Creators Are Changing the Conversation About Salary

When Hannah Williams turned to TikTok to share how she jumped tech jobs and upped her salary from $40,000 in her first job to $115,000 in her current role, many of her followers didn’t believe her. She thought, “If all the data analysts in the country told you their pay, people would see that these high salaries are possible.” Williams’ next step was to literally take to the streets to record TikToks, asking people a question most don’t dare touch: “How much money do you make?” “I want to remove the taboo and try to encourage people to do some introspection,” said Williams, who runs the TikTok account Salary Transparent Street, which launched in spring 2021 as a result of these interviews. “Our society places so much value and meaning on what we make, and more often than not, it’s not even a way to measure your worth because you’re probably underpaid.” https://www.tiktok.com/@salarytransparentstreet/video/7117046431038344490?_t=8ToRjiEl2te&_r=1 Across the platform, TikTokers like Williams are approaching employees with salary-related questions, offering lessons on how to negotiate pay, packaging these insights into digestible entertainment and starting conversations most people actively avoid. Creators are opening up about their own paychecks—both as online creators and offline professionals—while encouraging others to do the same, paving the way for financial and cultural change and facilitating a new dynamic between employers and their staff. Encouraging self-advocacy Some creators are not only promoting pay transparency, but also acting as personal finance consultants for those looking to increase their pay. Gen Z financial activist Taylor Price, for example, offers a range of advice on her channel, including tips for employees entering review periods or looking for raises. “A lot of people shortchange themselves by not being quiet for a second and letting the company do the speaking on where their budget is,” said Price, stressing that new employees should not share salary expectations before knowing what the company is willing to offer. Like Williams, Adam Ali, founder of TikTok account American Income, started approaching strangers about their salaries in hopes of promoting equity, closing knowledge gaps and showing current and future employees their own worth. “If a high school kid sees one of my videos, they’ll see what’s out there and it may push them to go get that degree,” Ali said. Addressing the creator pay gap But while many creators are starting conversations about salary across industries, some are figuring out how to do so in their own field because the creator economy has a serious pay gap problem. In a survey, influencer marketing platform Mavrck found that men creators make an average of 1.88 times more than women creators. A December study from MSL showed a 35% gap between white and Black influencers and a 29% gap between white and diverse influencers. Another common pain point for creators is they often don’t get paid on time. Finance TikToker Erika Kullberg, founder of Creators Agency, a talent management shop that negotiates on behalf of digital creators, aims to change that. She launched a partnership with payment platform Lumanu, which allows creators to send invoices, accept payments and get paid instantly via the software EarlyPay. https://www.tiktok.com/@erikakullberg/video/7015798421118389506?_t=8TNUmFF9cNF&_r=1 “Brands are always incentivized to make the lowest possible offers, but a lot of our creators who were taking these lowball offers are now getting paid what they’re worth,” Kullberg said. Creator Jules Montgomery noticed that as TikTok was growing in popularity, rates were becoming less consistent across the creator economy. So she asked her followers to share how much they were paid on past brand deals. Within a few weeks, she received 4,000 reviews on major brands including Apple, Nike and Target. The data inspired Montgomery to roll out an app called Influence, which lets creators search for brands to work with and understand how much they should be paid. “I'm just trying to empower creators with the tools and information to make their jobs easier, so then they can actually spend time creating content," Montgomery said. For Williams' part, the overarching goal is to impact the way corporate America approaches conversations about salary. "It shouldn't be the responsibility of workers to make sure they're fairly paid by doing market research and negotiating," she said, emphasizing the need for businesses to establish more equitable pay structures. "Corporations should see paying their employees fairly as an ethical and moral obligation from the get-go."

Influencers & Creators

‘You’re Probably Underpaid’: Creators Are Changing the Conversation About Salary

TikTokers are showing employees what they're worth

Emmy Liederman

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Emmy Liederman