How Pay Transparency Impacts Agent-Influencer Relationships

Influencers are notorious for oversharing intimate details of their lives. From romantic relationships to family drama, we’re privy to seeing it all. Now they’re even sharing salary information. Is all of this oversharing beneficial or hurtful?

“Private” subjects are no longer off the table. With that, we can expect to learn a lot more about the earnings of the creators we follow. 

Since content creators have become more transparent sharing their rates many have begun  to incorporate this into  more of their content. We all love a voyeuristic peek behind-the-scenes, so .as long as the views keep climbing, we should continue to see content about “How I make a six-figure salary”, “How I secure brand deals” and “What I get paid per post with 100K followers”.

However, with this type of content brings a new challenge for influencer agents and managers: ensure that content creators are being offered a fair payout for their work or be associated with public post sharing dissatisfaction from their client. 

It’s one thing for agents and managers to fight for fair compensation but it’s another thing to have their work available for the internet to criticize. 

Strong communication between manager and client will be the  key to navigating this new age of salacious content in exchange for views. It’s equally as important to manage client expectations. . So many influencers are constantly being told they’re talented and worth more money, but is this based on reality? This narrative  can definitely alter the way they view themselves and could dramatically skew the perception of their business.. It’s  up to their agents and managers to effectively communicate how their worth is determined and the art of negotiations. No one’s worth is based on what other influencers think it should be, but rather what the market is willing to pay.. 

The ultimate goal is that agents feel more comfortable having difficult conversations with their clients. There is a lot to gain by  filtering the chatter on the internet especially if it doesn’t pertain to the influencer’s specific scenario. Context matters. It’s important to compare apples to apples in terms of back-end analytics, overall brand-fit and so much more. While sharing salary information can be beneficial to those who dramatically undervalue themselves, those with managers should investigate further. Yes, think big and push for more pay, but ask more questions of your manager and get the content that only they can provide. Transparency and communication will play a huge role in their value to net-new,  client retention and building stronger and lasting relationships with partners.