How-to guide for U.S.-based creators to file tax
U.S.-based creators are now mid-way through the tax-filing period. The deadline is April 18. The Passionfruit newsletter has put together a guide to help influencers navigate their way through the process. The article answers questions including: Do I qualify as self-employed? What are my tax obligations? What information do I need to file taxes as a content creator? And what expenses are deductible?
The Kardashian's on Instagram 2015 - today
Liz Hagelthorn, Queen of the Meme and alumni of both Google and Twitter has taken a deep dive into the Kardashian's Instagram activity from Januray 2015 to January 2023. It’s a story of colossal follower growth and includes plenty of takeaways for marketers. Consistency of posting and the power of the comment section being just two. Read the whole deep-dive on Hagelthorn’s substack.
Quotable: “Their comment section is as important as the posts themselves. The posts act as mirrors for our lives and the comment section is where we discuss our own perspectives with each other.”
Park bench-gate
There’s a three-minute video doing the rounds on LinkedIn. It shows a female fitness influencer setting-up a shot in a park. A man entering the shot sits on a public bench. Then the influencer asks the man to move. Ultimately, the man refuses to do so. Is it staged? Perhaps. But it certainly caught the attention of LinkedIn users. In the 24 hours since posting, the video has accumulated 3.5k likes, 500 comments and has been reshared 119 times. Most side with the man and argue the influencer is acting entitled. What does this mean? Nothing really. It’s just a vignette of what many believe to be the entitled behaviour of those within the creator economy.
You know you’re old when ….
… a Gen Z TikTokker pitches the idea of inventing the landline telephone” “A phone for the whole family that stays in the house …. Let’s attach it to a cord. Maybe like stick it on the wall so that if there is an emergency we can always find it.”
Prime hydration and mainstream media
We’ve talked quite a lot about Prime Hydration over recent weeks. In newsletter #87 we talked about the brand’s UK launch and how it tapped into the scarcity principle to boost desirability. The following week in newsletter #88 we discussed the cautionary tale Paul’s CryptoZoo ownership had on Prime. In newsletter #93 we noted that Logan Paul and KSI made Super Bowl history as the first creator-owned and operated brand to advertise on TV during a Super Bowl.
Mainstream media continues to be fascinated with the sports drink fronted and owned by Logan Paul and KSI. This week the Washington Post ran a piece saying the drink had become elevated into a status symbol. A couple of days later Insider ran a story in the same vein.
Quotable: “In the next 10 years, all the biggest brands will be made by creators,” said Mae Karwowski, CEO and founder of influencer marketing firm Obviously. “They understand the medium. They understand what their customers want.” [Washington Post]
Quotable: “It actually has zero to do with the product,” said Amanda Russell, a professor and director of the Global Center for Influence at University of Texas. “It’s about the community and the cult that they’ve built.” [Washington Post]
I like Amanda Russell and contributed to her book, The Influencer Code, but I don’t agree with her take here. Creators are great storytellers. They know what their audience wants - and what it doesn’t care for. Their fans will often be keen to try out any new product developed by the creator. In short, influencers supply both the distribution and the marketing firepower. Get the proposition right and you’ve got an opportunity for recurring revenue. For longevity in the space, the product has to be good, however. No one will buy a dud product twice.
