Sprout Social taps Brandon Smithwrick as first Creator-in-Residence

Sprout Social has named Brandon Smithwrick as its first Creator-in-Residence, bringing the LinkedIn creator in to advise on its products and contribute to its content and industry events.

The social media management company wants him embedded more deeply than a typical brand partner, giving its teams direct access to his experience as both a former social media lead and a full-time creator.

“As the creator economy evolves, moving beyond transactional one-offs toward meaningful, long-term partnerships is critical for brands,” Curtis Midkiff, director of social media marketing at Sprout Social, told The Daily Influence. “Building on the foundation of our Creator Network launch earlier this summer, introducing a Creator-in-Residence was the natural next step.”

Smithwrick spent nearly a decade in content and social before going full-time as a creator, leading teams at Kickstarter and Squarespace and developing social strategy at Ralph Lauren. He has built an audience of more than 63,000 followers on LinkedIn and runs Content to Commas, a weekly newsletter on turning content into revenue.

He is part of a growing group of B2B creators who build audiences around expertise in a profession or industry rather than lifestyle or entertainment. Their influence comes from the trust they have built with the professionals and decision-makers who follow their work.

At Sprout, that background will shape how he works with internal teams. “He’s providing our internal teams with real-time feedback on how practitioners actually use Sprout and how our product suite can better serve them,” Midkiff said.

The three-month residency includes monthly content across LinkedIn, Instagram and TikTok, a regular Sprout section in Content to Commas and a larger piece aimed at social media professionals. He will also speak at Sprout’s Social Intelligence Summit on October 29, where his session will look at how creators can work with companies beyond distributing branded content.

The appointment comes as the wider industry turns its attention to B2B. Last week, Billion Dollar Boy made its first acquisition, buying specialist B2B creator agency Creator Authority in a multi-million dollar deal. Co-founder Brendan Gahan said the agency was built on the belief that the shift towards creators in consumer advertising would eventually reach B2B.

“Now the market is quickly catching up,” he said.