SuperWoman’s Social Media Super Powers
A few weeks ago, in my blogpost regarding Lilly Singh’s Creative and Marketing Methodologies I was delving into the details about the month of hell- also known as, the last month of university- You know when every single class has 6 assignments due. I discussed how the last month of university was going to be the death of me, well now that I am nearing the last week- Here is an update- I’m here, and hanging onto my insanity by the last thread. I thought that my concentration levels were low in the beginning of month, when I could afford a few nights off from school work-you know just casually wasting my life on YouTube, double tapping Instagrams, going on Twitter and mindlessly watching those FaceBook videos.
Scarily, my concentration levels have gotten worse- and at this point I should NOT be wasting any time. I LEGITIMATELY SHOULD BE WORKING, but there am I again, watching or should I say re-watching YouTube videos that I have already seen and going on Instagram every 3 minutes. If you recall from my previously discussed blogpost, Lilly Singh is the YouTuber that I always pull towards during my darkest days of school stress and procrastination (side note- even by doing this blogpost on her, I ended up magically watching 5 of her videos when I should have been writing about her instead but I definitely think it helped with the ideas you’re about to read).
Throughout the past few lectures we have had throughout the month, I have been better able to see the various sides and elements of social media that I may have not considered. Whether that being about the dark side of social media, the dark side of people, the different ways to use it, how to better enhance it and so on. I feel like with this newfound knowledge, I have a new perspective and understanding of how individuals use social media. I thought I would apply these new concepts to Lilly Singh (a.k.a- IISuperWomanII). So consider this the extended, and longer version of Lilly Singh’s Creative and Marketing Methodologies- this time with a lil more sauce.
As of lately, I have noticed that social media has been given more of negative connotation than ever before. It’s considered a source that that stems unproductive behaviour, a source of depression and anxiety, a source of self-hatred and a source that feeds to our materialistic needs- Or as my mom says, “it’s a source of stupidity”. Yet, I think we have forgotten the creativity it has stimulated, the art that is created, the inspiration it has provided and the joy that it has given to individuals. It has been a gateway for individuals to express themselves and to create something never seen before without anyone stopping them.
I personally find the Lilly excellently demonstrates using social media for that purpose of a creative outlet. Lilly uses all of her platforms on social media, specifically YouTube to express herself, to express her thoughts and to share her ideas. It has been a tool she has used for self-medicating her depression (Teen Vogue Interview).
When Lilly was in university, she was pursuing a degree in psychology that she wasn’t passionate about. Her true dreams were of being an entertainer, however, she was constantly told by those around her that “you’ve got to get a degree, and a real job, and that’s not a dream to have” (Teen Vogue). Being confined to society’s norms, cultural norms and standards were almost like shackles upon Lilly that were restraining her from living the life she truly wanted to. It was almost as though she was being kept under the surface of a frozen lake, searching for that crack to finally break through.
The constant put downs and restraints that Lilly experienced contributed immensely to her depression- they built up over time and caused her to reach a level of unhappiness. She mentions in her Draw My Life video that there were times that she physically couldn’t get out of her bed, that her ambitions were diminishing and her purpose was slowly fading away. In a room filled with people, she felt alone and helpless. She was seeking for a way to change that, and that is when she unexpectedly stumbled upon YouTube (Teen Vogue + Draw My Life).
YouTube gave Lilly the opportunity to work on projects for herself- the videos she created provided her with purpose, and the platform enabled her to carry out her true desires of entertaining others. She mentioned in her interview with Teen Vogue that, “The idea that people I didn’t know were watching made me feel less alone than I’d felt in a long time..I had fun for the first time in so long” (Teen Vogue). She used the tool of social media to be creative, to express herself and to heal herself.
The thing about social media is that there are no gatekeepers like there are in traditional media. Anyone can create content, and share it with the people around them and to the millions of people that live across the globe. This has enabled many various creators with different talent to share their content and to express themselves in mediums that they may not have been able to before.
In turn, Lilly has used social media to help inspire others, and to show them that they can get out of hard times, like she has. She has used her platform as place for others to seek support and to voice her concern about mental health, as well as other global issues. This is excellently exemplified in her partaking of campaigns such as Help Me Send Girls To School, and #GirlLove.
This leads into how Lilly also uses social media to connect with others, and to help others connect with each other (Side note- try saying that three times really fast). Lilly has connected to her fans in two ways, the first being through the content she creates on YouTube, and the second is through the strategic methods of using her other social media platforms, like Instagram and Twitter.
