As older TikTok creators prosper, brands enroll

The work is lucrative, Ms. Tan said, and she has no intention of stopping any time soon.

“I certainly wasn’t quite ready for retirement financially,” she said. In addition to saving for her later years, Ms. Tan said, she is paying a mortgage and college tuition for a younger child.

Ms. Tan’s success is more the exception than the rule. Still, there are opportunities for older brand reps because there are fewer creators in that age range to compete with, says Kevin Creusy, a co-chief executive of upward influence, which maintains a repository of 4.5 million social media creators that advertisers can search to find partners. In mid-April, the list only had about 2,700 entries for people age 60 or older, he said, and only 174 of them had a TikTok account. The group is also predominantly female and white, he said, “an indication that other groups in general may be underrepresented.”

Brands often look for creators with just 5,000 followers because those so-called nano-influencers are more likely to engage with people in their comment sections, giving the account an authentic feel, said Mr. Creusy. Those accounts can also be a cheap marketing tool, as makers sometimes offer a product just because they received a free sample. About half of the partnerships formed on Upfluence offer free products as compensation, but no reward.

Creators who are paid can earn from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands of dollars producing content that promotes a brand. The salary depends on several factors: how much effort it takes to create the post, how often it is posted and on which platforms, whether the images can be used elsewhere by the company and how many followers the creator has.

However, for the vast majority, regardless of the age of the maker, the income is not enough to live on. The average pay for a sponsored post on Upfluence is $348, up 44 percent from the average pay in Q4 2022, Mr. Creusy said.

The money Ms. Krupa has made for her handful of sponsored videos only covers “fun” items like plants, raffle tickets and clothes, according to her grandson, who manages her TikTok account. Ms. Krupa refused to be interviewed.