Michelle Than (2:41)

It's gonna be interesting to see what you give us. Those are all like, really cool things. So thank you for sharing that. So let's get into it. First, your career pivot. What inspired your leap into the creator economy and ultimately Collective V?

Claire Sidman (2:55)

Yeah, so I have always been passionate about people, products, brands and ideas and kind of how those come together. You know, this has. This thread has guided my career from the brand side to the platform side. And what was really, really natural was to go over to the creator side. I tend to be a, an analyst, a studier of the four Cs, which is consumer category, culture and consumption. And I tend to follow where attention is going. So where attention is shifting from a consumption standpoint. And during my time at TikTok, it was really breakout for the time of the creator finding that creators were more than just producers. There was really a renaissance happening during that time where creators were emerging as small businesses. It was really the jumpstart of the creator economy and I wanted to do more. I wanted to be on the front lines of building tools that help power the creator economy, helping creators really build and scale their businesses and also advocate for them for business opportunities and to be treated like businesses, to have the partnerships and earnings that any entrepreneur would want. So Collective Voice was a natural next step for me.

Michelle Than (4:15)

Yes, I love it. And I've been able to partner with Collective Voice a few times, which I'm super excited about. I know we did an article about the creator economy and I'll link that down below you all so you can like just go and see all about what Collective Voice is about and just some of the things that we've been able to do. We just did an amazing webinar.

Claire Sidman (4:34)

I was just gonna say, Michelle, were did an incredible back to school week. We did Creators going back to school and Michelle came and gave so much amazing advice. So definitely tune in to get her tips and tricks on our platform as well. You know, I think you have so much to offer and I'm just really excited that we get to keep the conversation going on new and fresh topics.

Michelle Than (4:55)

Yes, yes. I love it. So you really do champion. Champion a creator first philosophy, which I love. Let's paint the picture. What does that really look like, especially in 2025 is changing. Social media is always changing. And what. Why does it even matter?

Claire Sidman (5:11)

I would say the only thing that in life is constant is change other than, you know, birth and death. Right. So it's the agility and the understanding of how do you look at the landscape and then strategize to get the most out of what is happening. And right now it is creators are at the center like they have been for the past five years. If you're a brand and you're listening like, and you aren't 100% in today, just did an article this week that basically said creators and affiliate and monetization are at the heart of the creator strategy. And I think it's, it's not a nice to have anymore. It is now a core part of the media mix. Creators being seen as media outlets. With that creators bring trust and credibility. That is their superpower. And from there, that is what brands need. And so they have to borrow the equity because consumers don't trust brands. We live in an age where that has been gone for some time. And so the role of the creator to deliver that message in their own voice is so, so critical. And I think that's one of the most surprising things about 25. I feel like we're probably going to get here anyway, but there was an article in the New York Times that said that brands are taking back social media. And I'm like, when did brands ever have social media? You know, creators built social media. It is their medium, it is their platforms. And brands need them for that trust and that credibility because relevance is what is driving market share. And you can't do that from a brand voice alone. So that's what creator first is, is really putting creators in the driver's seat, having them at the heart and soul of everything that you do and bringing them into the kitchen with you.

Michelle Than (7:06)

And I do believe creators have built social media. It's been just an amazing ride and just I may be dating myself, but I can't, you know, I'm from the MySpace days. We had a wall and all the things AOL chat. So yeah, I'm dating myself a little bit. So I kind of seen the evolution. So for us to be now in 2025 saying like, you can be a creator, talking about whatever, there's book, Instagram book, TikTok, there's so many things, right? And so I know one thing about my community, which leads me to my next question. Community juggles ebooks, their coaches, maybe merch, right? The social media decoded just came out with some recent, recent merch too. And so I'm multi passionate. So how do multi passionate founders like myself stay clear without shrinking our genius? I feel like we have so much to offer and sometimes it can get cloudy.

