Podcast Summary: "The Future Is Human: How to Scale Your Creator Marketing Program (Without Losing Trust)"

Podcast: DTC Podcast
Host: DTC Newsletter and Podcast (Eric Dick)
Guest: Donatus (Billo)
Date: November 12, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode explores the evolving landscape of creator and influencer marketing for DTC (direct-to-consumer) brands, focusing on how to scale programs without sacrificing authenticity or trust. Donatus, co-founder of Billo, discusses building scalable systems for creator content, leveraging AI for strategic growth, data-driven creator selection, balancing AI and human input, navigating "Andromeda" era algorithms, and the rise of answer engine optimization (AEO). The discussion delves into practical advice, AI’s role, ethical concerns around AI influencers, and predictions for the industry’s future.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Evolution of Creator Marketing

• From a Marketplace to a System

  • Billo started in 2020 to connect smaller brands with creators, providing affordable, scalable ad content (01:05).
  • The market moved from prioritizing follower count to focusing on content performance—algorithmic virality trumps audience size (02:07).
  • Modern creator marketing must be systematic: testing, learning, and iterating in continuous cycles (03:13).

  Donatus: "It doesn't really matter that much how many followers creators have. Since the algorithms of social networks are mostly about viral moments now and virality of the content." (02:13)

2. How the System Works

• Systematic Approach
  • Brands partner with creators for both organic posting and paid ads.
  • Performance signals are gathered from organic posts to inform future ad creation.
  • AI brief generators help match products with creators based on real purchase and ad performance data (00:00; 03:13; 27:43).
  • Billo now directly suggests next steps to clients, connecting to Meta ad accounts for seamless optimization (03:13).

3. Understanding the Andromeda Era

• Personalization at Scale

  • Algorithms now act like concierges, pairing creative with the right audience across billions of ad variations (05:14).
  • The secret to success: test multiple messages, concepts, and creatives as nobody knows what will go viral (06:00).
  • Psychological segmentation ("why are people buying?") is more effective than relying solely on demographics (07:40).

  Eric: "He talked about ... not by their demographic segment, but by their underlying emotion about the product … that’s the kind of thinking that’s going to win in Andromeda.” (07:40)

4. Continuous Testing, Diversity & Redundancy

• Content Fatigue and Necessity for Freshness
  • The social algorithm is a “black hole of content fatigue”; keep iterating and cross-posting (10:47).
  • Allow creators to "go nuts" and add their own unique takes to maximize diversity and reach new audiences (11:54).

5. AI's Role: Tool, Not Face

• Embracing AI Wisely

  • Billo uses AI for productivity: generating ad briefs, matching brands with proven creators, and producing content mashups.
  • Strict rejection of AI “clone avatars” for promoting products due to concerns over authenticity, trust, and regulatory compliance (13:40; 16:12).
  • Human accountability and authentic connection remain paramount.

  Donatus: “AI is for us is a tool, it’s not a face. We keep the human accountable. We keep the voice of the creator for max authenticity.” (17:24)

6. The Future of AI & Human Collaboration

• Where AI-Generated Personas Fit

  • AI personas and virtual influencers will remain, but transparency is needed (14:36).
  • Anticipates rise of "human only" platforms and tech for detecting authenticity (16:51; 24:29).

  Donatus: “Give it, like three, six months—we're gonna see a wave of ‘we are human only’ this, ‘we are human only’ that, we’re weaponizing human things.” (16:51)

7. Partnership (Whitelisted/Spark) Ads

• Maximizing Trust and Reach

  • Meta’s partnership ads (formerly whitelisting) and TikTok Spark ads outperform typical brand-handle ads.
  • Billo integrates partnership ads directly, letting brands run ads through their best creators for higher CTR and lower CPA (20:12).

  Donatus: “Partnership ads ... definitely a thing to go. ... It's just a way more convenient way to run an ad.” (20:12)

8. Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) & Search Trends

• AEO vs. SEO—The New Frontier

  • As people turn to AI chatbots (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini) for answers, ranking in these engines matters more than traditional SEO (22:13).
  • Social media mentions, content, and reviews increasingly influence these answer engines.

