These days, there’s nothing more profitable than giving away tons of money for free.
YouTube Live’s most popular creator is MrBeast, a 21-year-old whose greatest hits include offering up dozens of cars nearly for free or leaving $30k in tips for servers. Almost all of his videos net 10m+views.
But the cash giveaway economy has grown well beyond MrBeast — and on Instagram, the pandemic is catapulting it to new heights. Influencers, Netflix stars, and… Bhad Bhabie… are all trying it.
Take, as The New York Times did, Paige Hathaway: A fitness influencer with 4m+ followers. Last month, in the heat of quarantine, Hathaway offered to give out $5k to a random follower.
The $5k came from Social Stance, one of a network of firms that promises to boost the follower counts of entrepreneurs or aspiring influencers. To enter the giveaway, all Hathaway;s fans had to do was follow accounts designated by Social Stance.
Here’s what the giveaway didn’t say: Social Stance’s clients paid big bucks — $900 apiece — to get on the list of accounts to follow.
It’s a win-win-win, mostly: A lucky Hathaway fan gets $5k. Firms like Social Stance turn a big profit, and its clients — think of that entrepreneur on the verge of launching her company — get ~50k new followers.
But the sub-industry’s growth is making Instagram nervous, as many cash giveaways might violate local sweepstakes laws.
If you’ve ever wondered how plastic surgeons could amass such huge Instagram followings — now you know one of their secrets.