The Trillion-Dollar Truth of Social Commerce w/ Vinod Varma
How to Triple Your Conversions with Authentic Influencer Marketing
January 9th, 2025 • 6 min read
With over a decade of experience scaling brands, including growing Best Buy’s wearables category in Canada from $18M to $180M in just three years, Vinod Varma has a proven track record of driving results. Now as Co-Founder and CEO of Creator, he is shaking up how brands and influencers connect in today’s fast-paced, digital-first world.
During his panel at Innovation Show LA, he shared invaluable insights into how authenticity, social commerce, and cutting-edge technology are transforming the future of marketing.
Cutting Through the Noise of Social Media Marketing
Why Creator? It’s all about solving the big headaches brands face. “[Social media marketing] is really fragmented and if you want to do it well you need to go to an affiliate platform, and you need an e-commerce, and then you need to worry about managing each individual channel - so there's a lot lot of broken attribution in the space which makes it difficult for brands to clearly correlate what an influencer is doing with tangible measurable results…that's the headache.”
Creator simplifies this process with its sleek dashboard, which aggregates data from multiple platforms. By reducing complexity, the platform empowers brands to clearly understand how their influencer campaigns perform, making it easier to connect activities to measurable results.
The Balancing Act
With AI infiltrating every corner of marketing, its potential to streamline processes and enhance efficiency is undeniable. From simplifying data analysis to automating market insights, AI provides tools that can help brands and creators work smarter. However, as Vinod explains, the real challenge lies in maintaining genuinity. It can be a “ tight rope that you walk between staying authentic and making your content more engaging.”
At Creator, their focus is on leveraging AI to enhance campaigns without losing the human touch that makes influencer marketing so effective. “Consumers don't want to buy from robots and are not ready to buy from robots! …influencers are not billboards, they're people, they're subject matter experts, they're entertainers, and the reason why influencer marketing works is because of the authenticity. So, I think brands who try to control that or put that in a box are doing themselves a disservice.” Balance and flexibility are key to successful campaigns that feel relatable and real.
The $1 Trillion Opportunity
Platforms like TikTok Shop and Instagram are transforming how consumers shop by reducing friction and enabling seamless purchases . "Social commerce is like the trillion dollar market that we're not talking about," Vinod notes, emphasizing its massive untapped potential in North America. “It is huge in Asia, it's how they transact and it is coming here in a very big way.”
He emphasized that Amazon’s patent on “1-Click” checkout expiring a few years ago has enabled other platforms to adopt it, which has made buying online a lot smoother for consumers.
With creators dominating the gig economy and influencer-led content proving its value, Vinod predicts social commerce will soon take center stage. "We believe that social commerce will be one of the leading sales channels for Brands by 2035," he stated, urging businesses to prepare for this seismic shift.
Creating Robust Relationships
For Vinod, building a loyal community is the ultimate advantage. By fostering genuine relationships with creators and audiences, brands can carve out a competitive edge even in saturated markets. “If you’re in a commoditized business, your differentiator [isn’t] color or font, it’s your community,”
He recommended utilising incentives such as ambassadorship and affiliate links / codes that the content creator can share with their audience to make them feel appreciated and “ like they're a part of your brand.”
What’s Next in Marketing?
Vinod describes the future of marketing in North America as a "perfect storm" where the demand for creators, rapid tech advancements, and social commerce collide. Brands that seize these opportunities will unlock powerful growth potential. “You have this demand of people who want to be creators, and this improvement in technology and consumer adoption of social commerce and facilitating commerce through social media, that's going to spin into a really powerful flywheel that brands and marketers should take advantage of.”
Get in touch with Creator today and maximise your marketing this new year!
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