How SideShift grows

To recruit creators, SideShift's co-founder Nick posted his own non-talking video (April of the prior year): big on-screen text 'I have a master's degree / PhD and couldn't find a job' at the bottom, pointing at a screen with facial expressions (hook + demo), riding job-market anger. Once cracked, the format was given to all creators; variants like 'I graduated from Yale and can't even get an interview'. A year later a campaign manager turned it into a one-minute talking-head story ('denied from a cashier's job, I have a master's degree') ending with 'but I'm making money with SideShift'.

Five hired creators each ran a fresh TikTok account (started from zero followers, warmed into the niche) and most posted twice a day, ~300 posts in the campaign. The first 2-3 weeks were experimentation with little traction (many videos at ~100-1,000 views). Once one format hit, all five creators pumped out that format about every other day. Once an account picks up steam, engagement on one video lifts the rest. Canyon tells founders it can take up to 300 posts to find a winning format, and formats stop working, so keep iterating.

Rather than recruiting existing creators, SideShift 'mints' supply: anyone can join and take a ~6-hour Duolingo-style course on making UGC for apps (more money and time went into it than into the product). Creators progress to campaign managers, then to their own UGC agencies run on SideShift, which SideShift supports with referrals.

Before the organic UGC push, SideShift went in person to 25 college campuses to onboard its first 10-20K job seekers, alongside posting on its own social channels. It deliberately built supply around college students (hungry, eager for experience, low expectations) rather than influencers with big followings, and frames the gig as a path to strategist and growth roles.

When analytics show content-market fit, source more creators from the marketplace or revisit passed-over applicants, do a 5-10 minute call explaining how the campaign is going and why it is scaling, assign them and add them to the group chat. About 90% of the creator cohort posts the winning format; ~10% (usually 1-2 creators) keep testing new formats so a replacement is ready if the winner saturates. Creators on view bonuses put in extra effort once they see the format work.

Once an organic video passes ~5% engagement rate, put spend behind it on Meta (SideShift runs Meta primarily, for its B2B product). Start around $100/day total across the winners (e.g. ~$33 each for 3 videos) for the first 14 days, adjusted for trial length. Track trial starts and conversions via UTM links. If ROAS is positive (e.g. $200 in, $400 out), step up to $300/day, then $1,000/day; if you get 75 cents per dollar, stop. Start paid only after organic content-market fit and once total marketing budget exceeds ~$10K/month.

Instead of managing creators one-on-one, put everyone in one big group chat. Break down winning videos there (watch time, which word or audio worked) and ask creators to apply the findings. Brands also post their dashboard/leaderboard in the chat so creators see who is doing well and which format works.

With no competitors to copy, Nick researched organic videos in the job market niche ('job market is so cooked'), e.g. a woman with a dual master's denied an entry-level zoo job, and turned it into a format plugging SideShift. Used as a warm-up format: no focus on CTA or conversions, optimize for views to signal to the algorithm the account is real and get the niche engaged. Controversial topics warm accounts best.

When a brand fails to pay a creator what they're owed, SideShift pays the creator itself, costing up to almost six figures a month.

Content leans into the broader economy and TikTok trends instead of pitching: e.g. a creator with a master's degree getting rejected from jobs, which resonated so widely that the comments filled with people talking about the job market. Slideshow formats converted well: a 'rate out of 10' style slideshow ending with 'UGC creator - SideShift app' on the last slide. The product is dropped in subtly, sometimes named, sometimes not. Canyon's rule: pick something controversial or something that resonates with a large group.

Creators are coached that the job doesn't stop at posting: reply to commenters to keep engagement going (which pushes the video further) and engineer a collaborative thread where people ask where to find jobs, then plug the product there (e.g. a reply like 'this is why I only use SideShift'). The Photogenic creator did the same, naming the app whenever someone asked.

SideShift and the businesses on it pitch creators on more than pay: 'you might start as a content creator, but next thing you know you could be a strategist for our campaigns or for the companies we work with', leading to growth marketing roles. Aimed at college students who want experience with fast-growing startups more than a few hundred dollars.