Claire Sidman (7:56)

So I think, you know, one of probably the most overused strategies is like, you have to find your niche. And I say that it's overused in conversation because people are like, what does that mean, really? But I think that strategy is still correct. But you are multi passionate. How does that come to life? Because you're going to be pulled in so many different directions. I feel like creators ask themselves. I have all of these passions pulling me in different directions, but I need to stay, like, to my niche. I need to have my brand right, my personal brand. But I think you need to think I'd encourage creators to not think about it as a point of limitation, but thinking about it as a core truth of, like, this is who I stand for, and here are the areas that I can flex to in and out of. Right? What is the core line that can expand across multiple categories? I'll give you an example. Okay, so I'm a millennial mom. Like, that is who I am. I am not a creator. But what am I passionate about? Similar to a millennial mom that's passionate about wellness and motherhood, home decor. My core message as a creator could just simply be about simplifying modern life, you know, and everything aligns for those verticals. So it's less about the what and more about the why. Like, why do I identify within home decor and wellness and travel? And it all comes back to simplification, right? That is what I am going to deliver. And that's why my message and my personal brand is going to really align with my followers and my community.

Michelle Than (9:30)

I love that. Shout out to the millennials.

Claire Sidman (9:33)

I'm an elder.

Michelle Than (9:33)

I call myself an elder millennial. I'll be 40.

Claire Sidman (9:36)

I am, too, Michelle.

Michelle Than (9:37)

I'll be 40. Not this year. So I'm turning 39 this year, but 40 is next year, and I'm really excited about it. Like, I feel like millennials, we've been through a lot, right? We've been through a lot. We've seen a lot of changes with social media. And you're right. I think that if we try to fit ourselves into a box, I don't think we have to do that anymore. And so even myself, I'm in a pivot right now with what type of content like, that I'll be sharing, just continuing to evolve my brand as a creator, as a business owner. So I really. I really, really love that. And I want to talk about next, like, just how can we really keep focus as creators, too? Like, something that we can do today, right, to get our brand in front of more people. And just really what I heard you talk about is, like, this creator first North Star narrative, like, I think that's goal, like focusing on, yes, us as, like you said, if you're a millennial mom, if you are a fitness person, but also staying true to ourselves. So, like, what's a homework assignment? Because we just got done with school. Right. So let's continue on with that. So what's a homework assignment and what clarity check can we do tonight to, like, make sure that we're moving in the right direction?

Claire Sidman (10:42)

Think this brings us really nicely into some of the things that are happening in the news cycle right now. So, you know, I would say that authenticity is the new algorithm where the algorithms used to determine your discoverability. Now you're personal brand and creators are a little bit more in control in the driver's seat, Right? So within the news cycle, we know that Google is now crawling social media posts and handles and that you can show up in search results. This is a renaissance for creators, truly, I think for brands. You know, it's been said it's the biggest thing to happen in search. It's also the biggest thing to happen for creators in terms of discoverability, because it's giving a level playing ground for the first time in the past 20 years. It's been a long time. Like, you and I have both lived it from the beginning, and I think this is the opportunity. So when we talk about how you gain trust and how you drive that reach and how you're continuing to grow, the future of social commerce is really being built on these new discoverability opportunities that the platforms are giving. You know, no longer is the algorithm. It's kind of like when social first started and organic content and there before we got over algorithm and there was so much paid content. And how did you get discovered? That was the algorithm. But now, you know, the authenticity that a creator has and what their content pillars are and how they're able to bring those to the forefront. Is really critical. So I know you said we're in school, so I have a little assignment for everyone that's listening, which is to open up your Google search bar. And maybe, Michelle, you'll do this with me right now and just hit that search bar and because I'm going to keep my millennial mom trend going, because it is who I am put in Millennial mom style into Google. And I want you to tell me what you see in terms of the top search results. Are you seeing blog posts, reels? Are you seeing creators? Like, when I just did it alongside you? I'm seeing poor little, like, girl ranking at the top. She's actually one of our collective voice creators, which is totally ironic. When I did this and I was like, wow, she's, she's standing out. But I think for creators in these spaces, you know, this is an area where you can win. Think about clean beauty, budget travel, sustainable fashion. This shift is massive and a huge opportunity for creators to really take hold of their discoverability. And that means big earning opportunities. So I think that's what I'm most excited about. And our school assignment for our listeners.

Michelle Than (13:21)

No, yes, that is a great assignment. And yes, I see millennial moms, like, in their closets and all the things. So, yeah, let's stop overthinking it. Today I was like, you know what? I could just share a lot of B roll footage too, about my everyday life, things I'm doing, getting coffee. Right. And not make it so hard. Not even make it so hard.

Claire Sidman (13:41)

Absolutely. That's your everyday operating rhythm, right? And you can be at the top ranked and discoverable for that. And then you can bridge that into some more of your thought leadership. You can bridge it into your merge. You can bridge it into so many different content verticals that you have as a brand.

