Lil Miquela embodies the perfect intersection of traditional marketing and cutting-edge, next-gen advertising strategies. If you’ve spent any time following her rise in the social media space, everything we thought we knew about how to monetize on IG is flipped on its head.
More than providing a playbook on how new technologies can build a business, bolster sales, and expand brand empires, Miquela leads through modeling — and not just clothes or gear, either. She is the archetype of a wildly successful Gen Z influencer who just so happens to be an avatar as well.
After being out of the spotlight recently and hinting at another big update, you are bound to be part of history by attending Miquela’s summit session. See you there.
A Lil About Miquela
Miquela came to prominence in 2016 as a project out of Brud Studios in Los Angeles. The head of the project is a well-known producer who has worked with Kesha, Katy Perry, and Steve Aoki. Miquela herself has worked across several industries including fashion, lifestyle, and travel racking up revenue in the tens of millions of dollars for the greater part of a decade now.
Technically, Miquela is 21 years old and has spent the last eight years building her IG to 2.5 million followers. She has worked with Prada, Chanel, and CK while rubbing elbows with top celebrities from NY to LA.
All the while, Miquela has somehow suspended time. If my math is correct, she should be 27 years old, but we are still getting transmissions from Miquela about just turning 21 in the last 3 months. 🤯🤯🤯 Sounds like she has her own timeline, and you have to respect that.
But for real… what is reality really anyways?
Creators, if you’ve been following Miquela’s story, you know that the lines between real and imaginary and the space in between get blurry pretty quickly. That is Miquela’s calling sign, after all. What did we expect?
Influencers come in all forms — even digital. Miquela was featured on Time’s 25 Most Influential People list and in the fashionista bible, VOGUE. The people behind Lil Miquela push what we know, taking what is a creator to the next level, suggesting that anything is indeed possible.
The Model: Miquela
Even though she has done some pretty wild fashion collabs — see here, also here — and knows Gen Z style tendencies and what they care about, I’m talking more about Miquela as a model for marketing in the social media space today and beyond.
Soon, a Miquela-esque character could exist where a creator and marketer collaborate on their dream project together. Not only will they be having a lot of fun making a public-facing avatar, but they now have time to focus their efforts on their favorite thing: making content and selling merchandise, for example.
Thanks to Manychat, they’ve got the power of automation. I’m talking those 3 a.m. community management kinda questions — that type of thing. So, now you’re plugged in, even while you’re counting sheep (or maybe is that counting the new orders you’ll be getting?).
The idea of automation isn’t something new by any stretch of the imagination. Extending back to The Jetsons through to The Sims, people have always liked the idea of leaving the unsavory work to a “robot.” Most humans are happy with technology solving or eliminating discord in their lives with the ease that a line of code can make business pain points easier to manage.
What does all this automation talk get you? Some would argue more time to do the things that you enjoy doing (creating content, finding new clients, starting another profitable business online, being with family and friends) while freeing you from the parts of running a brand that you don’t enjoy so much.
The question remains—
What is in the sauce for successfully selling on Instagram?
Well, wouldn’t you like to know? Although not a ready-made solution, some of the philosophy behind Miquela’s success reads like this:
Have a strong brand identity, build your network, share your story, and double down on your unique spin on your brand. Oh, and don’t be afraid to try something that is out of your comfort zone because it hasn’t been done before. I see you over there, Web3. 👋
Looking for some ideas?:
5 Easy Ways Businesses Can Sell More on Instagram
Tips to Succeed on Instagram as an Ecommerce Brand
Don’t Miss Miquela at The Summit
Miquela’s session is important because she is relevant to every generation working in social media marketing today. Gen Z grew up with Miquela, so they know the ropes already and have the technical skillset to create amazing stuff on the web — basically, a whole army of creators waiting in the wings (I’m looking at you, producers!).
Millennials are familiar with the vibe. They were lucky to have lived through the 1990s which Gen Z is taking the baton and running with. And of course, we can give thanks to the nurturing of their parents, Gen X. Baby Boomers — did you ever think marketing would come to this?! You are going to want to tune into this one, folks!
