Model, student, coder, baker, businesswoman, Nike-endorsed athlete, Victoria’s Secret Angel, and Taylor Swift’s BFF are just some of the words you might use to describe St. Louis’ most famed export, Karlie Kloss. But there’s another word you’ll have to use to refer to the 22-year-old moving forward: YouTuber.
Kloss launched her own YouTube channel today, aptly called Klossy. Produced by Casey Neistat, the inaugural clip features the model speaking directly to the camera about her journey to superstardom and the tales and tidbits subscribers can expect to find on her stream. In essence, the content that might be featured in the vlogs is similar to what you can already find on Kloss’ Instagram: a behind-the-scenes look at the Victoria’s Secret show, a peek at a road trip across the country with Taylor Swift, and a glimpse into the daily life of a 20-something with unparalleled success. And with 2.8 million followers on Instagram, a platform on which Kloss posts nearly daily, one can’t help but wonder why the already-busy supe would want to take on the task of filming, producing, editing, and uploading a whole second stream of content for a YouTube channel.
The reason? Reach and reward. While 2.8 million of the total 300 million active Instagram users see Kloss’ snaps, YouTube offers the model the opportunity to reach an audience of more than 1 billion users. Instagram boasts about 30 billion photos shared; YouTube averages over 157 billion minutes of video uploaded per year. The difference in audience is outstanding. There’s the inequality in the two platforms’ advertising policies. Instagram’s model is not upfront. Posters can either arrange deals with brands independently or use a third-party app to “monetize” their streams. With YouTube, the ads are built into the platform, allowing users to earn a profit from their streams quickly and with little ancillary hassle.
And while Instagram has, without question, boosted a group of models to a new strata of fame (as well as landing them fashion campaigns and brand ambassadorships), YouTube let’s people turn themselves into the brand. Someone like Michelle Phan, YouTube’s de facto heroine, doesn’t need brand partnerships—she’s her own moneymaker, with a line of cosmetics, scheduled appearances, and a book that all resulted from her makeup tutorial videos. The point is YouTube can turn a person into a profitable brand in a way that no other platform can yet. We’d say Kloss has just embarked on her star vehicle.
—Steff Yotka