Michelle Than (13:59)

I love this. And this, this takes us into the next thing I want to talk about too, virality, because, oh, my goodness, so many people are chasing this. And you, all the listeners know how I feel about going viral. But brands still chase viral trends and wipe out because you can't, you can't keep up with it. What are they getting wrong with this thought process?

Claire Sidman (14:19)

Mistaking relevance for renaissance? And I say that because you can chase a trend, you can catch that lightning in the bottle. You can have that. I often say, coach creators on what are you going to do next? So it happens. Are you actually prepared for what happens next? What is your resupport? What is your strategy plan like? What other content do you have coming? Are you ready for it? Because you can't manufacture it. But if you're true to who you are, I think you know, that's really coming back to the values. We also know that from. I'm going to come back to the four Cs, right? In terms of consumption and where people are really still coming to social is to find people like them that are in these communities that care about the same things that they do. So that's by lining the values, much more so than a trending song or a filter is going to give you the best shot at morality. But what I would say is don't taste that Think about the bigger game, like, what are you going to do after? How are you going to help build your brand? And if you deviate away to chase the trend and then someone lands on your page, they're going to be like, oh, I thought this person did X, Y or Z trend. What is all of this other content? I'm confused now. I'm disinterested now. That creator may not seem authentic to me and I'm not interested in the future opportunity of building a relationship with them. Right. And in even bigger terms, buying from them, listening to their recommendations, are they trustworthy? The consumer is really, really savvy. And so thinking about your community in that way, I think really helps you put the picture on where should I lean in and have some fun with trends and which ones should I probably just like pass on?

Michelle Than (16:14)

Ooh, this is so good. This is such a masterclass you all. I hope you all are taking notes. Okay, definitely take all the notes because this is so good. So one thing I want to talk about is inclusive monetization. And I know that collective voice is turning influence into ownership for smaller or historically overlooked creators as well. And so how is collective voice doing this and tapping into this?

Claire Sidman (16:36)

Yeah, I think one of the biggest things I kind of touched on this earlier is that creator, affiliate monetization, I know it was early, but it's definitely like the mainstay. It's because it's a great testing ground, right? It's how you can build up your personal brand, learn what works, figure out which brands you have affinity with that you share values with. Right now we just did some research and 83% of creators are already familiar with affiliate marketing and over half of them are already using it. It is not emerging anymore. It is expected. It is expected. And I think that arms creators with a portfolio and a media kit to be able to step up, right, to get those brand partnerships. But it takes time. And so what are you doing in the meantime as you're building your personal brand and as you want to start making money? We did a generational research report. We actually found that 92% of creators, especially Gen Z's and millennials, see content creation as a full time job. They are thinking of content creation, that 92% as a serious career. Once again, this isn't like a side hustle. They're going to start as a side hustle, but affiliate is really, and that's where collective voice is coming in, is to help them have that testing ground to learn how to grow and scale their personal brand. Alongside being able to grow monetization. Because it is hard to have two jobs at the beginning. It is. It's time consuming, right? We talk about burnout a lot. We just talked about it last week on the webinar. But with that, I think it's really important that creators can start to see results. And it's results beyond engagement and follower growth like that is part of the game. But being able to curate a really highly engaged audience that converts, that is power. That is power as a creator. For you to be marketable, for you to be able to stand up a business and to be able to say, this is my value and why I should be included as you grow. That's one of the things that we're really passionate about at Collective Voice, which is why we did the whole Back to school Creator Education week, because we were like, you know, what do creators need in Q3? They need to be getting ready for the super bowl, which is Q4. So let's go back to school. Let's just have some basics. Let's take some time to get ready, because we know no one has time in Q4. And so it's with that same lens that we say we talk to emerging creators. So if you have a thousand followers, you have 5,000 followers, 25 or 250, there's creator education. There's things that you can be doing every step of the way. And that's where, like Michelle, you coach on this every day. We coach on this. It's so important to give the resources for creators so that they can reach their dreams, which is to be full time content creators and brands.

Michelle Than (19:41)

Ooh, I just got chills. This is so good. Because anybody can be a creator and you could be over 40. I know, you know, we didn't touch on this, but there's so many creators. Women send up ladies, right? You're over 40 who may be in a job that you hate. This is my story, right? And you want more and you want to be able to do something that's so fun. It is so fun to me that I get to talk to people like Claire on my podcast that this is something that I created and that I get to generate revenue from, all because I had skills and I put it out there, right? And so I love that you all did that school, because you're right. Equipping creators, business owners, influencers with the tools and resources that you can use now, if you implement them right? Because if you don't implement them, then nothing will happen but implementing them and then being able to see those results over time.

