Social influencers are big business. In fact they are a $15 billion business. People with strong social filings are valuable to businesses and brands who can get themselves In front of the right eyeballs. But it only works if both benefit. Redditer edknarf told of one exchange he had with a social influencer who had not much to offer, but wanted $1,500 in services comped. (My guess it was some kind of luxury medical spa treatment.)
This is a cold-slap-in-the-face reality check for the guy/girl who thought they were gonna live large. Hilarious. The exchange went like this. The influencer is referred to as CB.
CB: Hello, I need professional service done and I heard it costs around $1,500.
Me: That sounds like a similar price to what we charge. Can I tell you a little more about us?
CB: No, I am a social influencer so I will like you do it for free.
Me: Sure, we often collaborate with influencers.
CB: Great, I would like this done today (me: even if she was paying cash, that wasn't going to happen an hour before close)
Me: What agency are you with?
CB: What do you mean?
Me: We need to get your performance metrics on your followers to make sure you will reach enough of customer base.
CB: How many people is that?
Me: We want to make sure at least 100,000 potential customers will be reached for us to collaborate.
CB: I have 1,200 followers.
Me: I am sorry, but that doesn't meet our minimum threshold.
CB: Well, I am still getting professional service done, right?
Me: Of course! we would need payment in full of $1,500 to start today.
CB: Oh, can you just bill me?
Me: We would have to have you apply for financing.
CB: My credit is terrible, I won't get approved.
Me: not a problem, we accept cash and check with two forms of ID.
CB: That isn't going to work for me, my license is expired.
Me: Sounds like your best option is cash.
CB: Ugh, I don't have the money to pay for professional service, I don't have a job.
Me: I thought you were an influencer, don't you get paid for your influence?
CB: (Disconnects)
She must have had limited options at that point. Either stop wanting expensive things with very few followers. Or buy follow-bots.
The NY Times did a story about people who bought fake followers. Here's their list of the top 99 celebs who bought followers:
Reality TV
Sonja Morgan (Cast member on “The Real Housewives of New York City”)
Lori Greiner (Inventor and “Shark Tank” judge)
Chad Carroll (Star of “Million Dollar Listing Miami”)
Melissa Rycroft (Reality TV star)
Akbar Gbajabiamila (Host of “American Ninja Warrior”)
Dr. Bill Dorfman (Celebrity dentist)
Lisa Rinna (Actress, TV host and designer)
Michael Symon (Co-host of ABC’s “The Chew”)
Paul Hollywood (Chef and judge on “The Great British Bake Off”)
Actors
Ryan Hurst (“Sons of Anarchy” actor)
Matthew Postlethwaite (Actor on “Peaky Blinders”)
Katie Lowes (Actress on “Scandal”)
Andrew McCarthy (Director and ’80s heartthrob)
Clive Standen (Star of the TV show “Taken”)
D.B. Woodside (Actor on Fox’s “Lucifer”)
Deirdre Lovejoy (Film and television actress)
Gena Lee Nolin (Former “Baywatch” star)
Holly Robinson Peete (Actress and reality TV star)
Jeffrey Postlethwaite (Actor on “Peaky Blinders”)
John Leguizamo (Actor and comedian)
Johnathon Schaech (Actor and writer)
Louise Linton (Actress and political spouse)
Nicky Whelan (Australian actress)
Sainty Nelsen (Actor and voiceover artist)
Vanessa Marcil (Former “Beverly Hills 90210” actress)
Sports
Joey Galloway (ESPN college football analyst)
Adam Peaty (Olympic swimmer)
Brandon Phillips (pro baseball player)
Tate Martell (Ohio State quarterback)
Erik Johnson (Professional hockey player)
