Alexandra Hirschi a.k.a. Supercar Blondie (@supercarblondie) is one of the few car and luxury vehicle influencers that have brought in major profit to the industry.
In October, the content creator with 4.9 million Instagram followers earned DS Automobiles 2.6 million views in a post and a number of customers asking about their cars.
The social media celebrity had the opportunity to unveil the Bugatti Contodieci, a $9 million 1600-horsepower supercar in an Instagram post and on her YouTube Channel.
“I feel like I’ve widened the interest in the automotive world,” Hirschi told Bloomberg. “Whatever you call it, the high profile is exactly what makes her irresistible to automakers.
Other influencers who have made a similar impact include Need For Speed Champion and car blogger Alan Enileev (@alan_enileev). The content creator with 2.1 million Instagram followers has done some work for BMW and G-Wagens.
According to Bloomberg, “car influencers” as they’re known (although Hirschi prefers the term “content creator”) make a comfortable living from big automobile sponsors like Porsche and Lamborghini who recognize that they can make profit from these social media celebrities. They can charge up to $10,000 per post for every million followers and the price could even go much higher.
While the influencers profit of the automobile companies, the benefits are equal both ways.
According to Social Media Today, 88% of consumers trust online recommendations more than face-to-face and 70% of teens believe that YouTubers are more reliable than celebrities. So influencers proved to be a big change for advertising brands.
A recent report revealed that Volvo generated $5 million by sponsoring social media enterpenour Aimee Song (@aimeesong) with 5.4 million followers to promote the new XC90 SUV. She shared three Instagram posts and one Instagram story on the new car.
In addition, car companies like Rolls-Royce also benefit greatly from “car influencers” by trying to reach younger customers or at least anyone under the age of 60.
“Car influencers” have received some criticism in the past for not having actual knowledge on the automobiles and that they are only advertising the product and not reviewing it properly.
Supercar Blondie specified that she is not an expert but her job is to be more relatable to her followers so they can get interested in the car world and ask the questions that they are afraid to.
However, big brands that refuse to sponsor influencers for that reason are truly missing out.
“There are some brands who completely ignore this movement, but I think it’s only going to hurt them in the end,” she said. “It’s unfortunate when I see brands spending a lot of time and money on creating online content that hardly anyone watches.”
To read the Bloomberg’s full article on car influencers click here.
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