Reading · Creators U Should Hire

February 7, 2025

Hello!

Thanks for your patience with me as I navigated a busy holiday and the general horrors. I’m back. If you’re reading this, I want to thank you for your support!

A hallmark piece of advice in the social industry is to diversify your platforms so you are not beholden to one. Taking that advice, you’ll see different types of formats from my newsletter as I start experimenting with where I’d like to take this in 2025. I’m already working on my next post, which will be dedicated to YouTube. It will include my experience searching on YouTube specifically, a list of 10 cool YouTube creators, and my current thoughts on this platform as a marketer. If you have any suggestions or feedback on what you’d like to see from me this year, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. My email is hannah@misagency.com.

Long intro incoming…I’ve rewritten this so many times as I’ve gone through numerous cycles of rage, disassociation, and more rage over the past few weeks questioning the fabric of our society etc.

Social media is always evolving, but right now it feels fundamentally different. The effect on creators remains to be seen, as most are still pushing ahead as if TikTok hasn’t changed, but of course, it has, and will continue to, along with all of the major platforms who are one by one, kissing the ring of the current administration (I’m looking at you too, Substack!!!!). In the past few weeks, I’ve questioned the value of my work and my future as a social marketer. I have moments where I wish I could just delete all of my social media apps and throw my phone into the ocean. I hate working in platforms that make these ugly, evil, gluttonous, apathetic, men richer.

But, this is my career. I need to pay the bills. I’m good at this. And, and, and…

In my attempt at optimism, I’m looking at creators as the light in the dark hole that is becoming 2025. Good creators show us something new, something beautiful, something educational, something intriguing, something unique, and most importantly, something human. I’ve talked about how creators can be the antithesis to AI slop, and I believe they will continue to carry the torch of filling our feeds with community-minded content instead of click-bait/shop now/rage-bait bullsh*t.

All that to be said, here is where I’m at with this newsletter. I apologize for the erratic schedule of my posts, but in all honesty this inconsistency may persist due to my work schedule. I want to continue providing quality creators for brands and businesses to work with. We all still have budgets and objectives regardless if TikTok is around or not. Now more than ever, I want to put those marketing funds into the hands of talented creators.

Creators = better marketing.

Without further ado, Creators U Should Hire Vol. 10, a list (that is admittedly TikTok-heavy) compiled over the last few months of my hiatus. This is a free post, but please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. I spend many hours compiling these lists and must touch grass often.

The list follows this format, numbered in no particular order: Handle Linked to example post | Category or short description | My two cents

@brunch.touch | Food/Retail | The energy and commentary really make these videos, but I can see this series continue to blow up! Primed for a restaurant group or retail store in NYC to tap them for a visit, I could also see an accessory or shoe brand sponsor one of their videos, since they don’t show their faces but they show their shoes in their cute dances in the beginning of their videos. A truly delightful series! One more idea - having an event in NYC? Have these lovelies go and create a similar voiceover recap.
@colewashington | Lifestyle | Cole creates lifestyle content that centers around her series called Big Back Sundays, where she cooks herself a delicious meal as an act of self-care every Sunday. Her main theme is chronicling her single life as a woman in her 30s, so I see a lot of opportunity with a variety of brands that are targeting a millennial audience. Her account is gaining steam and I definitely see her as up-and-coming.
@hayden_clay | Art | I was drawn to Hayden’s art immediately. He works with two mediums, film photography and digital 3D art. I love the worlds he creates and I agree with one commenter on the linked post who said “Every image here I want to eat and have stored in my mind forever”. Hayden describes his art as ‘suburban surrealism’ and has a variety of projects like World Underwater, inspired by rising sea levels and a trip to Venice. The post in my intro by Hayden is part of his Human Nature project and felt like a perfect visual for this newsletter and moment in time. Lots of creative opportunity for the right brand partner.
@alexandriamasse | Textile | Alexandria creates incredible crochet art and patterns. I came across her video crocheting the entirety of the birth control side effects and warning pamphlet and I was hooked (no pun intended heh). She just posted a crochet frog purse pattern. I would love a brand to contract her to create a larger than life crochet piece for them. You could film BTS, the progress, definitely a long game since art like hers takes time! You could auction off the piece at the end for a good cause, or do a giveaway to a lucky fan.
@dessiejackson | Mixed Media/Animation | Similar to the sports stop motion animator I plugged in my very first newsletter, Dessie is a talented mixed media artist and animator that creates captivating shorts on TikTok but has done work for musicians like Eric Clapton. I can’t stop thinking about this TikTok she posted.
@_sportsball | Sports/Visualization | Okay so this is a hear me out. Yes this account has done collabs before, but all relating to sports. I love the visualization aspect and so does your feed. There’s a hook, it’s educational, it keeps you engaged, and is extremely shareable. I’d love to see a non-sports brand, maybe an app, tap this creator to visualize their public customer data in a really fun way. Duolingo is an obvious example. I imagine this content would live on the brand feed only.
@bria.latrice | Fashion | I love Bria’s style and video editing, but since I saved her over the holiday it looks like she’s gotten some brand deals! Love to see it, brands should tap her for more organic-feeling content. She definitely thrives with GRWMs and OOTDs, and her editing is so good.
@peachlady54 | Lifestyle | If you haven’t seen Peach Lady yet, she has captivated our hearts with her infectious positive energy and giant Coach cherry charm necklace. Brands have noticed, she’s gotten a few PR packages, but she has been hustling on TikTok for a long time. I think a brand should reach out to her to do something more involved like “Peach Lady Reads our Mean Comments”, or sending her to an event, something more brand-produced that highlights her personality.
@dan._._.dan | Fashion | I love Daniel’s style, and content style. Not only does he create engaging TikTok videos, I can tell he’s a fantastic art director and producer. He has a few pieces that he’s done for brands, but I want someone bigger to tap him for a social-first commercial spot.
@AnnePfaff | Music | I’ve mentioned this before, but I think playlist creation is an art, and something very cool and valuable a brand can provide to their community on social. A few brands have done it in the past, but it’s always felt steeped in marketing like “sign up for our newsletter to get the exclusive invite to our secret Spotify playlist”. Nobody wants to do that just give us the playlist! Anne has a gift for capturing moods and moments through her playlists, I would ask her to create a playlist inspired by your community (not necessarily a product).
BONUS: Someone send Bob a PR package please.

Creators U Should Hire Vol. 10

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