James Cracknell (Reality TV star and former rowing champion)
Ray Lewis (Retired football star and sports commentator)
Business
Michael Dell (founder and CEO of Dell)
Lynn Tilton (businesswoman and investor)
Peter R. Orszag (former White House budget director)
Ed Brown (Race car driver and Patrón executive)
Anurag Harsh (Marketing executive and author)
Fandom (Gaming, movie and TV fan site)
Harsh Goenka (Chairman of RPG Enterprises, an Indian conglomerate)
Jason Schenker (Bloomberg columnist and forecaster)
Martha Lane Fox (Businesswoman and Twitter board member)
Richard Wilk (Las Vegas casino and hotel promoter)
Talmon Marco (Co-founder of Juno, a ride-sharing company)
Porn
Dan Leal (adult film director)
Alyssa Lynn (adult film actress)
Holly Hendrix (adult film actress)
Jasmine Jae (adult film actress)
Mercedes Carrera (adult film actress)
Mariska X (adult film actress)
Tiffany Snow (escort)
Influencers
Nicole Lapin (TV host and financial author)
Eric Kaplan (Motivational speaker)
Sam Hurley (Personal branding guru)
Arabella Daho (Teen influencer)
Chris Voss (Tech blogger and writer)
David Papp (Blogger, author and speaker)
Dean Johnson (Designer and blogger)
Jeetendr Sehdev (Self-described “world’s leading celebrity branding authority”)
Kathy Ireland (Former model and entrepreneur)
Vanessa Florez (Beauty industry promoter)
Marketing
Jordan Zimmerman (Advertising executive)
Jonathan Sackett (Advertising and marketing executive)
The Honig Company (P.R. agency founded by Steve Honig)
Baruch Labunski (Chief executive of Rank Secure, a search engine optimization company)
Dionisios Favatas (Marketing executive and Adobe brand ambassador)
Phil Pallen (Los Angeles-based brand strategist)
Socialfave (Marketing firm run by Philippe Trebaul)
Media
Richard Roeper (Film critic for The Chicago Sun-Times)
Britt McHenry (Conservative writer and pundit)
Elizabeth MacDonald (Fox Business Network journalist and author)
Aaron Klein (Reporter at Breitbart News)
Bobby Bones (Radio personality and author)
Brooke Magnanti (Scientist, author and former escort)
Ford O’Connell (Republican strategist and professor)
Jacobin Magazine (New York-based socialist magazine)
Joe Concha (Media columnist for The Hill)
Melanie Bromley (Chief correspondent for E! News)
Millie Weaver (Reporter at Infowars)
Richard Karlgaard (Forbes columnist)
Sharyn Alfonsi (Correspondent for CBS’s “60 Minutes”)
Models
Josh Cuthbert (Singer and model)
Ellie Gonsalves (Model and wildlife activist)
Wilhelmina Models (Modeling agency)
Natalie Halcro (Reality TV star and model)
Delilah Belle Hamlin (Model and daughter of Lisa Rinna)
Music
DJ Snake (French D.J.)
Mikel Jollett (Musician and liberal Twitter personality)
Lucas Hoge (Country singer and brand ambassador)
Blackalicious (West Coast hip-hop duo)
Justin David Blau aka 3LAU (Las Vegas-based D.J. and influencer)
Clay Aiken (Singer and politician)
Politics
China Xinhua News (Chinese government-run press agency)
Lynne Patton (Federal housing official and Trump appointee)
Lenín Moreno (President of Ecuador)
Greg Ramfos (Michigan businessman)
Hilary Rosen (Public relations strategist and CNN commentator)
Melvin Gordon (Grandfather and political junkie)
Randy Bryce (Democratic candidate for Congress)
William H. Saito (Cybersecurity expert)
Here's a list from Harper's Bazaar that have the most fake followers (not necessarily paid for):
- Ellen DeGeneres – 49%
- BTS – 47%
- Kourtney Kardashian – 46%
- Taylor Swift – 46%
- Ariana Grande – 46%
- Deepika Padukone – 45%
- Miley Cyrus – 45%
- Katy Perry – 44%
- Khloe Kardashian – 43%
- Priyanka Chopra – 43%