Vendor reportAspire, 2026

40% of creators say values alignment is the top factor when choosing brands

Shortlisting creators

Most Important Factor Creators Consider When Choosing Brands to Work With

Values alignment40%
Monetary compensation/product value30%
Quality of product24%
Other6%

Most Important Factor Creators Consider When Choosing Brands to Work With
Factor	Share of creators (%)
Values alignment	40%
Monetary compensation/product value	30%
Quality of product	24%
Other	6%

Reader Note:: Creators ranked what matters most when choosing which brands to work with: values alignment 40%, monetary compensation 30%, product quality 24%. These are answers about one's own motives, given in a survey run by the platform the creators work through, and 63% of them are nano creators. Aspire does not say when the survey ran.
Evidence:: Self-reported behaviour
Vendor interest:: High — This comes from a company with a commercial interest in this market, so it is not a neutral source.
Sample:: Mixed methods: Aspire internal platform data from creators and campaigns, plus surveys of nearly 900 marketers and creators; exact split and sampling method not disclosed.

Good for

A rough sense of size and direction, and deciding what to look at first.

Not for

Exact numbers, or saying that one thing caused another.
This comes from a company with a commercial interest in this market, so it is not a neutral source.
The source says how much it looked at, but not how any of it was chosen.

Influencer selection is mainly based on engagement rate and audience demographics (94% and 88%), with only 25% using social listening on what consumers discuss

Share of marketers using each data input to select influencers, and what it measures
Data input	Usage (%)
Engagement rate (Influencer output)	94%
Audience demographics (age, gender, location) — Influencer audience	88%
Past campaign performance data (Influencer track record)	81%
Audience interest / affinity data (Influencer audience)	78%
Follower count and reach metrics (Influencer scale)	72%

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Sponsored posts got more engagement when influencers had either very low or very high ad loads, and did worst in the middle

In creator selection, brand fit mattered most and follower count mattered least

Most Important Factor Brands Use When Selecting New Creators to Work With
Selection factor	Brands (%)
Creator suitability or fit for brand	22%
Content performance	17%
Working with a diverse group of creators	14%
Brand affinity, or a history of posting about your client	12%
Follower audience demographics	10%

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40% of creators say values alignment is the top factor when choosing brands

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