Recruit creators who aren't influencers via Handshake, DMs, email and referrals

Joseph ChoiGotcha. So did she have a bunch of views or followers on her own content before you guys hired her?

Zack HargettYeah, so we reached out to her through DMs, and then I think eventually through emails. And then, to answer your question, Joseph, more broadly, we've used Handshake, DMs on Instagram and TikTok, email outreach, referrals, all kinds of ways to find great creator talent. You know, I would say, whenever you're building out a creator program, it's more akin to a talent manager and someone that's finding undiscovered talent, because that's where, you know, part of the, quote, unquote, alpha is, is like finding people that are not yet discovered and then working with them to create great engaging content. No one that we've worked with would, I believe, identify themselves as like an influencer. They are, first, you know, and at their core, marketers, and they care about helping a product grow and leveling up their marketing skillset. And the way they do that is through making, you know, making engaging content.

Joseph Choi… are really interesting to me. Um the undiscovered talent, those are like my magic words. I love thinking about talent acquisition and finding like under-discovered sources of talent. And then, yeah, hiring marketers, not influencers, is also huge. Where did your best creators come from? Was it college students or um who are just marketing majors interested in marketing or what are some like signals that you look for, yeah, undiscovered creators?

Zack Hargett… a really good question. So, I don't think there's a single right answer. It's not like we found one channel and that was the clear winner. I'll tell you another interesting and a funny story that I like to share with folks. So, I came back from a wedding in Mexico and realized I uh am terrible at Spanish. And so, I found a Spanish tutor online, and 15 minutes into my call with my Spanish teacher, I said, "Luisa, have you considered making content?" I could just tell her energy was so infectious and she was so good on camera as a teacher, I really thought that would translate into content. And she said, "You know, I've thought about it, but I've never made content." And then, you know, fast forward 9 months, and she's one of our best content creators. She focuses on LATAM, so she makes content natively in Spanish. At some points, she's made content in English for us, too. So, I really think you can just find talent everywhere.

Joseph ChoiIs there some kind of protocol that can get most people from raw talent and charisma to actually creating high-converting, high-view videos? Because it's kind of crazy that you got your Spanish teacher to become one of the best creators.