Claire Sidman (20:33)

Right?

Michelle Than (20:33)

Because this is. Things happen over time. And one thing I want to talk about too that we kind of touched on but not really is AI because I love AI, I love automations. And so where do you see like AI sitting in this healthy creative workflow? Because I'm a person that, hey, I'm turning to AI first. I have a daughter, I have a husband, we're running a business, we're doing a lot of things and a lot of things can be automated without me having to add another person to the team. Right, we have a team. But I believe in a small but mighty team. That's just my dream. I want to have a, I have a small team and I want this to just be us as a family owned business. My husband is my business partner and we do a lot of this stuff ourselves. Like I have the skills, like I do out, we do outsource. But how does AI sit for someone especially who's a solopreneur in this healthy workflow? Like how do you see that fitting all in?

Claire Sidman (21:24)

First of all, I love your story about being a family business and wanting to keep that. I think that is so special and that is some of the magic and the sparkle that will, you know, really benefit your brand for years to come. So just I love that I have to acknowledge the second part is, I think to answer your question, AI is tech that supports that doesn't work place. Right. It's not going to replace the creativity, it's not going to replace the strategy. It can help with a lot of the, you know, I'll say high fatigue, high engagement tasks that creators have to deal with. Right. Like things that take a lot of time, that aren't, don't require as much brain power, aren't as important in the time spent to value equation that you're as a creator constantly evaluating in your head. AI is part of the future. But like I said, creators are still the magic and that's where you have your magic. You know, I think the technology and where we use AI. I'll talk a little bit about Collective Voice and then I have some real thoughts on the industry that I want to get into. But like at Collective Voice we actually build AI into all of our tools to help creators give them back time. That is my goal is to give creators back time to doing what they do best, which is creating content so everywhere that we can build in efficiencies for them. Whether it be, you know, a link in bio solution that is a shoppable Storefront, right? Like that's giving them back time and not having to send a million links and being able to house them all in one place that consumers can self service 24, 7, 365 no matter what time zone they're in. That's a huge savings. We have launched a Shop the look tool which is an automated DM tool for Instagram. So instead of having to send out thousands of links, that's actually like you can even customize the trigger word in your caption. So if you said like if Michelle, you were like hey, I have fresh merch comment Michelle's merch in the post. It will automatically send a DM to, to your follower in your community with the link to purchase. That's giving you back time to spend with your family on the couch, going to the movies, going out to dinner, you know, not having to sit there at dinner and like respond with a link to every request. Because also you're not expected to be up 24 hours a day, 3:65 responding from bed like you need some, some downtime, some refresh time. So I think the reason we're so passionate about creating these tools and using the AI tool to power the tools that's going to give the creators back time is because what we've actually heard from our research, from our creators is that one in three creators value plug and play monetization tools, especially Gen Zs, they want to be able to like sign up and start by themselves. They don't want to have to go through education, they want to be able to get started, figure it out and then kind of come into the education on their own terms. And so all of the tools, if they are self explanatory, if they're guidance, plug and play things that are going to give them back time from the beginning of their content creation journey is just going to create more of a balance for creators as they grow, which is going to help combat the biggest problem that we have in the creator economy, which is burnout. So that's really where I think AI helps AI as influencers. I have to touch on because of Mia and Wimbledon and it was freshly in the news cycle, Michelle. So I was like, I'm sure you have thoughts too. But I, I really am not on board with AI influencers and I think that the biggest thing I will call out is that as Americans we really need to be holding our government and the platforms accountable for more transparency. Having someone listed and disclose it that they are an AI creator in the profile section is not enough. I'LL say it full stop. It's not enough. Because how does the consumer once again consume content? What is that behavior? Being a student of that behavior? It's in the feed and when you're in the feed and if she looks like a creator, talks like a creator is talking about brands and products, that is incredibly misleading. Because here's the other thing. If we get to a place in a world where the platforms are pushing, which is to have more AI generated creators, we lose the humanity. And the reason is AI is a yes man. It's going to say, what do you think about that? You're going to ask it, you know, give me a content strategy for this new shampoo. What is unique if every single beauty brand is putting in the same brief to the same AI creator? There's no humanity in there, right? There's no creativity. We're going to end up in a sea of sameness, which is going to probably be a deterioration in consumption and work against the creator economy and the purchasing power. And what you know, that trust and authenticity, which is why creators are at the center of the marketing mix right now, is because they can't. No one else can deliver that. And an AI generated creator definitely can't generate that. And it definitely is a brand. If you're even thinking about buying AI creators versus real creators, please don't. You're going to end up in a sea of sameness with your competition. You're going to be deemed inauthentic. And ultimately it's also working against the power of the creator economy, which has helped brands so much in the past 10 years gain market share. So I think it's a shortcut. I think it will be quick to burn out. And I think that, you know, as advocates within this industry, we can absolutely be doing our part within our representatives within government to hold social media platforms accountable to do more.

