SideShift · creator job board for students
Have 5 creators post twice a day on new TikTok accounts; copy the first hit
10K to 150K+ users in 3-4 months on ~$10K; 16-20M views in one campaign
Workedugc-creatorsorganic-short-video
What they did
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.
What happened
Job seekers grew from ~10K to 150K+ in 3-4 months on ~$10K total spend (CAC in 'pennies'). Last campaign: 16-20M views from ~300 posts, with individual videos at 2M and 5M. 50K creators joined in 1-2 weeks, so many that the product broke and funnels were paused in mid-May.
- Stage
- Growth (growth (marketplace supply))
- Effort
- ~$10K over ~4 months; two campaigns; 5 creators, ~300 posts in the latest
“We had We had five creators making content, posting, most of them were posting twice a day”
“For us, it took like 2 to 3 weeks, and then as soon as we found one format, we were just doubling down on that. We had all five of our creators pumping it out like every other day, basically.”
“sometimes it takes 300 posts before you find that winning format, but when you do, you know, you're able to just double down on that”
“over the past 3 to 4 months have kind of grown that to be now over 150,000 uh active job seekers. And it's largely been in part due to this high-volume organic.”
Related topics
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More from SideShift
All 12 SideShift tactics- Tie videos to job-market anger: 'I have a master's and can't find a job'Talking-head version got 9.6M views; 6-7 of ~15 early videos hit 150-300K
- Train your own creators with a 6-hour course on making app videosCreators earn ~$10-15K after 1-2 months; early quality complaints
- Once a video format wins, put 90% of creators on it and keep 10% testingWorks well for them; keeps a backup format ready if the winner saturates
- Run organic videos with 5%+ engagement as Meta ads, starting at $100 a dayGreat results at $100/day, then scaled up; no numbers given
- Manage all creators in one group chat and share what's workingKeeps creators bought in; one-on-one management called very hard
- Build a warm-up video format from real posts about job-hunt painStill used a year later; warms accounts well but converts poorly
More from this episode
- SideShift: Post about the tough job market and slip the app in at the endWinning format; videos at 84K to a few hundred thousand views
- SideShift: Have creators reply to comments and name the app when people askGuest says comment plugs convert to real users; no numbers
- SideShift: Visit 25 college campuses in person to sign up the first usersFirst 10-20K users; strong word of mouth among college students
- SideShift: Tell student creators the gig can grow into a strategist or growth roleGuest says it drives stronger results for brands; no numbers
- Give creators a short brief with a Loom, target persona and proven videosSeen across SideShift customers; long briefs get skipped
- Pay creators a base retainer, $15-20 per video, and big view bonusesCommon rate across SideShift; bonuses get creators working the comments
- Warm up each new TikTok account for 3-5 days, acting like your target user
- Test an app idea with a few creators for 2 weeks before doubling downSeen across studios; two weak 2-week rounds mean rethink the product
- Photogenic: Hire one creator who already went viral on her own TikTok35M views on 46 posts; weekly downloads up 10x
- Photogenic: Let the creator decide what to post instead of sending her ideasFounder's ideas performed terribly; hers drove 35M views
- Photogenic: Post the AI's funniest mistakes, like a photo with a third legDrove heavy engagement; part of a 35M-view run
- Vert Ventures: Turn the organic TikToks that already worked into paid adsBoth apps in and out of their category's top five for weeks