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☆ 16 influential talent management firms and agencies helping micro influencers build businesses, from getting brand deals to podcast collabs
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Shriya Bhattacharya | Marta Biino | Amanda Perelli | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The rise of influencer marketing has simplified one of the most sought-after marketing goals for brands — building community. Creating community is part of the reason brands continue to invest in influencer marketing despite economic headwinds. Micro influencers , who have smaller, usually hyper-engaged audiences, partner with brands and leverage the communities they've built for marketing purposes. Micro influencers often run lucrative full-time businesses on their own, but signing with a manager can supercharge that growth. Here are 16 talent-management firms for micro influencers, listed in alphabetical order by company:

Persons: HypeAuditor, Annelise Campbell, Lissette Calveiro Organizations: Business Locations: North America

☆ Former staffers of MrBeast explain what it's like to work for the top YouTuber, from crashing trains to go-karting in Japan
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Marta Biino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Her manager explained that their next video would entail filming retired trains from the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad crashing into brick walls. Insider spoke with 17 current and former employees of top YouTube stars, five of whom had worked for MrBeast. They described days filled with unimaginable stunts, inconsistent work hours, and varying salaries. Many of his employees work on site to participate in video production. The employees Insider spoke with said working at MrBeast meant pushing the boundaries of what a YouTube video could achieve.

Persons: Britt Carter, Carter, Jimmy Donaldson, —, Donaldson, Marc Kaplan Organizations: Business, YouTube, Lamborghini, Research, Oxford Economics, Forbes, MrBeast, Washington Post Locations: Greenville , North Carolina, Smoky, Greenville, Tokyo, Japan

☆ Almost half of US consumers bought something via social media this year, according to a new survey. Here are the big takeaways on who's buying what and where.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( Marta Biino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Almost half of American consumers have bought something on social media this year, a new survey has found, as tech companies push for people to buy and sell products on their platforms. The Influencer Marketing FactoryBeauty products and clothes are the most popular items bought on social mediaOver 25% of the respondents who did buy products on social media said they bought apparel on social media, while 19% purchased beauty products. Over a third of those who bought on social media spent more than $100A total of 35% of those who bought something said they'd spent more than $100. Almost 10% of those who bought something on social media did so weekly. This discovery aspect is a big focus for social platforms.

Persons: Bridget Dolan, Douyin, Patrick Nommensen, TikTok, they'd, Alessandro Bogliari, execs, Instagram Organizations: influencer, Influencer, Factory, Business, YouTube, Intelligence, Facebook Locations: Los Angeles, China

☆ An agency created an AI model who earns up to $11,000 a month because it was tired of influencers 'who have egos'
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A modeling agency created AI-generated Aitana López after encountering issues booking real models. AdvertisementA Spanish modeling agency said it's created the country's first AI influencer, who can earn up to €10,000, or $11,000, a month as a model. Euronews reported the news, based on an interview with Rubeñ Cruz, founder of the Barcelona-based modeling agency The Clueless, which created the influencer. The AI-generated woman, Aitana López, is a pink-haired 25-year-old. The agency created the images using Photoshop.

Persons: —, it's, influencer, Euronews, Rubeñ Cruz, Aitana, Cruz, Marta Biino, Emily Pellegrini, Fanvue, Will Monange, Biino Organizations: Service Locations: Barcelona, Instagram

☆ What's it like to work for MrBeast, the biggest YouTuber in the world, according to 5 former staffers
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( Marta Biino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Insider spoke with 17 current and former employees of top YouTube stars, five of whom had worked for MrBeast. They described days filled with unimaginable stunts, inconsistent work hours, and varying salaries. Many of his employees work on site to participate in video production. But others, like Carter, found themselves staying at work much longer than 40 hours per week. The employees Insider spoke with said working at MrBeast meant pushing the boundaries of what a YouTube video could achieve.

☆ 5 Trends to Bet Your Career On
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Business Insider | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Innovation undoubtedly drives business growth — but it also powers new and exciting career opportunities. Artificial intelligence probably comes to mind as one example, especially in the wake of generative AI, but that's not the only story. AdvertisementIn this series, 5 Trends to Bet Your Career On, Business Insider is highlighting five fast-moving trends that are activating new professional opportunities for those just starting out, as well as those looking for something new. Each of the trends is explained in detail, with an accompanying essay from someone who has chosen that path. Credits:Series Editors: Madeline Berg, Lauryn Haas, Julia Hood, Manseen Logan, Nathan McAlone, Josée Rose, Bartie Scott, Debbie Strong.

