We’re firmly in a new era of modeling where the key to success is not just about the way you look or about how many designers like your personality – it’s also about how popular you are on social media. With the dawn of the “Instagirls,” there have been countless think pieces on how social media has birthed this new generation of models, but in terms of the actual fashion business, it’s easy to see just how important a large Instagram or Twitter following is, especially for brands looking to expand their reach.
Storm Model Management Sarah Doukas explains just how important social media has become in casting a girl for a campaign. “Looks are obviously still first and foremost, but if you have two girls who are both perfect for something, without a shadow of a doubt the one with the bigger social following would win the job,” Doukas said. “If Cara does a big campaign, you quote for her to model and then you quote separately for the fact that she has 13m followers.” This phenomenon explains how Kendall Jenner, who might not be everyone’s cup of tea in photographs, has become such a hot item in the industry these days. Whether or not you like her as a model, those 27.5 million Instagram followers are a valuable currency of its own that clients see can translate to actual dollars. It’s business, after all – and you’ve got to find someone who is actually going to get people to buy your product.
Storm Model’s Simon Chambers elaborated: “This is a media space that belongs to that person — it’s an asset and if a brand wants access to that, then they have to treat it like buying media. The cost grows as the girl’s following grows.”
So, you aspiring models out there might want to start taking more Instagram selfies – and don’t skimp on the hashtags.
[via Vogue UK]
