While TikTok’s status in the U.S. still hangs in the balance, agencies are already shifting the way they recruit creators and develop strategies for their creator campaigns moving forward.

Now even as marketers warily resume their influencer marketing spending, agencies feel pressured to put more emphasis on creators’ multi-platform presence and flexibility in their advertiser contracts. It will no longer be enough for creators to have a million followers on any single platform.

“It kind of makes you think a little bit more deeply about the campaigns moving forward each and every deliverable the way we go about future campaigns, as well,” said Ria Madon, senior director of creator partnerships at social media agency Superdigital. “Moving forward, [the focus is] working with creators who have diversified their platforms and have similar reach on all platforms, versus just one or the other — it’s affecting that thought process across the board for me.”

This comes as TikTok faces a 75-day extension on its previous Jan. 19 ban or sale deadline in the U.S., as talks of a potential sale are simultaneously ongoing with several tech giants and rumored interested buyers. Many agencies and creators have been repurposing their short-form content for YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, Snapchat and expanding other products and content, like newsletters, merchandising or personal websites.

The social and influencer agencies in particular are trying to be more sophisticated in how they recruit different types of talent and creators — stressing a multi-platform presence on social media, as well as flexibility to make adaptable content should any disruptions arise on any channel. They want to see that creators in general come in not just with a large following, but audience reach and engagement across several major platforms.

Before this threat to TikTok, it may not have been a yellow flag if a creator focused heavily on TikTok and less so on other platforms. Now it’s shifting to look more holistically at social media activity in case they need to pivot mid-campaign. During this uncertainty, many creators were already posting on Instagram Reels, even though they preferred the TikTok algorithm, added Felipe Mendez, manager at United Talent Agency Marketing. YouTube Shorts seemed to be more of an “uncharted territory for many,” Mendez noted. Additionally, some creators are also focusing on transitioning to more long-form YouTube content, as well as using YouTube Shorts.

“Contracts have been created with options so we could remain ahead of the curve, and they’re prepped for any platform changes for future campaigns,” said Mendez.

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