How Zoe Sugg became Zoella
Zoella is an internet superstar with a net worth of £2.5 million (http://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/entertainment/a15332578/zoella-net-worth/ ), a mansion of undisclosed worth, 3 published books, her own successful beauty range, a pug (which probably gets a better stocking than you do at Christmas), and a really rather aesthetically pleasing Instagram account. But how? 8 years ago, Zoe Sugg posted a video to YouTube titled ‘60 Things In My Bedroom’ and now she is an internet sensation.
She even has her own waxwork in Madame Tussauds! She currently entertains:
- 11.1 million Instagram followers
- 12.6 million twitter followers
- 12 million YouTube subscribers (Zoella)
- 4.8 million subscribers (Zoella beauty)
Her Instagram is an immaculate display of selfies, OOTD (‘outfit of the day’) posts, charming coffee shop corners, the aforementioned pug, and her also-YouTube-famous boyfriend, Alfie Deyes AKA Pointless Blog.
Her twitter presents a similar assortment of photos, links to her YouTube channel, and the occasional 140-character motivational message to her fans. The regular vlogs and posts keep her followers engaged, having so much insight into her life generates an even more intimate connection.
You may think ‘I don’t see why she’s so famous, she doesn’t actually do anything’, but she actually has a lot of influence over her fans, who worship and adore her. She has the potential to be hugely encouraging to the millions of people who look up to her.
Taking to Twitter, she encouraged her fans to ask her questions using the hashtag #askzoella and subsequently made a YouTube video answering them. Through this she was able to connect on a personal level with her fans and discuss real life issues with them through the means of YouTube. In this video she discusses confidence, social anxiety and how to feel comfortable in a busy/crowded environment, she uses her own experience in order to be even more honest and open with her viewers. Through this means of communication, and as a public online presence, Zoella is able to give advice to her followers and encourage them, the positive benefits of her influence in this instance I would argue are not something to be mocked. She tactically uses twitter to direct her followers towards her YouTube account, encouraging them to become further attached to her online presence.
Although it may seem pointless, this career as a YouTuber, vlogger, ‘instagrammer’, author, and make up artist, has been very lucrative. The ability to envisage and nurture such an active and personal online community as well as maintaining relationships with her fans is truly remarkable. A better label for her would be an entrepreneur. Starting from zero with a seemingly ‘meaningless’ YouTube video, her online presence has been launched into fame and enabled her to go on to create her own beauty range and publish 3 novels.
For Zoe Sugg, communicating through online platforms allowed her to become Zoella, a millionaire who’s fortune is thanks to her personal, friendly, and chatty online presence — a reliable friend for her many millions of online followers.