I find that as human beings we love to analyze ourselves or at least see ourselves from an external perspective in a more comical light. Lilly’s content presents that in her videos, where she excellently tries to illustrate human behaviour in a very relatable way- she attempts to show how we act in various situations. This enables her to capture a larger audience as she can relate diverse group of people. For example, from the immense amount of videos she has created, you can see that there is a form of categorization, such as:
- 1. Types of _____
- 2. Battle of the Sexes
- 3. Rants
When deconstructing the Types of _____ videos, you’ll see videos such as:
- Types of People
- Types of Parents
- Types of Teachers at School
- Types of Crushes (Part 1 & 2)
- (*Side Note*- I feel like all of my blog posts are just me subliminally trying to tell you about my crushes, and I find it crazy how Lilly has captured every person I’ve ever liked, in her skits. She understands the whole groupchat situation, you know- when bae texts you, and you send the message to your groupchats, and ask your friends what to say. SHE GETS IT!)
- Types of Teenagers
- Types of Single People
- Types of Friends
- Types of Kids at School
These videos relate to a broad range of individuals, as they are not limited to certain genders or age groups, her content reaches many people and that is where the connectivity comes in. Individuals began sharing this content with their friends, and their family as they are able to relate to it and laugh about it.
When analyzing the Battle of the Sexes videos, you’ll see videos such as:
- How Girls Get Ready
- Girls on their Periods
- If Boys Had Their Period
- How Girls Fight
- What Girls Really Mean
- How Guy and Girls Hit on Each Other
- (*Side note again- I’m the person that legit would never say a word if I liked someone).
Within these videos Lilly has created various characters, that are both male and female. These characters aid in adding dimension to relatability. The characters consists of individuals from different backgrounds, genders and age groups. This way, Lilly can indirectly reach a broader demographic, even though she is the one solely acting in the videos.
Overall, I believe the relatability of the videos and the quality of the content she makes is truly what captures individuals to continue watching her. This demonstrates that she uses social media, specifically her content for the purpose of connecting with those around her.
Moreover, Lilly uses her other social media platforms, such as Instagram and Twitter to do the same, however, she adds a bit of a twist. Not only does she want to connect with her audience but also wants her audience members to connect with each other. For example, last year, she hosted a Twitter event where she wanted her audience members to speak to each other, to share positive messages with one another and to discuss their opinions about things. Instead of making the social experience about herself, she made it about her fans.
She uses hashtags to keep conversations going, such as #BawseBook, which is based upon the new release of her novel How to Be a Bawse. She also replies back to tweets that many of her fans send her, to show appreciation and to retain feedback on what videos to create.
I also find that by replying back to certain fans on Twitter and other social platforms, it makes them come back, and it makes other audience members get more involved. I remember back to my One Direction obsession phase of life (#tbt to grade 9), when I had my @1DAreMyHeroesx fan account (yes, that was my Twitter handle, don’t even deny it was pretty rad) I would always constantly be tweeting Zayn Malik, thinking I would have the chance to get noticed, like others did. That thought of having a sliver of a chance to be noticed always kept me coming back, and I think by Lilly replying back to fans occasionally, it also drives her fanbase to continuously stay involved.
Moreover, we can see that Lilly uses social media to broaden her exposure by connecting and collaborating with other opinion leaders. For example, Lilly has collaborated with different entertainers beyond those who reside on YouTube, to gain exposure to unique/niche audiences. For instance, she has worked alongside with the WWE Wrestlers such as, The Bella Twins and The Rock, thus targeting those who are interested in wrestling.
She has also collaborated with Bollywood actors, thus strongly attracting the South Asian community. For instance, she has made videos with Madhuri Dixit and Priyanka Chopra.
She has gone beyond YouTube entertainment and has collaborated with actors within Hollywood, such as Shay Mitchell, James Franco, Kunal Nayyar, Hilary Duff, Gina Rodriguez and Victoria Justice.
Nonetheless, Lilly has used social media to promote and unify her brand image. She has used different platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Tumblr to send a unified message of who she is and what she supports. Lilly presents herself as a positive, uplifting and hard-working person, where she hopes to bring colour to life of others. She identifies herself as a unicorn. This persona she wishes to exude is carried on the multitude of platforms she has as well as through the continuous aesthetics and constant messages she sends out.
For example, the intros to her videos are of a unicorn bringing about a rainbow to the screen, this once again reiterates and promotes that whole message of colour, inspiration and support that Lilly wants to exude.
The messages she puts on Twitter, are consistent with how she wishes to present herself, which is as a hard worker, hustler and a down to earth individual.
Many of her Instagram captions pertain towards working hard, and persevering through hard times. Lilly genuinely hopes to inspire those around to become better individuals, and to grow as human beings.
I am genuinely inspired by Lilly Singh both professionally and personally. Watching her videos (even in the midst of my procrastination days) makes me want to work harder. She has shown me that I can make my dreams come true and that I should never give up. I find her to be one of the most down to earth and humble creators on YouTube. I definitely feel as though my outlook on life has changed because of her. I have become a more positive individual, someone that tries to exude happiness, confidence and encouragement. I am excited to see what amazing projects Lilly has been working on, and I’ll always be there to support her!
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