According to Toby Barlow, creative chief at Detroit agency Lafayette American “TikTok has changed everything”. As clients show more interest in the platform, which is expected to bring in as much as $12 billion in ad revenue this year, Barlow said he needs to hire accordingly.

What does this mean? Well, more and more agencies are looking to hire ‘TikTok fluent’ employees. TikTok isn’t only in agreement with this shift but naturally, on board it having recently rolled out a program that it claims will help creative agencies succeed on the platform. 

Employers like Kelly Gordon, senior marketing agent at recruitment firm Creative People, are specifically looking for people who are comfortable picking up their phone and shooting video content, while also understanding TikTok and Instagram’s creative tools. “Right now, I’m actually speaking with a few agencies that are solely going after content creators.”

Gordon has also said she’s seen agencies such as 360i and Super Digital specifically looking to hire content creators dedicated to TikTok. “They’ll be working on different brand accounts. They’ll be working with a social media manager, a social media strategist, a producer, too, but they’re the ones that are actually in their homes filming,” she explained.

Talent agencies have also expressed that finding an expert in TikTok creative is more difficult than finding those with Instagram and Facebook experience.

Demand for copywriters in particular is increasing. “I’ve seen a lot of demand for people who are going to be working on social media, but come from copy backgrounds,” Gordon expressed. She said copywriters who have a really strong brand voice—and can execute with agility, especially on platforms like Twitter—are particularly in need right now.

Essentially, copy voice is an inexpensive way to really separate yourself. And so if you look at brands like Oatly, or Chobani, they’re able to do things that are right for that particular brand, and be known for creating a very unique voice that kind of brings them to life and separates them. 

Additionally, multilingual copywriters have also become more sought-after, at least according to Madison Utendahl, VP of social strategy at creative agency Known and founder and chief creative officer of design agency Utendahl Creative. Especially with the rise of DTC brands—which are often internationally sold—it’s important to have copies that can pop in multiple languages.