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Influencer and Author Personas
Key Takeaways
- Jimmy Donaldson, also known as MrBeast, is one of the highest-paid YouTubers who likes to produce outlandish stunt videos on the platform.
- Anik Singal, a digital marketing content creator who had built a $10 million global digital empire likes to impart his knowledge to aspiring entrepreneurs.
- Eleanora Pons, one of the highest-paid content creators on Instagram, likes to share humorous sketches on the platform to cater to her fans.
Introduction
Based on the research scope pivot requested, this brief provided insights into the motivations and personas of successful digital content creators. Since there were no lists found that ranked the top 5% content creators, we focused on finding digital content creators that were included in lists that feature high earners or top personalities in various platforms. We also made sure that they either have numerous followers or are earning more than $100K in GMV to consider them as successful. The three successful digital content creators that were analyzed include the following: Jimmy Donaldson (MrBeast on YouTube), Anik Singal (digital marketing content creator, author, and coach), and Eleana Pons (Instagram). For each content creator, the following details were provided: motivations/values, interests, likes, dislikes, and some available insights on what made them unique.
Jimmy Donaldson (MrBeast)
- One of the highest-paid YouTubers is Jimmy Donaldson. He is also known as MrBeast on his highly popular YouTube channel.
- He has amassed a total of 3 billion views, 47.8 million subscribers, and an annual revenue of $24 million.
- His YouTube channel mainly showcases humorous stunts such as his 11-minute July 4 holiday video that features a $600,000 fireworks bonanza.
- The episode's highlights include igniting around 100 rockets that were wrapped around a mannequin, exploding a Toyota vehicle, and igniting a 40-pound explosive device that can be carried only by a forklift. This type of firework costs around $160,000 and is considered the most expensive exploding device in the world.
- Viewers watched the video around 60 million times. This is considered as a testament to the level of quality of the stunt videos that he is producing compared to other similar videos.
- He also became known for some of his episodes that show him giving away huge amounts of cash. As an example, he showered several people with money amounting to $200,000. These individuals lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic. The video got around 23 million views.
- In total, he was able to give away around $1 million through his outrageous stunts. He then became known as "YouTube's biggest philanthropist."
- Mr. Donaldson also mentioned that he is in constant pursuit of perfection with his videos. He is known to scrap videos that were not up to par with his standards even if he had already spent huge amounts of money to make them.
- He does not like producing content that does not meet his standards.
- He is also interested in continuously producing outlandish and expensive episodes.
- Some of his videos feature him buying all the merchandise of five shops and shelling out hundreds of thousands of cash on expensive dishes.
- Some of his unique video stunts involve freezing himself in ice, going around a Ferris wheel 1,000 times, and building the biggest Lego tower.
- He also likes to get involved in socially responsible initiatives such as his year-long project involving the planting of 20 million trees.
Anik Singal
- Anik Singal is a digital marketing expert and best-selling digital content creator who has authored several courses in this field.
- He started his online business more than 10 years ago from his dorm unit. After laboring for 18 months, he eventually earned his first $1 online. Within just a few years, he created a $10 million per year digital empire that is earning all over the world.
- Since then, he has been included in BusinessWeek's list of the "Top 3 Entrepreneur Under 25." His business is also highlighted as an Inc 500 company for 2 consecutive years.
- Mr. Singal has spoken as a "motivational and entrepreneurship coach" for thousands of individuals globally. He also spoke in a TedX lecture in Luxembourg.
- Throughout his career, Mr. Singal has sold over $300 million worth of merchandise and solutions online, all by just using a computer and simple techniques.
- He is now driven by his personal mission to share his secrets to business owners globally who are aiming to improve their financial standing.
- Mr. Singal is also interested to undertake philanthropic endeavors as he got inspired by the charitable works of famous personalities such as Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teresa.
- He has already helped in financing micro-businesses in East Africa and other places.
- Mr. Singal also provides free business courses to those who are just starting up.
- He also likes to learn more entrepreneurship knowledge from business founders such as Steve Jobs, Robert Kiyosaki, and Richard Branson who became successful in their fields.
- He credited this motivational quote for his success: “Embrace the early days, embrace the hard times and embrace the failures, because they are so much more powerful than the successes.”
- He also draws inspiration from his parents. His unique approach to learning has enabled him to build his library of digital marketing course content.
- He also likes reading about entrepreneurship, digital marketing, NLP, sales psychology, and self-improvement books.
- He also does not like to believe in coincidences as he believes that life works by putting effort into what it demands in order for it to give back.
- Mr. Singal also does not like to put money on a pedestal and considers it as special. What he thinks is special are the skills that need to be acquired to earn money.
- His approach to digital content selling is also considered unique. He has evolved from being a "gunslinger" to a calculated and data-driven entrepreneur. He also combined multiple marketing schools of thought before coming up with his unique content.
Eleanora Pons
- On Instagram, one of the highest-paid content creators is Eleanora Pons. She has around 39 million followers and earns $144,000 for each post.
- She also has around 121 million views on her YouTube channel.
- She also got included in Time magazine's 2016 list of "The 30 Most Influential People on the Internet."
- She first became famous in the now-defunct Vine platform for her comedy skits.
- Riding on her internet popularity, she has since released songs, got featured in music videos of celebrities, made cameos in movies, and appeared as a guest in various TV shows.
- Ms. Pons' interests include singing in a choir, in the opera, and in her podcasts.
- She also prefers to be a total entertainer. She dislikes being referred to as an influencer.
- She also dislikes the current state of social media now as the platforms became massive. She mentioned that this huge change made the platforms less fun.
- She also hates alienating her fans as she tries to craft some of her content to become suitable for all age groups.
- She also does not like discussing political or sensitive topics on her accounts as she felt that people have become too sensitive these days.
- Ms. Pons also likes watching Latin American soap operas.
- She also enjoyed performing her own stunts for her videos.
- She also ensures that her mental well-being is secure before resuming her normal activities in order to become a good influencer.
- Ms. Pons also believes that it is crucial to keep evolving to produce unique content for her followers.
Research Strategy
To provide insights into the motivations and personas of successful digital content creators based on the research scope pivot requested, we leveraged the most reputable source in the public domain such as the entertainment section of media sources (Forbes, Time, Washington Post, Business Insider, etc.), lifestyle and entertainment magazines (Allure, Vogue, etc.), and other relevant sources. We focused first on finding pre-compiled lists that ranked the top 5% of content creators. However, there were no such lists found. We then focused on finding digital content creators that were included in lists that feature high earners or top personalities on various platforms. We also made sure that they either have a large number of followers or are earning more than $100K in GMV to consider them as successful. We then selected some successful personalities that met these criteria of success. We then looked at their available interviews and social media pages to further provide the requested details on their motivations/values, interests, likes, dislikes, and some available insights on what made them unique.