcast is designed for marketers at any level who want to grow, with real-world takeaways, not war stories.

Whether you’re solo in your role, scaling a team, or navigating your first CMO gig we’ve got your back.

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Thanks to our sponsor: Weglot: website translation that helps you keep tone of voice consistent across languages.

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00:00 Intro

04:26 Q1: If you started marketing today, what skills first?

05:37 Q2: What trait do you admire in marketers?

08:02 Q3: Dream mentor / biggest lesson

11:12 Q4: Advice to younger self

13:49 Creators as people, not channels

16:33 Stop treating creators like a media buy

21:15 Measuring creator work + reporting 24:49 Trust signals + why follower count is “out”

27:39 Top factors for choosing creators

30:23 AI + safety/suitability by brand + by market

37:07 What should not be automated?

44:18 Listener scenario