Working at TikTok, influencers call out brands, and YouTuber earnings in May
Hi, this is Amanda Perelli welcoming you back to Influencer Dashboard, our weekly rundown of what's new in the influencer and creator economy.
This week, my colleague Dan Whateley spoke with a hiring exec at TikTok to see what job applicants can do to stand out.
Kate Barney, the head of HR for TikTok America's global business solutions team, said TikTok is looking for people ready to dive in headfirst.
The company has hundreds of current job openings for roles in cities like New York, Los Angeles, Austin, and Chicago.
"We're looking for people to grow with the company, so someone who can talk to us about their favorite parts of the product, the ins and outs, what they would change if they were given the opportunity," Barney said.
Don't be afraid to get creative with your application. For instance, one applicant posted a video version of her resume to TikTok highlighting her professional background and interest in the role. The video went viral and landed on the "For You" page of a TikTok HR employee in Chicago.
"I think what was so amazing about this video was that it really showed somebody who was passionate who's going to go above and beyond," Barney said. "For a sales organization, this is putting yourself out there. This is someone who is very much a self-starter, and who's very imaginative and creative."
Here are some key points in how to get noticed as an applicant:
Reach out to current TikTok employees to prepare for an interview.
Carefully read through the job description.
And an obvious but important one: know the app itself.
"If you're not going to make a video, at least have proven that you've watched a few and you know what it is," Barney said. "Figure out what's trending that week. You might not need to know the Toosie Slide, but at least figure out what makes a TikTok video and why they are so fun and joyful."
Read more here on what the company looks for in new hires, and how to stand out as an applicant.
You can read most of the articles here by subscribing to BI Prime. And if this is your first time reading Influencer Dashboard, subscribe to the newsletter here.
A new diverse Instagram influencer group is pitching brands and calling out those that lack representation
Social-media influencer Iesha Vincent (120,000
Her group, Babes That Wander, is actively calling for brands to show with their actions (and not just words) that they support Black creators and other creators of color.
I spoke to Vincent who said she wants to see more faces that look like her represented in campaigns by her favorite brands — and she's done staying silent.
"There's been this issue where we are seeing these elaborate and beautiful influencer trips where brands are taking
Read more on how the group plans to help brands close the diversity gap here.
How much money a YouTube creator with around 50,000 subscribers made in May after her videos on stimulus checks surged in views
Attorney Erika Kullberg left her job as a corporate lawyer six months ago and started a personal-finance
"I remember recording my first video and just sweating because I was so nervous looking into the camera," she told me. "Many lawyers told me not to do YouTube because I would 'ruin my professional image.'"
She decided to focus her channel on personal finance after paying off $200,000 in debt by learning how to live frugally, she said.
Toward the end of April (after her video on stimulus checks was picked up by YouTube's algorithm), her channel was accepted into YouTube's Partner Program — making May the first month she earned revenue off YouTube, she said.
In 30 days, her channel went from about 2,000 subscribers on YouTube to over 40,000 subscribers because of her popular videos on stimulus checks.
Read more on how YouTube's algorithm helped her success and how much money she earned in May here.
What else happened on BI Prime:
Top influencer revenue sources, ranked: Dan and I reported on a survey of 69 influencers conducted earlier this year by the influencer platform Influence.co, which highlights the many sources of revenue available to creators in 2020.
Inside Quibi's productions: Ashley Rodriguez got the inside story of how people who have developed or worked on shows for Quibi feel about the short-form video service post-launch.
YouTube video of the week: How to financially help BLM with no money
In response to George Floyd's death, many social-media creators have spoken out online demanding change.
As a way to help raise money for bail funds and Black Lives Matter advocacy groups, YouTube creator Zoe Amira uploaded a 56-minute livestream to her YouTube channel toward the end of May. All of the money earned from the video, which featured art made by Black creators, would be donated, she said.
"This video project was created to offer people a way to donate and financially contribute to #blacklivesmatter without having any actual money or going out to protest themselves," Amira wrote in the video description.
The video, which was titled: "How to financially help BLM with NO MONEY/leaving your house (Invest in the future for FREE)," has since been taken down by YouTube for violating YouTube's monetization guidelines, according to Amira on Twitter.
When I checked the video early Wednesday, the livestream had 9.7 million views. Earlier this week, Amira shared a screenshot of her YouTube Creator Dashboard on Twitter showing that the video earned over $42,000 from Google-placed ads.
She tweeted on Wednesday: "The actual ad money raised is going back to the advertisers, because the video is in violation of guidelines, but YouTube has pledged to donate the amount that you all have raised."
All of the money will be donated to associations that offer protester bail funds, or help pay for family funerals and advocacy, according to the YouTube video description.
You can check out her channel here: Zoe Amira.
This week from Insider's digital culture team:
Stassi Schroeder and Kristen Doute fired from 'Vanderpump Rules': Margot Harris wrote that the stars would not be returning to the show following racist actions.
Kendall Jenner denies editing Black Lives Matter photo: Rachel Greenspan wrote that a viral picture appearing to show Jenner holding a Black Lives Matter poster was photoshopped.
Jake Paul was accused of taking credit for a fundraiser: Lindsay Dodgson wrote that Paul had been criticized for appearing to take the credit for someone else's Black Lives Matter fundraiser.
Chicago's Lollapalooza festival will take place virtually: Palmer Haasch reported that the 2020 festival will not take place in person, but will instead take place virtually from July 30 to Aug. 2.
Here's what else we're reading:
Bon Appétit's staffers of color say it has a 'toxic' culture: Rachel Premack from Business Insider spoke with contributors and employees at BA who described its leadership treating people of color unfairly.
The TikTok House Wreaking Havoc Next Door: Taylor Lorenz from The New York Times spoke with neighbors of Sway House, a TikTok collab house, who said the social-media stars don't make great neighbors.
YouTube guide to monetization: Julia Alexander from The Verge wrote about YouTube publishing a breakdown to earning money through
advertising , offering more transparency to creators.Influencers are using protests are backdrops for Instagram: Sarah Manavis from New Statesman wrote that some social-media stars are using the protests as photo background and are getting extreme backlash for it.
Thanks for reading! Send me your tips, comments, or questions: aperelli@businessinsider.com.
