Selena Gomez is not the most popular person on Twitter right now.
But the singer is the star behind the most-Liked photo in Instagram history … and you may be stunned to learn how this translates to the almighty dollar.
Earlier this week, D’Marie Analytics unveiled rankings of social media influencers, with Gomez sitting comfortably on top due to a combined follower count across platforms of 180,915,477 people.
Yes, over 180 million people sign on to the Internet on a frequent basis in order to see what Selena Gomez is doing and saying.
What does this mean for her ego? It probably means Selena should be feeling pretty good about herself these days.
What does it mean for her wallet?
AdWeek reports that the Facebook, Twitter and Instagram posts from the pop singer are valued up to $ 550,000 a piece.
No, Gomez is not making that insane figure every time she shares a message or photo that includes some kind of brand or product.
But D’Marie Analytics CEO Frank Spadafora explains to AdWeek that the $ 550,000 price tag is the “ad equivalent” value per post.
“This valuation is based on D’Marie’s algorithm, which measures 56 metrics including followers, post frequency, engagement, quality of post, click-thru and potential to create sales conversions from her social content,” Spadafora says.
In other words: you know how companies shell out a couple million dollars every year for a 30-second Super Bowl ad?
They could pay far less money to Selena Gomez instead and still see their endorsements viewed by hundreds of millions of people.
How much the singer herself takes home is decided between her agents and each brand.
Scroll above to the first photo posted here, for example. Gomez was very clearly paid money to hold that particular type of popcorn.
In exchange, the popcorn company got its product to not only be seen by Gomez’s 180 million-plus followers… but for those followers to be influenced by the fact that one of their favorite celebrities is eating it.
Gomez has partnerships with brands such as Coca-Cola, but Spadafora says that she’s still crazy successful without overwhelming her social media accounts with ads.
She doesn’t shill for products nearly as often as Kim Kardashian.
“Personally, I think it’s because she’s being smart and she’s aware that over-saturating her social feeds with sponsored content could negatively impact the relationship she has with her audience,” Spadafora says.
It’s still worth remembering, however:
Any time you see a star holding a product on social media, he or she likely has a monetary reason for doing so.
We’re not passing judgment. It’s the same as starring in a commercial for that product on their end.
It’s just important for followers to know that Selena, Kim, Justin Bieber and other celebrities are often being paid to eat, drink or wear certain things online.
Keep that in mind.