Why Brands Are Paying Creators Six Figures To Run Their Social Media

"No longer are agencies behind the keyboard. Increasingly, it's a creator on payroll. Starbucks have hired two "coffee creators" as full time employees to travel the world documenting the culture of coffee for the brand's social channels. The job listing was a creator opportunity, complete with travel covered, a full time salary, and creative control. The applicants had to submit TikTok videos explaining why they were the right person for the role."

"The winner was TikTok creator Rex Curtiss, who beat out hundreds of applicants for a contract to launch and run the brand's TikTok channel. As John Deere's director of PR and social media Jen Hartmann put it, they wanted "someone who would be the face and voice for our channel, from their point of view and not corporate, not the company." Within 12 months, Curtiss delivered with 100 million views and 700,000 followers."

Brands are increasingly hiring individual creators as full-time employees to run social channels and produce regular content with creative control. Roles often include salaries, travel, and expectations to document culture and connect directly with audiences. Examples include Starbucks hiring "coffee creators," a broadcaster staffing daily TikTok creators, and John Deere appointing a paid creator who generated 100 million views and 700,000 followers in a year. Full-time creator hires aim to deliver consistent voice, authenticity, and owned audiences. One-off creator partnerships remain valuable for scale and product launches but do not replace steady channel stewardship and audience-building.

Read at Forbes