TikTok Influencer Agencies: Build the Relationship Off-Platform First

Liv Soibelman, head of e-commerce at Blueprint by Brian Johnson and a decade-long Shopify scaling specialist, breaks down why most brands approach TikTok creator sourcing completely wrong. Her core argument: TikTok is a relationship-building device, not a discovery engine, so the relationship needs to be established outside the platform before you ever invest budget there. Liv warns that creator performance on TikTok is notoriously hard to predict because engagement depends on posting frequency and algorithm luck, meaning even a creator with strong recent numbers can post to near-zero reach.

She argues that chasing virality as a strategy is a mistake because TikTok operates as a testing and learning system, not a reliable performance channel. The only creators worth scaling spend with, she says, are those who can produce content differentiated enough to avoid getting buried.

If you work with TikTok influencer agencies or manage creator sourcing in-house, watch to hear exactly how Liv decides which creators are worth her time and budget.