Persons: that's, Madeline Berg, Lauryn Haas, Julia Hood, Manseen Logan, Nathan McAlone, Josée Rose, Bartie Scott, Debbie Strong, Marta Biino, Catherine Boudreau, Alyshia, Madison Hoff, Aaron Mok, Amanda Perelli, Noah Sheidlower, Aria Yang, Jinyoung Chang, Rodriguez, Bryan Erickson, Taylor Tyson, Rebecca Zisser Organizations: Business Locations: Alyshia Hull

☆ AI is already impacting influencer marketing, according to the CMO of Billion Dollar Boy. Here's how she thinks brands should approach the new tech.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Marta Biino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Generative AI "has an immediate business implication" for the creator economy, according to Becky Owen, the global chief marketing and innovation officer at influencer-marketing firm Billion Dollar Boy. It has a focus on generative AI, but is also experimenting with virtual and augmented reality, as well as virtual influencers. Owen joined Billion Dollar Boy in early 2023 after almost five years at Meta, where she was most recently head of creator innovations and solutions for Europe. Becky Owen is the global chief marketing and innovation officer at Billion Dollar Boy. Billion Dollar Boy has already tested pilot partnerships with three retail brands, including two luxury fashion brands that have launched their first generative-AI-led creator content on Instagram.

Persons: Becky Owen, Owen, Elmo Mistiaen, Jo Ann, Shanikwa Dvorkin, Anastasia Rogozhina Organizations: Heineken, Pepsi, Business, Billion Dollar, Meta, Brands Locations: Amazon, Europe

☆ 'Community' is the latest trend that creator-economy startups and platforms are betting big on: 'Creators are the new priests'
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Sydney Bradley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

From product updates to startup rebrands, community has been at the forefront of press releases these past several months. Kajabi, a popular online course platform, recently announced that its creators had earned more than $6 billion using its platform. "We need a bit of everything," Amsellem said, adding that online communities and social platforms "are not going to solve loneliness" by themselves. For instance, Lennon's community on Kajabi hosts about 3,000 members — roughly the size of a small town in the US. Across all of Kajabi, the platform hosts more than 32,000 communities and over 2 million community members, per the company.

Persons: Jack Conte, Conte, Patreon, Kajabi, Teri Yu, Eli Valentin, Fourthwall, Valentin, chatbots, Yu, Hugo Amsellem —, —, Patreon's Conte, There's, Rob Lennon, Lennon, aren't, Amsellem, it's, BI's Marta Biino, YouTubers KSI, Logan, Cenat Organizations: Business, X, Vibely Locations: Kajabi, Silicon Valley, London

☆ I quit a 6-figure job to create personal-finance videos on TikTok. 2 years later, my social-media business is earning millions in revenue.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Marta Biino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. AdvertisementThis as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Vivian Tu, a 29-year-old content creator and founder of social-media brand Your Rich BFF. Every video of mine starts with the tagline, "I'm Vivian Tu, your rich BFF and your favorite Wall Street girly." At first, it was just ads on my videos on TikTok, and later on Instagram, YouTube, and other platforms. I don't think that's wise.

Persons: Vivian Tu, —, Morgan, Rich BFF, WME, I've, I'm Organizations: Service, YouTube, Penguin, DMs Locations: BuzzFeed

☆ A former Vice exec is launching an AI platform that can visualize entire stories, scripts, or poems from the text
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Marta Biino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

He started Lore Machine with Moises Sanabria, the company's chief prompt officer, and Kutlu Mizrak, who is in charge of natural-language processing. Lore Machine turns text stories into images, ensuring consistency in style for the different characters, locations, and recurring elements. Stable Diffusion vs Midjourney) depending on their preferences and their values. Lore Machine is currently in beta, and being used by screenwriters, artists, novelists, graphic novelists, and animators, with a waitlist of over 12,000, the company said. Campion said he expects Lore Machine to be publicly available in early 2024.

