In the 90’s, we watched strangers live in a new environment together; it started with The Real World.  We made these people into our friends and our enemies, based on their (edited) actions.  When it came to public appearances, suddenly they weren’t just with a camera crew, but amongst “fans.”  These were the first pop (culture) stars who weren’t in a boy band like Backstreet Boys or a girl group like The Spice Girls. There weren’t necessarily talented, but they’d be chased like they were! Today, we have the same “stars,” but not just on our televisions.  We’re talking about social media celebrities.

We admire the average Joe shooting and editing tutorials, reviews, sketches, and the like, gaining millions of subscribers on YouTube.  Bring in Instagram and Twitter, and it’s a whole other game! Businesses aren’t just going to social media and using the most popular hashtags, they are going directly to the users that their consumers follow, asking the “influencer” to post their product on their feed with a simple snap!

Many influencers are most popular with the tweens and teenage girls, like sixteen-year-old Long Islander, Tanner Zagarino. He sees more than $15,000 a month from his social media presence. He’s gone from hosting a fashion blog, to being one of Seventeen’s “Hot Guy” panelists, and he makes several appearances. What does he do at these appearances?  Take selfies with tweens, of course.  That’s all.

The fandom is parallel to the same demographic’s reactions to One Direction! Screaming teenage girls chase these influencers down the street, hoping to snap a picture for their own Instagram. Now, the new era of pop stars now has their own event: The Jam Fest in Orlando! With the tag “online just got a whole lot more real,” The Jam Fest brings together stars from the web and favorite artists of said stars’ fans.  We’d be anxious to see who gains more screams: those with musical talents or those with a different kind of skill set on social media.

The celebrity status is changing with each new social media status.  Are you keeping up?  If your business is behind the times, Cote Media will bring you up to speed.  We might not have the same fans of #AlexFromTarget, but we have our own fan base. #RussFromCoteMedia, anyone?