They came for one hire. They left with six.
Joybyte planned a single Social Media Strategist hire. The shortlist Ghost Sherpa delivered was strong enough that they hired all three candidates, then came back for three more to build out their TikTok Shop affiliate capability.
Client
Joybyte
Model
Full-Time Staffing
Roles
Social + TikTok Shop
Time to Shortlist
3 Weeks
The Plan
Joybyte is a fast-growing social agency. They needed a Social Media Strategist, someone who could build data-driven campaigns, manage content calendars, and stay ahead of platform trends. One hire. Clear scope. Straightforward ask.
What Actually Happened
Within three weeks of kickoff, Ghost Sherpa presented a shortlist of candidates with hands-on experience across social strategy, TikTok content dynamics, affiliate management, and analytics. The caliber of the shortlist made Joybyte's decision easy: hire all three.
With a social foundation in place, Joybyte turned to the next growth lever. TikTok Shop was becoming a meaningful channel for their e-commerce clients, and winning on it required a different kind of specialist, someone who understood affiliate structures, creator partnerships, and revenue-driven measurement, not just engagement metrics. Ghost Sherpa placed three TikTok Shop Affiliate Specialists to round out the capability.
“It's not often that I find partners that deliver exactly what was promised during initial conversations. That is not the case when it comes to Ghost Sherpa. Since day 1, I have been impressed with your team and the level of communication and follow up.”
Myriah Castillo
President, Joybyte
One planned hire. Six specialists placed.
1 →6
Planned hire to total specialists placed across both roles
3 wks
From kickoff to first shortlist of vetted candidates
Two Distinct Teams Built
Social strategy capability and TikTok Shop affiliate capability, both staffed through one engagement
Why this matters for you
Social media strategy and TikTok Shop affiliate management are not the same job.
Social Media Strategists own awareness and engagement. Content performance, community growth, platform presence. TikTok Shop Affiliate Specialists own revenue. Creator sourcing, affiliate recruitment, commission structures, and e-commerce conversion. They require different skills, different backgrounds, and different KPIs.
Most agencies staffing for TikTok Shop are hiring social media people and hoping they figure it out. They don't. If your clients are asking about TikTok Shop and you don't have dedicated affiliate expertise behind it, you're offering a strategy capability when they need an e-commerce one.
Ghost Sherpa can staff both, separately, with people who know the difference.
Next Step
Building a social capability, or a TikTok Shop practice?
Both start with a conversation. Tell us the role, the platform focus, the client profile. We'll tell you what kind of specialist actually fits and whether we have them on the bench.