Persons: Thobey Campion, Campion, Moises Sanabria, Kutlu Mizrak, Machine's, it's, Phil Gelatt, Lore Machine's, Lore, Samuel T Organizations: Business, Machine, Hollywood, Lore Machine

☆ Social and influencer-marketing agency The Fifth, part of Murdoch's News Corp, is shutting down its UK talent division
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Marta Biino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Fifth, a social-creative agency originating in the UK, is shutting down its talent-management arm in the country, the company confirmed to Business Insider. The company is part of News UK, a media conglomerate that operates news outlets like The Times, The Sunday Times, and The Sun. The Fifth was founded in 2019 by Oliver Lewis, formerly News UK's director of digital strategy and partnerships, and The Fifth's talent division was launched a year later. Citing changes in the UK market, the company said it had decided to focus its efforts on the social-creative and influencer-marketing side of the business. Do you work at The Fifth or other talent management firms in the UK or have insight to share?

Persons: Oliver Lewis, It's, Dan Wang Organizations: Business, News UK, Times, Sunday Times, Sun . News, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, Eurostar, BareMinerals, Columbia Business School

☆ I went to Logan Paul and KSI's Prime pop-up, where everything was gold and fans lined up down the block to try to win a $500,000 bottle
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( Marta Biino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

To celebrate the sale of its billionth bottle, Prime opened two limited stores in London and NYC. The stores was gold themed, and included the chance to win a $500,000 gold Prime bottle. In New York, where Logan Paul was running operations at the local Prime store, the matching gold bottle was recorded melting, as there could only be one winner. For example, visitors of the Prime London store received a gold bottle with a custom flavor and the words "London 1,000,000,000" printed on it. Now, the gold Prime bottle can be found for sale on the Central Sweet Supply website for £139.99 (about $171).

Persons: YouTubers KSI, —, YouTube megastars Logan Paul, It's, Logan Paul, Ellie Whitby, Emanuele Maccotta, she'd, Steve Cooper, Cooper Organizations: Service, YouTube, Prime London, London Prime, Sweet Supply, Central Sweet Supply Locations: Logan, London, New York City, New York, Whitby

☆ Iceland issues state of emergency and closes world-famous Blue Lagoon over fears of a volcanic eruption
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-11 | by ( Marta Biino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Iceland has declared a state of emergency due to a high risk of a volcanic eruption. Iceland has seen increased eruptions since 2021, a possible sign of a new era of volcanic activity. Sign up for our newsletter to get the latest on the culture & business of sustainability — delivered weekly to your inbox. "The likelihood of a volcanic eruption occurring in the near future is deemed considerable," it adds. As a result of the emergency, the Blue Lagoon, one of Iceland's most popular tourist attractions, which is close to Grindavík, was closed as a precaution.

Persons: Ingibjorg Lilja Omarsdottir Organizations: Service, Icelandic Met, Civil Protection Agency, Geographic, Icelandic Civil Protection Agency, BBC Locations: Iceland, Grindavík, Sundhnjúkagígum, Europe

☆ Tourists are flocking to a strange bubblegum-pink pond in Hawaii
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-11 | by ( Marta Biino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

AdvertisementAdvertisementTourists have been flocking to a bright pink pond on the island of Maui, in Hawaii, in recent weeks. The pond, called Keālia Pond, has been monitored by the Keālia Pond National Wildlife Refuge since October 30, when its color changed. AdvertisementAdvertisementHalobacteria are "salt-loving organisms found in high salinity water bodies," according to the Fish and Wildlife Service. The Keālia Pond turned pink on October 30, 2023. Bret Wolfe, the refuge manager, told the AP that he's seen an increase in tourist visits since the pink pond first appeared on social media.

Persons: —, Leslie Diamond, Bret Wolfe, he's Organizations: Service, Wildlife Refuge, Fish and Wildlife Service, and Wildlife Service, AP Locations: Maui, Hawaii

☆ SpaceX chief told employees to 'focus on your job' for humanity's sake after they raised workplace complaints, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-11 | by ( Marta Biino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

SpaceX's COO told employees to "focus on your job" when they raised workplace concerns in 2022. AdvertisementAdvertisementSpaceX COO Gwynne Shotwell told employees in a 2022 email to "focus on your job and the mission of SpaceX — to get humanity to Mars as quickly as possible," after they raised workplace complaints in an open letter, Reuters reported. Shotwell's email was in response to an open letter written by SpaceX employees that criticized the company's dismissive attitude toward employee concerns and inconsistent enforcement of discipline policies, per the report. Nine employees were fired for raising complaints in the letter — and eight of those have since filed unfair labor practice complaints with the National Labor Relations Board. SpaceX's mission "to go to Mars as fast as possible and save humanity permeates every part of the company," Tom Moline, a former SpaceX engineer who was fired after he made workplace complaints, told Reuters.