Michelle Than (27:20)

Agree, like social media is a tool and so is AI. It's a tool to help us get to somewhere faster, but not to replace human first content. So I believe in human first AI. I had another episode on here where we were talking about like human first AI and still making AI be you and not totally something else. Right. And so that was so great what you shared. And again, this has been like a masterclass. Claire, you have given us so much great information that we can definitely put into action today. And so I'm just grateful that you came on the show to discuss these topics that are super important. And so now it's time to reveal that two truths and a Myth. Which one? Which one of those were bogus?

Claire Sidman (28:00)

Okay, the bogus one is. And hopefully by the end, if you have not figured this out, I am not a voiceover artist. This voice was not built for podcasting. It was not built for TV spots or audio spots. No, that is not true. But the two truths were. My father worked for Miller Brewing Company. I grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and in the 80s, also elder millennial it was. They had a program called take your daughter to work day, and it was there to get women into business. It now has transformed into take your child to work day. But I am, like, living proof of that program of getting girls interested in business at a young age. It's something I'm really, really passionate about in giving back throughout my career. I still have the folder from that day. I still have it in. I reference it, you know, probably once every couple years when I'm sorting through my things. But it's a walk down memory lane. And it. What, it's what inspired me to get into marketing. And from that, you know, the. I think the other one was, the other truth was the Japanese art of kinship. And that is the idea that, like, you can break something and rebuild it into something so much more beautiful. This is actually a leadership philosophy for me and how I coach creators, marketers, brands, portfolio companies, is to take bold action and to take risk. If you seek perfection over progress, you're never going to win the game. You're, you're. You're never going to be out there trying, right? Like, and I think you have. That's something wonderful to think about in the art of content creation. You're not going to get it right. Don't re record it. Go with your first dirty cut. It's okay, because you know what? Maybe you'll remix that into something else that ends up being brilliant at the end, right? So, like, one piece of something, even if it's broken and it wasn't perfect, could be rebuilt into something even better. And that just takes evolution. It takes iteration, it takes time. But I think we also see that within, you know, creator content and even going back to the search trend, something that you posted about a year ago could now be trending. That could be your viral moment and it could be from a past. So don't worry about it being perfect. Be unafraid to take chances. Be bold in your. And just know that if it doesn't work, have the confidence in yourself to rebuild it better.

Michelle Than (30:36)

Awesome. That is an awesome way to end this podcast episode. Claire, thank you for that. Wisdom. Thank you for those resources and just thank you. This has just been really great. So where can everyone connect with you and Collective Voice?

Claire Sidman (30:50)

Definitely if you're a creator. Follow collective voice HQ on Instagram TikTok join our broadcast channel. Please, please, please. That is the best place. That is where we drop everything new. You can get tips from our creator and resident Chanel Tyler. We do office hours on there answering questions. We have wonderful guests like Michelle. Join us with fresh content and strategies to help you build your business. So definitely join us there. And also make sure to sign up for the network to start growing your monetization business through affiliate linking. And for me, I'm on LinkedIn Claire Sidman with no E. That should have been one of my fun facts. My parents gave me the traditional male French spelling of my first name. That should have been two truths and a lie. But you guys probably could have figured that one out quite easily. But I'm excited for everything to come with you, Michelle, your brand and your growing community. And excited for us to pick up additional topics in the news cycle and continue to help build and bolster the creator economy.

Michelle Than (31:54)

Yes, thank you so much. I'm excited as well. And friends, don't forget to rate and review social media Decoded on Apple and Spotify Leave us a comment on Spotify. Let's let's start the conversation about this creator economy and let's chat about it. It helps more entrepreneurs hear these gems. Okay? And so just remember that your story deserves the spotlight and I will see you on the next episode. So keep shining.

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