  Donatus: "AEO is how high and how fast you rank or appear in the answers of your ChatGPT, of your Claudes, of your Geminis." (22:13)

9. Ethics and the Future of Authenticity

• Draw the Line on AI-Generated People
  • Non-existent humans shouldn’t promote real products: accountability, legal, and ethical risks (16:12).
  • Predicts startups will emerge to verify authenticity and platforms will label synthetic vs. real content (24:29).

10. Practical Playbook for DTC Brands (3–10M Revenue)

• First Three Months on Billo ([Summary at 27:43]):

  • Budget: Allocate ~20% of social ad spend to creator content.
  • Content: $200 per ad (creators and post production); $100–$250 for social/partnership posts.
  • System: Use AI brief generators and performance data to match with creators.
  • Process: Start with organic posts for signals, iterate, cross-post, scale with partnership ads.
  • Support: Dedicated customer success managers assist brands.

  Donatus: "We really want to give them data backed direction with very reasonably priced creative. And honestly that is probably the best thing that could be done today with creator marketing." (29:12)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Followers vs. Performance:

  "It doesn't really matter that much how many followers creators have ... social networks are mostly about viral moments now ..." — Donatus (02:13)

• On AI’s Limits:

  "Nobody knows at the end of the day what's going to perform, no matter how magician they sound ... you need a direction which is backed by data." — Donatus (03:34)

• On Letting Creators “Go Nuts”:

  "A huge portion of the content should be ... let the creator define those things and help them connect with similar audiences and it works like a charm, especially if they love your product." — Donatus (09:52)

• On AI “Face” vs. AI as a Tool:

  "AI is for us is a tool, it’s not a face. ... At the end of the day, the human is accountable. AI is used as a tool, not a face." — Donatus (17:24, 18:57)

• On Authenticity Crisis:

  "There’s already a crisis of authenticity ... even with real creators, there is that worry sometimes." — Eric (15:51)

• On AEO and Search:

  "AEO is how high and how fast you rank or appear in the answers of your ChatGPT ... So it's definitely a topic for this year and even next year for e-commerce." — Donatus (22:13)

Important Segment Timestamps

| Topic | Timestamp | |---------------------------------------------|---------------| | AI Brief Generators & Data-Driven Matching | 00:00; 27:43 | | Billo’s Marketplace Evolution | 01:05 | | The Shift to Systematic Creator Marketing | 02:07–03:13 | | Andromeda Era Algorithm Metaphor | 05:14–06:00 | | Audience Segmentation by Emotion | 07:40–08:51 | | Diversity, Redundancy, & Testing | 10:47–12:13 | | Gen Z & Generational Perspectives | 12:13–12:53 | | Stance on AI Influencers & Ethics | 13:40–16:12 | | Future of “Human Only” Platforms | 16:51–17:18 | | Using AI as a Supportive Tool | 17:24–18:57 | | Long Term Creator Partnerships | 19:09 | | Meta & TikTok Partnership Ads | 20:12 | | Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) | 22:13 | | Recommendations for Scaling w/ Billo | 27:43–29:58 | | Audience and Performance-Based Creator Selection | 29:58 | | The Power of Organic + Paid | 30:33 |

Final Thoughts

Key Takeaways:

• Viral content wins—algorithms now value resonance over reach.
• Test fast, test often; let creators have creative freedom.
• Use data to select creators and iterate content.
• AI is best used as a productivity tool, not as a synthetic persona.
• Authenticity will become a key differentiator as AI influencers proliferate.
• Brands should focus on partnership ads (Meta/TikTok) and prepare for the rise of AEO.
• The future remains dynamic, and while AI will further shape marketing, “human things” will always cut through the noise.

Action Steps for Brands:

• Implement systematic, data-backed creator programs.
• Allocate a significant portion of creative budget to iterative, diverse testing.
• Consider platforms that measure actual ad performance, not just social metrics.
• Maintain vigilance on authenticity and ethical AI use.

To try Billo or learn more, visit billo.app.

(End of Summary)