Persons: Elon, —, Gwynne Shotwell, Tom Moline Organizations: Reuters, Service, SpaceX, National Labor Relations Board Locations: Brownsville , Texas, Hawthorne , California, McGregor , Texas, Brownsville

☆ Why OnlyFans rival Fanvue is betting big on AI influencers, especially for adult content
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Marta Biino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Instagram influencer Emily Pellegrini may look like any other creator — but she's not a real person. And she's one of several AI-generated characters who are successfully monetizing their presences on Fanvue, a platform for subscriber-only content similar to Patreon or OnlyFans. But it currently only allows content enhanced or modified with AI if it belongs to a verified OnlyFans content creator — i.e., a real person, according to its community guidelines. The platform is working to introduce a host of capabilities the team calls "Fanvue AI." But both Monange and the creators behind the AI adult-content stars on Fanvue said they are trying to tread carefully.

Persons: Emily Pellegrini, she's, She's, Pellegrini, Will Monange, Monange, it's, Sarah Jordan, There's, Fanvue, Emily Pellegrini's Organizations: Tech

☆ These innovative startups are helping to bring social shopping into the mainstream in the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Marta Biino | Dan Whateley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The race to integrate shopping into social media in the US kicked into high gear this year. Big social platforms including YouTube, TikTok, and Pinterest are adding new commerce features at a fast clip. A slew of startups have also been rushing to introduce products and services that help brands, influencers, and — perhaps most importantly — consumers get used to the idea of buying on social media. Some companies, like Whatnot and Flip, are building separate apps for brands and creators to sell products through livestreams. Insider compiled a list of nine startups that are helping creators, brands, retailers, and consumers break into social shopping in the US.

Persons: Max Benator Organizations: YouTube, Ghost Agency Locations: Asia, China

☆ How a law firm built almost entirely on social-media platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn has landed over 270 clients
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Marta Biino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

That's the case with SMB Law, a boutique law firm focused on small businesses founded by Eric Pacifici, Kevin Henderson, and Sam Rosati in 2022. The initiative to start SMB Law came from Pacifici. "There's a really robust small-business community on Twitter called SMB Twitter, or SMB X," Pacifici told Insider. "We have product-market fit because we have that community support in building this business," Pacifici said. "I think we've done a good job of using social media to get pretty ingrained in our space, well beyond Twitter," Pacifici said.

Persons: Elon, Eric Pacifici, Kevin Henderson, Sam Rosati, We've, Henderson, it's, Pacifici, Rosati, Eli Albrecht, They're Organizations: SMB Law, SMB, Big Law, Twitter Locations: Pacifici, Evelin Montenegro

☆ Find me a zebra and you can have the job: What it's like to work for top YouTube stars, according to 17 current and former staffers of creators like MrBeast and Kai Cenat
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Marta Biino | Amanda Perelli | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Cenat, who is a top Twitch streamer and YouTube creator with millions of subscribers across multiple platforms, was looking for an assistant. Cenat responded to her message, writing that she could have the job if she could get one task done. There's even a job board dedicated to finding work with a YouTube creator: YT Jobs . The staffers ranged from full-time employees to contractors, and they described days filled with unimaginable stunts, inconsistent work hours, varying salaries, and frequent pivoting. "It's like the old adage of, 'If you love what you do, you never work a day in your life.'"

Persons: Brianna Lewis yearned, Kai Cenat's, Cenat, Lewis, She's, Jimmy Donaldson, Preston Arsement, YT, Britt Carter, Kai Cenat, Brianna Lewis, Carter, Drake, Peter Sanjur, Sanjur, Zi Yuan, Yuan, Jason Russak, YouTuber Jesse Riedel, Russak Organizations: Instagram DMs, YouTube, Research, Oxford Economics Locations: Georgia, Charlotte , North Carolina, Atlanta , Georgia, Greenville , North Carolina, Smoky, Japan, Tokyo

Creator finance startup Karat Financial laid off staffers this month, four people familiar with the matter said. The cuts came a few months after the company raised $70 million in new funding. Karat declined to comment. The creator finance startup Karat Financial laid off staffers this month, four people familiar with the matter told Insider. The startup, which provides financial services such as taxes and bookkeeping for creators, was founded in 2019 by Eric Wei and Will Kim.

