The Relationship Between Social Platforms and Influencers
For more information about Julius or our blog, please contact Russell Wilde Jr.
Digital influencers achieve so much through social media platforms: they learn to utilize these tools, create their own content while sharing their personality, individuality, and ideas, and often gain a loyal, massive following. What can make it even better? Building a relationship with the platform to help each other grow, evolve, and create the best content. One recent example is the #VoteIRL campaign by Youtube and young content creators/Youtubers. Social media and influencers, such as Hannah Hart and Kingsley, partnered together to create an effective campaign. But what happens when a content creator is locked out of the social media platform that made him famous?
Shonduras (Shaun McBride), often noted as one of Snapchat’s first “celebrities,” is known for his adventurous stories and impressive illustrations on Snapchat, and also has a huge following on Youtube (over 800K subscribers) and Instagram (over 140K). He’s especially recognized for being interactive with his fans, spreading positivity, and greatly supporting the relationships with brands, social media, and influencers. Thousands were surprised, of course including Shonduras, last Saturday when he was locked out of his own Snapchat, the platform where he interacts the most with his fans.
On November 7, still unsure of why he’s still locked out, Shonduras posted a Youtube video titled “Open Letter to Snapchat” — an honest, and still positive, plea to Snapchat to not only have his account back, but to also become more creator friendly. He stresses how Snapchat became the perfect platform for creators and brands, but discusses the growing disconnect between Snapchat, its users, and the influencers who use it to create content.
Why is this so important to address now? You’ve probably heard Vine will soon be shutting its digital doors, and many are not surprised. Vine wasn’t exactly known for listening to their users, creating frequent frustration with the platform itself. Combine those problems with its constant-growing competition with Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook, they started losing influencers as they moved on to other platforms.
This could be a big lesson for Snapchat on how important it is to create a transparent, collaborative relationship with the creators using their platform. Shonduras even notes in his video that it is often difficult to even work with them, and that he has a rep for Youtube and contacts for Instagram that he can work with. Snapchat, though deeply loved and appreciated by so many creators, is not supporting and creating a community for them.
Shonduras still expresses how much he loves the platform, and creating these stories for his followers, and also working with brands. It’s important to emphasize that creators want to collaborate with Snapchat and have ideas on how to grow their following. They love this platform, they rely on this platform, and they want to help it grow and support content creators and brands through collaborations that only help everyone.
He stays hopeful through the video, noting there is definitely room for Snapchat to grow with influencers and help them create the best content and with brands to create effective campaigns. CyreneQ, Audrey Spencer, Branden Harvey, Geeohsnap, and other Snapchat influencers are featured at the end of the video with their own thoughts and ideas on how to collaborate with Snapchat and create an even better platform.
Bottom line: Snapchat would greatly benefit if they build better relationships with their content creators who drive so many users to the platform. They already love what Snapchat offers and have an already-existing passion for it. We’re now in a digital world where it’s most effective to simply let creators create and listen to their voices. On that note, one quote from Shundras definitely stuck out to me and is worth emphasizing:
“Whether you’re a creator or a brand, you want your voice and message to be heard, and if there’s no way for us to grow or have people to hear our message, then we’ll take our message to other platforms where it can be shared and where it can grow.”
Julius, a Thuzio solution, is a SaaS influencer marketing platform that provides marketers with rich social data, advanced search capabilities, and the campaign management tools required to organize a successful influencer marketing strategy.
For more information about Julius, our influencer marketing software, or our blog please contact Russell Wilde Jr.
