Leading Millions Through Snapchat: Kylie Jenner.

Kylie Jenner and Snapchat:

At 21 years old, Kylie Jenner has been named the youngest self-made billionaire ever — by Forbes magazine. To understand how the makeup mogul created her beauty empire — KylieCosmetics — it is important to understand the beauty guru’s social media tactics and influence. Jenner has been in the public’s eye ever since she was ten years old on “Keeping Up With The Kardashians” — a reality TV show based off of the Kardashian-Jenner family. As the TV show’s audience grew, so did Kylie’s fame — ultimately allowing her to open her own beauty business. Jenner has an abundance of social power on various social media platforms — that she uses to sell/promote products; however, I would like to highlight the billionaire’s leadership/influence on the social media site: Snapchat. Not only did the beauty mogul use her social influence to sell millions of dollars in products through Snapchat; but, Jenner also changed the use/foundations of Snapchat, and standardized a new way to reach/interact with a market’s key publics. I will further analyze the previous points discussed, to solidify how Kylie Jenner is a leader on the social media site Snapchat.

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Leader-Follower Relationship Through Snapchat:

The article “Leading Virtually” by Surinder Kahai, highlights that to be a leader in this Web 2.0 world, one should be aware of how technology alters the leader-follower relationship, and learn to be effective when communicating virtually. Kylie Jenner, has become an expert at utilizing Snapchat to create a strong leader-follower relationship with her audience. Jenner’s most dedicated followers are of the younger generation — meaning they have grown up in a share all world. The makeup mogul fulfills her follower’s expectations by sharing information about her products and how to apply them correctly on Snapchat. Jenner utilizes Snapchat as a communication channel with her viewers.

Leader-Follower Relationship Through Snapchat cont:

Anderson (2015), highlights how Snapchat is useful for digital storytelling and helps connect users with public figures: “weaving together the organization’s narrative in order to connect with buyers and users. Snapchat provides a way to connect with users in a unique and genuine way which demands their complete attention” ( p. 11) — Jenner’s innovative Snapchat videos, made her the most-watched person on the app and influenced viewers to buy her products: “ [Kylie Jenner] continues to draw upwards 10 million people to her Snapchat makeup tutorials and has led the brand to a reported $400 million in revenue since its launch” (Dodson, 2017). Jenner has been regarded as an expert in applying makeup — a skill not many possess, which is why so many viewers watch her tutorials on the app, and want buy her products. Jenner has gained such a massive audience on the site because she makes her audience feel a part of her life through her Snap stories. Kylie is able to relate to her followers virtually, fulfill their needs – ultimately changing Snapchat’s culture/foundation permanently.

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Jenner Changes Snapchat

Due to the immense success Kylie Jenner had in using Snapchat to connect to her followers and sell her products — Snapchat created a feature that allows viewers: to buy products that are being promoted in a user’s Snapchat video. Jenner has become a role model for other social influencers on Snapchat, and her innovative marketing tactics changed how people use the social media app. A pivotal part of being a leader is essentially being a role model, as Ruben highlights: “acting as a model for followers, a leader exemplifies a higher purpose” (2006). Other users now use Snapchat to sell their products, and build a relationship with their followers — because of Jenner’s success. The VP of Shopify (the technology used to allow Snapchat users to buy products on the app) highlights how Jenner has become a leader in commerce and social media: “Through the power of social media, Kylie has been able to generate both hype and demand for her products in a very unique way, and this is taking it to the next level” (Flynn, 2018).

Jenner Changes Snapchat Cont..

Another article published in “The Telegraph” written by Matthew Lynn, is a business review on Kylie Jenner; and the strategies that she has incorporated into her leadership – that have made her so successful. Lynn’s main points (regarding Kylie and her brand) point out how she; makes her brand real, partners well to leverage opportunities, and understands social inside and out. The article’s purpose is to use Jenner’s businesses success and her online presence, as a guide for other entrepreneurs to imitate. Even though, my blog’s section is not focused on Jenner’s business — her business skills correlate with the competencies she uses on Snapchat to: successfully lead users, start trends on the app, and standardize what other public figures/businesses interact with users to market their brand/products. The section of Lynn’s article highlights Jenner’s innovative social media skills; “Jenner understands the 24-hour, seven-days-a-week relentlessness of the web. Companies have to create a narrative in real time based on actual people — and if they can, the results can be spectacular” (para. 11). Jenner’s social media tactics have made her a role model on Snapchat: for other social media influencers on the app, Snapchat’s features, and the app’s overall culture.

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Dedication to Followers and Leadership Power:

Kylie Jenner is attentive and listens to her followers criticism, which is what Ruben defines as systems/organizational analysis : the ability to “tune into the environment and sensing needs and opportunities.” Since Kylie is the watched person on Snapchat, she is associated with the app and holds a lot of power due to the large amount of followers that support her. When Snapchat re-designed the layout of their site, many viewers had a problem with it and even started a petition for Snapchat to revert to its former simplistic layout. However, Snapchat did not go back to its old layout, causing Jenner to start using Instagram story feature to sell her products. The downside of Jenner holding so much authority in Snapchat’s success, is that when she tweeted “sooo does anyone else not open Snapchat anymore? Or is it just me… ugh this is so sad” (Twitter, 2018), Snapchat lost 1.3 billion in stock. The website Inc.com highlights how Snapchat made a huge mistake, “Snapchat missed the mark by failing to pay attention to their top influencers and continuing to keep up with the formula that made the social media platform such a success” (Sankar, 2017). Users consider Jenner’s opinion as the deciding factor when it comes to buying a product/service — especially in regard to social media. Kylie brought about amount of following to the app with her influence, but due to her follower’s wants — she used her power to damage the social media site’s reputation.

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Conclusion:

Kylie Jenner is a social media tycoon, and is a huge leader in today’s web 2.0 world. The beauty mogul generated millions through her innovative marketing techniques on Snapchat, proving that she had a talent for knowing what her audiences would relate too. Jenner established an entirely new feature on Snapchat, due to her success on the app and her enormous following. Perhaps the biggest influence that the socialite had on Snapchat, was her ultimately leading her followers away from the app, due to their criticism of its layout and overall poor customer service.

References:

Anderson, K. (2015). Getting Acquainted with Social Networks and Apps:

Snapchat and the Rise of Ephemeral Communication. Library Hi Tech

News 32(10), 6-10. From Snapchat and the Rise of Ephemeral

Communication-RUcore

https://rucore.libraries.rutgers.edu/rutgers-lib/48223/PDF/1/

Dodson, C. (2017, October 10). How Kylie Jenner Built A Makeup Empire

Out Of Her Most Famous Asset. Retrieved from

https://www.fastcompany.com/40413114/how-kylie-jenner-built-a-mak

eup-empire-out-of-her-most-famous-asset

Flynn, K. (2018, June 29). Snapchat opens commerce to Snap influencers,

starting with Kylie Jenner. Retrieved from