August 4, 2023

The YouTube star Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast, is the video-sharing platform’s most popular creator, boasting more than 172 million subscribers and counting. Donaldson has parlayed his massive success on YouTube into numerous other businesses, including food brands like the snack line Feastables and MrBeast Burger. He co-founded the latter in 2020 after partnering with Virtual Dining Concepts, a company that specializes in serving food through “ghost kitchens.” These ventures take up residence in the kitchens of established restaurants Continue reading

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March 31, 2022

Sales of houseplants skyrocketed during the onset of the pandemic, and ever since growers around the world have struggled to keep up with ever-increasing demand. Not only are they reaching production capacity, but growers are also in a race against time to get their plants to market before they die on store shelves. This video takes a detailed look at the advanced growing techniques used on modern houseplant farms as well as the flood of TikTok-driven demand that growers must Continue reading

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January 28, 2022

Influencers who amass huge followings on social networks like Instagram and TikTok can earn big money through sponsored posts and other partnerships with brands. But promotional opportunities do not come around every day, and often influencers must deal with inconsistent income as brands pay for exposure one month and then opt out the next. That’s why Instagram is testing a new service for content creators that will allow them to charge money to subscribers who will then have access to Continue reading

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August 22, 2019

With more than 1 billion photo-obsessed users, Instagram has become a trusted destination for marketers looking to get their products noticed. According to a recent study, though, people on the picture-sharing platform don’t trust ads that look like “ads.” Instead, they prefer promotional spots that seem like something that their friends would post. For instance, a brand like L’Oreal would likely get more attention with a selfie of an influencer applying makeup rather than a  glamorous, magazine-like ad.

In Continue reading

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April 12, 2019

By 2020, experts estimate that companies could pay social media influencers as much as $10 billion annually to market products online. These Internet personalities leverage their enormous followings on platforms like Instagram to earn big money through sponsored content. For instance, last year a British fashion influencer named Jess worked with 22 brands, charging $1,000 for every sponsored post that went out to her more than 230,000 Instagram followers.

But while the money that marketers paid Jess was real, the Continue reading

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July 19, 2018

As far as Instagram influencers go, Lil Miquela might not seem all that unique at first glance. More than 1 million people follow the teenager’s feed as she regularly shares stories about her life and shows off her stylish wardrobe. Miquela isn’t real, though, and not just in the “nothing is real on Instagram” sense: she is a computer-generated creation made by a Los Angeles startup. While that might seem bizarre at first, CGI influencers like Miquela give us a Continue reading

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