Shelly Regan
Research
Shelly Regan is a marketing researcher at CreatorMap focused on creator economy trends, platform dynamics, and how brands are evolving their influencer strategies. She translates industry research and data into actionable insight for marketing teams. Her writing covers the forces shaping how brands find and work with creators.
Articles by Shelly Regan
8 articles
Accenture Song Is Buying Whalar. Here's What It Means for the Creator Economy.
Accenture Song's acquisition of Whalar is being called the largest creator economy transaction in history. What's really driving the deal, and what should brands take away from it?
What Makes a YouTube Channel Grow: Lessons from 50,000 Channels
We analyzed behavioral data from over 50,000 independent YouTube channels. Upload frequency, hiatus length, and schedule consistency are the strongest predictors of growth. Engagement rate is not.
The Half-Life of a YouTuber
We analyzed ~100K YouTube channels. Median lifespan: 8.8 years. Annual mortality has nearly tripled since 2022. Six charts reveal what's actually driving it.
The YouTube Graveyard: What 7 Years of Data Reveals About Creator Longevity
We tracked 97,601 independent YouTube channels from 2019 to 2026. Only 21% are still growing. This is the most complete picture of YouTube creator longevity ever published, and the implications for brand partnerships are significant.
The Creator-as-Consultant Era: Why One-Off Posts Are No Longer Enough
One-off influencer posts are losing their edge. In 2026, winning brands treat creators as consultants, not megaphones. Here is what the shift means for your strategy.
Unilever Just Replaced Its Ad Agency With 300,000 People. Every Brand Should Pay Attention.
Unilever has scaled its influencer network from 10,000 to nearly 300,000 advocates in two years. This isn't a campaign. It's a structural transformation of how one of the world's biggest advertisers buys attention. Here's what it means for the rest of the industry.
Influencer Marketing vs Traditional Marketing: Which Drives Better ROI?
Comparing influencer marketing vs traditional marketing? This guide breaks down ROI, cost, trust, and reach to help you choose the right strategy in 2026.
How Semantic Search Is Changing Influencer Marketing
Keyword search is failing brand marketers. Discover how AI-powered semantic search finds influencers by meaning and context, helping teams save significant time and budget on every campaign.