Imagine shooting goofy videos with your friends, posting them online and getting paid six figures. That's exactly what many twentysomethings with large social media followings are doing. They're called social media influencers, and they've become a new force in advertising. Bill Whitaker reports on this new advertising phenomenon on the next edition of 60 MINUTES, Sunday, Oct. 23 (7:30-8:30 PM, ET; 7:00-8:00 PM, PT) on the CBS Television Network.
Key to this trend is the fact the influencers attract increasingly-hard-to-reach young audiences. Most influencers offer some kind of performance in their videos, usually slapstick humor, singing or dancing, to attract millions of young followers on social platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat. Advertisers pay the influencers for momentary placement of their products in these videos. One of the highest paid influencers on social media is Kim Kardashian West, who has made millions of dollars for wearing or using products in pictures and videos, seen by many of her 160 million total online followers. In an interview conducted before she was robbed in Paris earlier this month, she spoke with Bill Whitaker about how social media made her rich. "I totally attribute my career to social media." Asked by Whitaker what talent she has that attracts so many eyeballs online, she said, "It is a talent to have a brand that's really successful off of getting people to like you for [being] you," says Kardashian. She acknowledges having a net worth of over $100 million and says with a laugh, "So I would think that has to involve some kind of talent, you know?" Watch an excerpt.Videos