Persons: Eric Wei, Will Kim

☆ How TikTok helped a collectibles company make $19 million in sales of trading cards, memorabilia, and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Marta Biino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The pandemic accelerated sales, and since then, McGuckin has made TikTok the focus of his e-commerce efforts. That decision has proven fruitful, especially since the introduction of TikTok Shop, the platform's e-commerce solution that allows users to purchase items directly from the app. Dappz Sports has had a years-long relationship with the social-media giant and has been beta testing TikTok Shop since 2022. This is just the beginning of TikTok Shop. Dappz SportsCombining livestreaming and short-form content is McGuckin's key to successMcGuckin said his strategy for sales on TikTok combines livestreaming with short-form content.

Persons: Matt McGuckin, TikTok, McGuckin, they'll, They'll, Micah Parsons, Bobby Witt Organizations: Sports, Amazon, Dappz Sports, National Sports Collectors Convention, Dallas Cowboys, Melrose Locations: Instagram, TikTok, New York, Texas, Los Angeles

☆ Facebook is the top social-media platform for millennials and Gen Z to shop on. Here are 4 other takeaways from a new 26-page report.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( Marta Biino | Sydney Bradley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Facebook is the platform where millennial and Gen-Z consumers are most likely to purchase a product, according to a new survey of US social-media users. "YouTube has been the slow and steady platform in the turmoil that social media has been over the years," Assayag said. For instance, among Gen-Z consumers, Snapchat displaced Facebook as a top five platform for consuming content. However, when it came to posting content, YouTube was replaced with Instagram as the most popular platform among all consumers surveyed. However, only 41% of consumers "somewhat agree" that they would pay for exclusive content from an influencer they follow.

Persons: Pierre, Loïc Assayag, TikTok Traackr, Assayag, They're, TikTok, Instagram, Traackr, influencer Organizations: Facebook, YouTube, Meta, influencers

Here's a secret some content creators are holding close to their chests: Facebook is an overlooked goldmine for cash. "There's so many ways to make money on Facebook that my manager calls it a cash cow," My Nguyen, the creator behind the viral food and recipe account MyHealthyDish, told Insider. Take Morgann Book, a lifestyle influencer with 2.8 million TikTok followers. Meanwhile, Nuseir Yassin of Nas Daily, whose account has 7 million TikTok followers, told Insider in 2022 that his monthly earnings from several Facebook accounts rounded out to between $60,000 and $70,000. Meanwhile, Cassandra Bankson, who uploads skincare-related content for her 437,000 TikTok followers, uses the company Decked to syndicate her content across Facebook.

Persons: She's, Nuseir Yassin, Here's, Instagram, Tom Alison, Wasil Daoud, he's, Daoud, TikTok, doesn't, Rob Clark, Jellysmack, Cassandra Bankson, she's, they'll, Adorian, Khamyra, Logan Nathanson, Nathanson Organizations: Facebook, YouTube, Nas Daily, Amazon Locations: Nas

☆ Read the Notion memo Dharma, a travel startup that crafts travel experiences for creators and brands, used to raise $4.7 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Marta Biino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Dharma, a travel startup that plans and sells trips hosted by creators and brands, recently announced $4.7 million in pre-Series A funding. Dharma cofounder and CEO Charaf El Mansouri told Insider the company aims to support creators and brands in organizing exclusive travel experiences by dealing with operations and liaising with local travel operators as needed. "By definition, I'm a yoga teacher, not a professional travel manager. The company's big challenge ahead, which the funds from the raise will be used for, is to achieve scale. Here is the 17-page Notion memo that the cofounders used to raise $4.7 million.

Persons: Stephen Ross, Matt Higgins, Eric Cantona, Charaf El Mansouri, Dharma, Emily, Kelsey Wells, Pernod, El Mansouri Organizations: San, Convivialite Ventures, FJ Labs, Tank, Paramount Global, Netflix, Pernod Ricard Locations: San Francisco, Paris, El

☆ I moved to LA at 18 with the dream of being an influencer. I lost myself, and I can't wait to leave.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-15 | by ( Marta Biino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

She moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career as an influencer in early 2021. I knew LA was the place where influencers lived, the place to be when you wanted to do social media. AdvertisementAdvertisementOne time in seventh grade, I told my dad, "I'm going to live in LA one day." So when I "blew up" on TikTok and gained an audience, moving to LA was at the top of my mind. LA is great, until it's notOn my very first night in LA, I got blackout drunk.

Persons: Rhegan Coursey, —, influencer, I've, LA, influencers, it's, I'm, I'd, Coursey, It's Organizations: Service, Coachella Locations: Los Angeles, Dallas , Texas, LA, Texas, Dallas

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