Introducing The Influence Index, by The Oz
They are the entrepreneurs changing the very face of how business is done, how to sell to consumers and even how to sell themselves.
They are the entrepreneurs changing the very face of how business is done, how to sell to consumers and even how to sell themselves.
Meet the rich listers of tomorrow.
They are the entrepreneurs changing the face of how business is done, how to sell to consumers, and even how to sell themselves.
The inaugural top 100 influencers list, THE INFLUENCE INDEX, is released in full today exclusively by The Oz and encapsulates how technology is helping old-fashioned business practices like sales and marketing evolve into finely honed and cutting-edge techniques fit for the modern world.
Want to target a 20 to 30-year-old female in NSW for a beauty product?
Call in an online influencer.
Their videos might look irreverent, the dancing cheesy, the enthusiasm for food a bit over the top, but reaching that wealthy elite level is closer for these influencers than many think, and gaining almost 500 million social media followers is a target market no serious business would turn their noses up at, especially the data their followers generate.
Brisbane mother Sarah Magusara has topped The Influence Index, with nearly 18 million followers on TikTok, 1.2 million on Instagram and 367,000 YouTube subscribers.
“It’s taken a long time for me to realise I actually have an influence on people,” she said.
The 21-year-old Phillipines native fell into influencing by accident. She downloaded Instagram in her early teens and by 2016, when she was 15 years old, she already had 100k followers.
Her days are now spent shooting sponsored and unsponsored content, as well as being in the final stages of launching a health and wellbeing app.
“I started getting more followers who I didn’t know, and they wanted to see more of me and hear more about me,” she said.
“They just knew me as the girl who danced on Instagram, but I never really talked. So, I started to share more about myself and I guess it just blew up from there.”
No 2 on The Influence Index is comedy/gaming/horror influencer Caleb Finn (15.6 million TikTok followers), while dancing influencer Hannah Balanay (18 million TikTok followers) came in at No 3.
YouTube gymnastic sensations and former Australia’s Got Talent contestants the Rybka Twins are Australia’s fourth most influential creators, boasting a mammoth 7.5 million subscribers on the video-sharing platform. Melbourne influencer Joel Berg, who built his TikTok following through comedy and skit videos, sits fifth.
They all have corporations keen to partner with them because of their big following.
“It’s their audience, it’s their analytics, it’s their content and it’s the creator themselves,” says Jules Lund of marketing technology platform Tribe. “That’s what brands care most about.”
It all means ways of making money are changing, and is not necessarily as easy as it looks.
A five-year business plan? How about the three-second rule. That’s how quickly influencers have to capture a social media’s attention before they scroll past their post or video.
Their millions might be measured in TikTok followers, likes on Instagram or Facebook, but make no mistake: there’s plenty of money being made by the mothers, dancers, crocodile wrestlers, foodies and fitness freaks that are the most influential social media leaders in Australia.
Take Emily Skye, No 54 on the Top 100 with 2.7 million Instagram followers and $100m estimated wealth from her business empire, including a fitness app and cosmetics range, that is underpinned by her social media posts showing how her mental health improved with better fitness and general health practices. “Rather than showing the highlights, I’ve always tried to show my lowest lows and the highs to keep it real,” Ms Skye she tells The Australian.
“When health and fitness saved me and having seen what it’s done for others, a quick dollar or two isn’t worth it; I like to think my community can see that.” The top 100 influencers range from 13-year-old guitar sensation Taj Farrant, who has 273,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel and sells a range of T-shirts and hoodies starting at $42.38 each, to a veteran in 50-year-old cricket legend Matthew Hayden.
Australian Influencer Marketing Council chair Sharyn Smith said the influencers’ fees might go up after being included on the Influence Index. “We applaud the work you are doing at The Oz. This is a great step forward in being able to create some metrics and shine a light on the industry,” she said. “These are great (indicators in The Influence Index) because they move beyond the vanity metrics of reach and frequency, and look at the true essence of what influence is.”
While he has 260,000 Instagram followers alone tracking his cooking tips and videos endorsing products such as Hoselink, Hayden has formed his own company, Storyline, to help “clients better tell their brand story and turn their customers into strong and loyal brand advocates”.
He tells The Oz he adheres to the “do, be and share” principle.
“If you are posting stuff that you love in a very authentic way, and you keep things close and personal, the followers will follow. But people will vote with their feet if they don’t believe in what you are doing.
“There are still a lot of brands that don’t do this too. There’s probably 80% of campaigns that are still using free to air TV and research and hoping for the best. So I think we know what can work.”
Plenty of brands want to be endorsed by members of the Top 100 Influencers.
Gucci and Red Bull endorse Hannah Balanay (No 3), a lip sync and dance star with 18.6m social media followers, while Daniel Gorringe (No 8) has just launched his own beer brand, Supply Lager, and has endorsement deals with betting firm BossBet Australia, Sony Australia, Bonds and skincare company Koi for Men.
BossBet general manager Joshua Beer says his business chose to engage Gorringe on a six-month deal with a set fee based on performance hurdles due to his often unique approach to content, use of humour and AFL credibility as a past player. “We believe those credentials are vital to our building the BossBet brand and resonation with 18-44-year-old males.”
Ultimately, the big monetisation for the influencers comes with selling their own products or expertise. Take Kayla Itsines (No 45), an Adelaide fitness phenomenon with 14.8 million Instagram followers and hundreds of thousands of subscribers to her app and fitness plans around the world.
She and business partner Tobi Pearce sold their Sweat business last year for $400m to US technology firm iFit.
Money might buy influence, but influencers are bringing in plenty of money.
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