Why senior leaders aren’t commanding top salaries.
An Interview with Kelly Kaufmann, Co-Founder of Cultivated Talent
Over the past decade, influencer marketing has evolved from a tactical experiment into a strategic imperative. Today, it’s no longer a question of if brands need dedicated leadership around creators — but how deeply they’re willing to invest in this capability and at what stage of their organization’s lifecycle.
To understand where the hiring market is heading, I sat down with Kelly Kaufmann, co-founder of Cultivated Talent — an executive search firm specializing in beauty and wellness — to discuss what she’s seeing on the front lines of hiring for Creator Economy roles at the executive level.
Here are the biggest takeaways.
1. Influencer Marketing Has Elevated — But Brands Haven’t Caught Up Yet
Most of the brands Kelly works with are high-growth, digitally native, and often prestige players in the beauty space. They’re not dabbling in influencer marketing — they’re investing in it. But that investment often falls short of true organizational alignment at the highest levels.
“Most brands still expect one person or a couple people to do it all.”
The result? Brands tend to hire a Director of Influencer Marketing, often with a lower six-figure salary and a stack of expensive tools — but no real additional support. These leaders are expected to be strategic and executional, scrappy and senior, all while proving their value in an evolving role without precedent.
40% of the roles she is hiring for include a need for an operational understanding of influencer marketing and the Creator Economy.
2. The Sweet Spot Is Still Mid-Senior — But It’s Getting Crowded
At Social Studies, we often find ourselves working with brands that have hit an inflection point — around $50M+ in revenue OR larger Fortune 500 behemoths — where influencer efforts can no longer be handled ad hoc. The internal lead may be a senior manager or director, but they’re often overwhelmed and under-resourced.
Kelly sees this too. Brands are increasingly engaging her and her team to recruit for senior talent, but with limits.
“Senior Director is the ceiling for most brands right now,” she explained. “They’re not quite ready to bring someone in at the VP or C-suite level — at least not yet.”
There’s a gap between the market’s growing need and its willingness to invest in top-tier leadership. Many seasoned executives are stuck at larger organizations, unable to transition to smaller brands due to comp misalignment or fear of stepping down in title.
3. “Head of Community” Is the Emerging Title to Watch
While we haven’t seen many Chief Influence Officers yet, roles like Head of Community, Head of Strategic Partnerships, and Director of Creator / Talent Relations are gaining traction. These titles hint at a broader shift — from transactional marketing to long-term relationship building.
“The theme of the past six months is community,” Kelly said. “It’s not just about send-outs or one-off posts. Brands want creators who can be advocates — and marketers who know how to cultivate those relationships.”
This is especially true in beauty and wellness, where authenticity drives loyalty. The best influencer marketers today aren’t just managing spreadsheets — they’re building ecosystems.
4. KPIs Are Evolving —
So how are brands measuring success in these roles? While direct attribution can remain elusive, there are key indicators that consistently come up in executive briefs:
- Earned Media Value (EMV)
- Program consistency and growth over time
- Ability to scale product seeding and gifting operations
- Evidence of commercial outcomes (sell-outs, product lift, etc.)
Influencer marketing may be a creative discipline, but the best hires pair cultural fluency with a commercial mindset.
Final Thought: The Creator Economy Has Grown Up — Now Hiring Needs To
We’re entering a new era. 10+ years in, The Creator Economy is no longer a fringe movement. It’s a fundamental shift in how consumers connect with brands — and how brands need to build internal capabilities to match.
The next generation of marketing leaders won’t just oversee social or influencer—they’ll own community, content, and cultural relevance. And they’ll need teams, tools, and trust to do it well. It’s crazy to think that these leaders were just starting out in the workforce in 2015, they have come up within organizations usually being the first individual to ever have these roles, very similar to the first crop of ‘digital’ marketers in the aughts who are now approaching 20 years in the workforce at the helm of massive organizations.
Hiring for these roles isn’t easy. But it’s essential. And the organizations that get it right will be the ones that win hearts, minds, and market share in the years to come.