Why should brands care about the creator economy? Hint: There’s untapped power in independent creators for your brand. Kipp and Kieran are joined by Steph Smith to talk about all things creator economy. Plus: niche ways to target your audience, the business impact of creators, how to think about types of brand partnerships with creators, and more! Who is Steph Smith? Steph is a data-driven writer and growth marketer, with a passion for progressive, early-medium stage technology companies. Steph joined The Hustle as a Trends.co analyst, digging up trends that entrepreneurs could capitalize on. She led the product and grew it to 15k+ paying subscribers before being acquired by HubSpot. Now, she is a Director of Marketing at HubSpot, spearheading their work with creators under the Creator Program. Plus, check out Steph’s work! Website ​​https://stephsmith.io/  Podcast https://keeplearning.buzzsprout.com/  Twitter ​​https://twitter.com/stephsmithio  Book https://doingcontentright.com/  Things mentioned: Sina Estavi, owner of the first tweet ever https://twitter.com/sinaEstavi Legos’ Spotify playlist https://open.spotify.com/album/6qZUya0mkucuxvoIp4akVT  Barilla’s Pasta Spotify playlist https://open.spotify.com/user/w2p1oq867ns7jele6g3lw66fk/playlists  KFC France’s Spotify playlist https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7KTq8F8YhZetRStWFNy0U4  Thank you for tuning into Marketing Against The Grain!  Don’t forget to hit subscribe and follow us on Apple Podcasts (so you never miss an episode)! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/marketing-against-the-grain/id1616700934  If you love this show, please leave us a 5-Star Review https://link.chtbl.com/h9_sjBKH and share your favorite episodes with friends.  We really appreciate your support. Links: Kipp Bodnar, https://twitter.com/kippbodnar  Kieran Flanagan, https://twitter.com/searchbrat  ‘Marketing Against The Grain’ is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by The HubSpot Podcast Network // Produced by Darren Clarke.