Exposed: I’m obsessed with Lilly Singh (and her genius empire)
This semester, I have heard the word brand more times than I’ve heard the words Donald Trump. Well no, I’m going to take that one back. But between taking a social media course and “marketing for media professionals”, it’s a popular word for me this semester, and this is coming from a girl who grew up with a mom that has worked in advertising for 20+ years. There are many people, like my mom, that I admire for their work in advertising and branding, but one that will always stick out to me is Lilly Singh, otherwise known as YouTube’s all-powerful iiSuperwomanii.
Before I start talking about Lilly and her brand, I must warn you kind reader, I’m a huge fan of her. You know those crazy people that cry at concerts? I’m that person at her shows and meet and greets. Picture me, a 5’3 nineteen-year-old girl surrounded by hundreds of Internet-slang fluent fourteen year-old girls, whose parents still don’t understand how someone can make a living off YouTube. Although I like her creative, comedic videos as iiSuperwomanii, I’m a bigger fan of Lilly as a person. Her work ethic and positive outlook on life is admirable and the energy she brings with her presence has become a part of her brand. Now that I’ve admitted my fangirling ways to you, I will try to remain from coming off as a proud parent.
Lilly began her YouTube career after graduating from York University with a psychology degree. She had been in a depressive state for some time and was only looking for a way to be happy again. One day, she stumbled upon a Jenna Marbles video and was amazed at all the people making and sharing videos online. She decided that she would try this YouTube thing out and maybe making others laugh, would help her as well. The first video on her channel got 70 views, which to her, was a lot considering she was no one on YouTube (yet) and the platform was not as significant as it is now. Fast forward six years, and her main channel has more than a billion views. A BILLION. I can’t even begin to imagine that number.
In 2017, she took a step up with her traditional skit videos. She has now hired a professional crew to work with; she develops the script, and her new team comes to her house and helps her shoot it. Her main channel videos don’t need as much promotion as you would think. She has created such a loyal Internet empire that her fans and followers impatiently wait for her content every Monday and Thursday. Lilly’s team does post a clip of the video on Instagram and send a tweet to remind the audience, but she doesn’t need to repeat herself. One more way that she promotes her main channel videos is through her vlogs. She’ll add a small clip to create interest and bring vlogging channel viewers to her main one.
Now, I think it’s important to analyze her social media platforms and figure out where and how she creates such a strong bond with her fans:
1. First, a certain politician’s favourite platform: Twitter.
Like any other Internet influence, she has automated tweets, but the majority of her feed, are tweets written by her. Reading them is like reading your high school friend’s tweet because the way she addresses them make the audience feel like they’re catching up with a friend.
Then, she notices what her fans are up to, and joins in. A few weeks ago, her fan accounts made a hashtag “#BBsRoastLilly”, where they jokingly made fun of her. She answered with her own hashtag “#LillyRoastsBB’s”:
These interactions create a loyal and trusting bond with her audience, so when it comes to releasing her first book, (which is a New York Times Best Selling book by the way, but I won’t brag like a proud daycare parent) she has a support system:
2. Next, the hole where our productivity goes to die: Instagram
Okay, her Instagram feed is one of my favourites. Her aesthetic does a good job of reflecting her personality and maintaining the same brand throughout her videos and different platforms. The colourful feed, her positivity, and her work ethic shine through her account and this is where followers get to see the places she gets to visit, the people she gets to meet, and her in the most real way possible.
I think that being as down-to-earth and accessible as she is, is a huge trait that makes people fall in love with her. Since I started watching her (back when she had just surpassed a million subscribers), she has remained faithful to her beliefs, likes and dislikes. Things that you saw her doing six years ago, she most likely is doing and enjoying now. As someone who is constantly in the spotlight and whose success is very much fan-based, she never dismisses her audience’s support. Her voice and tone on her platforms create a welcoming community, where she considers her audience part of her team. This further proves the fact that she actively recognizes that her followers are a big part of who she is.
Her Facebook platform is not as personal, as it only contains promos of her videos and vlogs, which is completely understandable as the majority of her audience doesn’t use Facebook. Instagram stories and Snapchat are not platforms she uses often, but if a follower is looking for that type of raw content, her vlogs are similar to the content created on Instagram stories and Snapchat.
It has been a hard struggle for YouTube content creators to get away from the negative stigma around the concept of YouTubers. Although they make massive amounts of money, their position in the workforce hierarchy is very low (not as low as Viners were, but still pretty low). Some people believe that if you’re not working a 9–5 job, sitting down at a desk, your job can’t be as valid or as hard. So, when these creators are only filming themselves in their home and earning millions of dollars, people get angry. Lilly’s brand has been able to get away from that stigma (although it is the Internet, so there will always be some hate comments). She has created such an admirable image that worldwide brands, such as Coca-Cola, want to work with her and be represented by her. Recently, she appeared on the cover of AdWeek:
According to my advertising genius of a mom, this is a huge deal. Important magazines like AdWeek are taking notes on the way she handles her brand online and offline and they recognize that the depressed university grad that started filming videos in her basement, has built a powerful empire. In the AdWeek article, president of The Story Lab, Shannon Pruitt, comments, “Lilly has a very strong identity and clear definition of what she stands for, so like any good brand, she puts the discipline behind it”. The director of marketing at Coca-Cola Canada, Diego Moratorio also comments, “we are always impressed with the level of energy that Lilly brings to our partnership, but even more so with her ability to bring our brand to life in an authentic way while remaining true to her own audience”. So, it’s safe to say that by seeing her success, brands are not afraid to take a chance on this YouTube content creator. In fact, YouTube used her image along with Tyler Oakley’s, in one of their biggest campaigns, where their ads appeared in places like Times Square. In an acceptance speech at an awards show, she publicly thanked YouTube and Google for “not being scared of putting a brown girl on a billboard”. (This speech literally gave me chills: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfYqGMMOOJ8 )
Lastly, it’s super important to point out her social campaign “Girl Love”. She has partnered up with Me To We, to break the cycle of girl-on-girl hate that we see so often at schools and in the media. Last year, she went to Kenya with Me To We and along with the mamas, she created bracelets, which she would then sell. The money raised from the bracelets gave those Kenyan mothers the money and the ability to send their daughters to school and give them an education. Most of the time in these communities, the sons are the only children that can go to school, as they are considered the priority. As a proud feminist myself, this is by far my favourite thing Lilly has ever done, and they are initiatives like these that make me a true fan of her work.
I could go on forever about what an exemplary brand Lilly Singh has developed for herself and her work, but I think we got the essentials. In my opinion, the main reasons that she has become such a phenomenon are her accessibility, her voice/ tone she uses to address her audience and of course the insane amount of work she puts in. I highly recommend you check out her stuff on YouTube, both her main and vlogging channel, and if you’re not into that, you can buy a Girl Love bracelet here: https://shop.metowe.com/girllove , and help girls get an education. (not sponsored by Lilly, I truly just love this cause).
Lilly, if you’re reading- keep hustlin’ girl.
And to you kind reader, thanks for reading the tales of a proud daycare parent.
