Behind our favorite videos, memes and social media profiles are people who have a passion for entertaining and inspiring others. Using their individual platforms each person contributes to the social media community in their own unique way — establishing themselves in a world which is controlled by likes, comments and follows.
BET recognized the power of social media with their Social Awards. The BET Social Award’s “It Girl Dinner” gathered our favorite media gurus for a night of fellowship and fun. Instagram stars from all over the world poured into the city of Atlanta to celebrate each other’s successes and accomplishments. “It feels good to be around people [who] get it,” stated Ken, one-half of the popular YouTube couple De’Arra and Ken. “They understand that it’s not just about recording a video and getting views. It takes a lot of hard work to build a brand, and being around like-minded people feels great.”
While there are billions of people with social media accounts, not everyone gains “insta-fame.” People like De’arra and Ken, DC Young Fly, and Kendall Kyndall have amplified their following from less than 10 thousand to over 10 million, creating jobs for themselves in film, television, radio and award shows. This generation of celebrities is creative, innovative, unapologetic, humorous, savvy, fashionable, and very knowledgeable on how to maximize views, and social media interactions. The influence social media has on this generation is indisputable.
There are new ways of branding and marketing yourself using Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, and these individuals definitely get it. “There is a lot of honor and responsibility having such a large following,” said Jasmine Brown, actress on BET’s “50 Central.” “There are people who admire me for what I do or say they want to be like me, but what people have to remember is that you are unique and you shouldn’t strive to be like someone else. Find what makes you, you and run with it.”
BET’s Social Awards aired on Sunday, February 11th.
